Ep 78 | 5 Errors to Fix in Your Squat Technique to Build More Muscle and Reduce Risk of Injury
Squats are one of the most important exercises you can practice for building total body strength and developing powerful leg muscles. However, this compound movement is also incredibly complex, involving multiple joints moving simultaneously, which creates plenty of opportunities for error.
The good news? When you master proper squat technique and fix these common mistakes, you'll unlock massive gains from this foundational exercise.
Why Squat Technique Matters
The squat is an essential movement pattern to master for safe and effective training. Whether you're performing bodyweight squats, goblet squats, or barbell back squats, the fundamental pattern remains the same: a controlled sitting motion from a standing position.
Poor technique doesn't just limit your results—it significantly increases your risk of injury. Let's dive into the five most common squat mistakes I see in my coaching practice and how to fix them.
-
Jayd (00:00):
Squats are one of the most important exercises that you can practice for helping you build total body strength and particularly building muscle in the legs. But this is also a really complex exercise. There are multiple joints and motion at the same time, and there's a lot going on, so there's a lot of room for error, but if you can master the squat and fix these errors and perform it well, you will get massive gains from performing this exercise. Hey there. Welcome to the Coaching Corner podcast. I'm Jayd Harrison, AKA Jaydigains. I've been a personal trainer for over 10 years and I've created this podcast to share with you tips and tricks to help you get strong and lean without shame and without burnout. In today's episode, I'm going to share with you five common mistakes that people make while performing their squats and how to fix them.
(01:00)
Now, before we get into the episode, make sure to like this video if you are watching on YouTube and subscribe to the channel so that you never miss a new episode or other coaching tutorial videos that I drop. If you're listening to this episode, thank you so much. Make sure to follow the show so you always get the latest episodes delivered right to your device. And also keep in mind that right now I am welcoming a few new students into my 90 day fat loss transformation program. This coaching program will help you to lose up to 25 pounds in 90 days. I'll give you a customized training program as well as a custom meal plan and help you to get on track towards sustainable fat loss so you can lose that weight and keep it off for good. For more information, click the link that is in the show notes or in the video description below, and without further ado, let's get into the episode.(01:54)
The squat is one of the most important movement patterns for you to master for safe and effective exercise technique. Now, there's many different variations of the squat depending on your stance and what type of equipment you're using to add resistance regardless of the weight or resistance that you're using. The squat essentially involves you performing a sitting down motion from a standing position. A really common error that I notice a lot of beginners make when they are learning the squat and practicing the squat and their workouts is that they move way too fast. The squat is a pretty complicated exercise, and it's really important that while you're performing this exercise, you are paying close attention to the positioning of your body and the engagement of your muscles and the stretch of your muscles at every point of the squat. So I want to encourage you to slow down and practice slow tempo reps to work on your squat technique.(02:56)
My favorite tempo to practice good squat technique is to spend four seconds going down into the bottom of the squat, pausing for two seconds at the bottom, and then one second to stand up. Slowing down as you lower down into the squat allows you to really plug your mind into your muscles and pay attention to how fast or slow your joints are bending and making sure that everything is going and stopping at the same time. When you move in a really fast uncontrolled way, it's very difficult for you to assess whether you are moving with good technique. It's also very easy to injure yourself because you're not properly engaged. These fast and uncontrolled movements, especially when you have weight, are a recipe for injuring yourself, either pulling a muscle in your back, hurting your knee, hurting your hips or your ankles or something else. So slow down your movements and really focus on identifying the muscles that are working, identifying the muscles that you feel stretching and ensuring that you're keeping your torso rigid throughout the entire range of motion and that your body is in the right position and that you're keeping your balance throughout the entire range of motion.(04:10)
Ideally, you should be able to stop and pause at every single point of the squat if you're not able to do that, but that means that there's something going on with your technique or with your body positioning that's not really healthy, so slow it down and really focus on your form. This is also going to help you to build more muscle too, because the more time that we spend with the muscles under tension, especially as they're elongating in the way that the quadriceps, the glutes, and the hamstrings are, as you lower down into the squat, that is going to yield much more muscle growth and strength gains than going super duper fast up and down in your squat. Now, one common error that a lot of people make when they're learning how to perform a squat is that they don't properly brace their core. It's so important to brace your core by engaging all of the muscles in your torso to maintain your back in alignment through the entire range of motion.(05:05)
