9 Squat Cues To
Improve Technique
(And 1 You Should
Not Do)
AVI SILVERBERG
Table Of Contents
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1
Squat Cue #1: Get Tight On The Rack
4
Squat Cue #2: Breathe And Brace
8
Want to improve your squat technique?
12
Squat Cue #4: Claw The Floor
16
Squat Cue #5: Externally Rotate Your Femurs
20
Squat Cue #6: Crack At The Hips And Knees
23
Squat Cue #7: Push The Floor
26
Squat Cue #8: Drive Your Shoulders Back And Up Into
The Barbell
29
Squat Cue #9: Accelerate Through The Lift
32
The One Squat Cue You Should Never Use: “Chest Up”
36
Free Course: 13 Powerlifting Techniques
41
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9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
Page 1
The squat is a complex movement pattern, which relies on superior coordination
between your various joints and muscle groups. However, it’s my job as a coach to
break down the movement so that the technique is easily understood, and the lifter
knows how to execute the movement with proper form.
The 9 most effective squat cues are:
Squat Cue #1: Get tight on the rack
Squat Cue 2: Breathe and brace
Squat Cue #3: Ribs down
Squat Cue #4: Claw the oor
Squat Cue #5: Externally rotate your femurs
Squat Cue #6: Crack at the hips and knees
Squat Cue #7: Push the oor
Squat Cue #8: Drive your shoulders back and up into the barbell
Squat Cue #9: Accelerate through the lift
Each of these cues has a speci c outcome that will impact your technique. It’s
important to recognize that not every squat cue is going to apply to everyone. In this
article, you’ll learn what each of these cues means so that you know which one(s) you
need to use for your own individual lifting.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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Squat cues are a short meaningful phrase that remind you of a speci c movement
outcome. You don’t want to implement every one of these squat cues at the same time
because the brain can only focus on 1 (maybe 2) cues at a time. For example, if the
main goal is to practice bracing your core harder, then you should use the bracing cue.
Each cue will work indirectly with one another. So if you focus on one, you will
intuitively practice another.
One more thing: make sure to read to the end where I tell you the #1 squat cue you
SHOULD NOT do.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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01
Squat Cue #1: Get
Tight On The
Rack
Pull the bar down into your back before taking it o
the rack
Movement goal:
The goal of “get tight on the rack” is to ensure your upper back and core muscles are
braced BEFORE lifting the bar up from the rack and walking the weight out. It’s much
harder to get your muscles tight once the load is distributed over your body.
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Other commonly used cues:
Lats tight
Pull the bar in
Shoulder blades together
Elbows under the bar
Squeeze your hands
Push up into the bar
How to implement:
Set your hand position and step underneath the barbell with both feet on one
plane. Sometimes it helps when you use a thumbless squat grip.
Once the bar is in position on your back, you want to think about pulling the bar
down and into your back (almost like a lat pulldown).
At the same time as you’re pulling the bar down with your arms, you want to think
about pushing up with your legs into the barbell. You’re not pushing so hard into
your legs where the bar lifts from the rack. But rather, you’re trying to create
tension at both ends of the barbell. At one end, you’re pulling down, and on the
other, you’re pushing up.
Once your grip and lats are tight, and there is tension on either side of the barbell,
then you can lift the weight up from the rack.
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When to use:
Use this squat cue if you feel like you lack tightness taking the bar off the rack. This
might feel like the weight is ‘heavy on your back’ or you generally lack stability walking
the weight out. If you’ve mastered getting ‘tight on the rack’ under lighter loads, then
you’re more prepared to be lifting heavier loads when the time comes. Also, this cue will
help prevent your upper back from rounding while squatting.
If you don’t get tight on the rack, the barbell can hurt your neck while squatting. Check
out my article where I discuss 6 tips to avoiding neck pain in the squat.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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02
Squat Cue #2:
Breathe And
Brace
Engage your core by (1) breathing (2) bracing
Movement goal:
The goal of “breathe and brace” is to ensure your core musculature is engaged prior to
the start of the movement. Bracing the core properly will allow the spine to be protected
throughout the lift, as well as give you the ability to transfer force more effectively from
your muscles to the barbell.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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Other commonly used cues:
Big breath
Brace hard
Breathe into your low back
Breathe into your belt
Push out
How to implement:
Once you’re standing with the weight on your back in your start position, begin to
activate your core by taking a big breath in. The key is to breathe into your stomach,
not chest.
Hold your air without letting any of it out.
Pull your belly button inward toward your spine.
Brace your core by pushing your abdominal cavity out, while still pulling your belly
button inward. This process should feel like you’re engaging your core muscles 360degrees around your stomach.
Think about squeezing your stomach in the same way as if someone is punching you
in the stomach and you’re bracing for impact.
If you’re wearing a powerlifting belt, press hard into your belt all around your body.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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Ensure you’re ‘breathing and bracing’ BEFORE you descend into the squat. Don’t try and
breathe and brace while you’re squatting or else you won’t be creating as much intraabdominal pressure.
When to use:
Use this squat cue every rep that you squat. A lot of lifters rush through their reps
without re-setting their brace at the top. As you cycle through your reps, keep practicing