While you're performing the squat, we don't want to see any motion in the spine. There should be no flexion or extension, and your spine should stay essentially in the same position as from the top of the movement to the bottom of the movement. Now, if you don't properly brace your core, what you'll likely see is that as you perform the squat, your torso may move in some way. Very commonly I see people drop their chest and their shoulders down to the point where they're rounding their spine forward on the way down into the squat and at the bottom of the squat, and then when they come back up, they have to do spinal extension to straighten themselves back up and lift their chest up. Now, this puts a lot of strain on the muscles in your back and it can lead to a pulled muscle or even an injured disc.(05:51)
We don't want any motion at all in the spine while you're performing the squat. Another common error that people make is that they overly tilt their hips to the point where they're hyperextending their spine and almost like they're doing a back bend as they push their hips back behind them. This movement in the spine can also injure the muscles in the back or one of your discs. You should practice holding your torso in the same rigid position just like you were holding your body in a plank or in the way that you hold your body rigid. When you're doing your anti rotational core and balance training, like when you're doing a dead bug or a bird dog, the way that you have to really engage your abdominals, your obliques, your spinal erectors, your lats, and your external shoulder rotator muscles, all of that has to stay fired up to keep your torso from moving.(06:43)
That's the engagement that we want to see in your core while you're performing squats as well. A common form of spinal movement that you might see is what's called butt wink. Butt wink is when your hips tilt under and then come back up at the bottom of the squat as you lower down into the bottom of the squat, and then they tilt back up. As you start to stand back up. This movement in the lumbar spine puts a lot of strain on those muscles in your lower back and on your spine. This type of movement in the spine is often due to tightness in your hips and in your hamstrings, so you'll need to work on your hip and hamstring mobility to prevent your butt from winking under at the bottom of your squat. In general, I recommend stopping the squat before your butt starts to wink, even if that means that you can't get your thighs parallel to the floor.(07:35)
Now, another common error that can hurt your back is allowing your hips to shoot up faster than your chest comes up out of the bottom of the squat. Ideally, whenever you're descending to the bottom of the squat and when you're coming back up, all of your joints and your whole body should be moving at the exact same rate. Your hips, your knees, your ankles should be bending at the same time and stopping at the same time, and then when they come back up, your ankles, your knees and your hips should all be extending at the same time as well. But what sometimes happens for people who tend to have more strength in their glutes and in their hamstrings versus in their quadriceps is that they will shoot their hips up and then perform kind of a hip hinge to bring their hips back forward out of the bottom of the squat, and this looks more like they're doing a good morning. This is usually a sign that your quadriceps are not properly engaging to help get you up out of the bottom of the squat. So we need to do a little bit more targeted work on developing the strength and engagement of your quadriceps. You also want to think about standing up nice and tall to come up out of the squat rather than lifting your butt. So there you have it, a couple of technique errors to watch out for and how to address them.(08:58)
Thank you so much for watching this episode of The Coaching Corner Podcast. Again, I'm Jayd Harrison, AKA Jaydigains. I hope that you enjoyed this episode that you found it helpful, and let me know if you have any questions. You can leave them in the comments below this video if you're watching on YouTube. And again, make sure to like this video if you found it helpful, and make sure to subscribe to the channel so you always get the latest episodes and other videos that I drop throughout the week. If you're listening to this episode, thank you again so much. Make sure to follow the show so that you get the next episode delivered right to your device. And don't forget that I am currently enrolling five to six new clients in my 90 day fat loss transformation program, so if you are ready to lose that weight and keep it off for good, if you are tired of starting over again and again on your fat loss journey, I am here to help and I can't wait to share this program with you. Sign up in the link, in the show notes or in the video description below. I'll see you in the next episode. In the meantime, make sure to take care of yourself, drink some water, eat your protein, eat your veggies, and I will see you soon.
Mistake #1: Moving Too Fast
This is perhaps the most common error I notice among beginners. The squat is a complicated exercise that requires careful attention to body positioning, muscle engagement, and stretch throughout the entire range of motion.
The Fix: Slow down and practice tempo squats. I recommend a 4-2-1 tempo:
4 seconds lowering down into the squat
2 seconds pausing at the bottom
1 second standing back up
Slowing down allows you to connect your mind to your muscles and ensure all your joints are moving in sync. Fast, uncontrolled movements make it nearly impossible to assess your technique and create a recipe for injury—whether it's a pulled muscle in your back, or strain on your knees, hips, or ankles.
An added benefit? More time under tension, especially during the lowering phase, leads to greater muscle growth and strength gains in your quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings.
Pro tip: You should be able to pause at any point during the squat. If you can't, something is off with your technique or positioning.
Mistake #2: Not Bracing Your Core Properly
Many people fail to engage their core effectively during squats, which compromises spinal stability and increases injury risk.
The Fix: Brace your core by engaging all the muscles in your torso—your abdominals, obliques, spinal erectors, lats, and external shoulder rotators. Think of maintaining the same rigid torso position you would during a plank, dead bug, or bird dog exercise.
Your spine should remain in the same position from the top to the bottom of the movement. There should be no flexion, extension, or lateral movement.
Common errors include:
Rounding forward: Dropping your chest and shoulders, causing your spine to round on the way down
Hyperextending: Excessively tilting your hips and arching your lower back like a back bend
Both of these patterns put tremendous strain on your back muscles and discs, potentially leading to serious injury.
Mistake #3: The Dreaded "Butt Wink"
"Butt wink" occurs when your hips tilt under at the bottom of the squat, causing your lumbar spine to round, then tilt back up as you stand. This movement places significant strain on your lower back muscles and spine.
The Fix: Butt wink is often caused by tightness in your hips and hamstrings. Work on improving mobility in these areas through dedicated stretching and mobility exercises.
In the meantime, stop your squat descent before your butt starts to wink—even if that means you can't get your thighs parallel to the floor. Better to squat to a safe depth with proper form than to go deeper with compromised positioning.
Mistake #4: Hips Rising Faster Than Your Chest
This error typically happens to people who have stronger glutes and hamstrings relative to their quadriceps. The pattern looks like this: as you come up from the bottom of the squat, your hips shoot up first, then you perform a hip hinge to bring your torso upright. It essentially turns into a "good morning" exercise.
The Fix: All your joints should move at the same rate throughout the entire squat. Your hips, knees, and ankles should:
Bend at the same time
Stop at the same time
Extend at the same time
If your hips are shooting up first, it's a sign that your quadriceps aren't engaging properly. You'll need to incorporate more targeted quad work to develop strength and improve muscle activation.
Mental cue: Think about standing up nice and tall, rather than lifting your butt.
Mistake #5: Inconsistent Joint Movement
This relates closely to the previous mistake but deserves its own attention. Ideally, your entire body should move as one coordinated unit during the squat.
The Fix: When descending and ascending, focus on moving all joints simultaneously and at the same speed. Your ankles, knees, and hips should work in harmony throughout the entire range of motion.
Practicing slow tempo squats (see Mistake #1) will help you develop this coordination and body awareness.
Your Squat Checklist
Before your next squat session, remember these key points:
✓ Slow down your tempo—especially on the descent
✓ Brace your entire core throughout the movement
✓ Keep your spine in a neutral, rigid position
✓ Stop before any butt wink occurs
✓ Move all joints at the same rate
✓ Think "stand up tall" rather than "lift your hips"
Mastering the squat takes time and practice, but the payoff is enormous. This single exercise builds strength, muscle, and athleticism like few others can. Focus on quality over quantity, and you'll see incredible results while staying injury-free.
Ready to take your training to the next level? Focus on these technique fundamentals, stay consistent, and watch your strength soar.
Subscribe for Updates ✉️
Sign up to get notified whenever new episodes drop. Opt in for more tips on training, fat loss, and nutrition by filling out the form below:
Your privacy is important to me! I will never share your information with any third party. Unsubscribe from the email list at any time.
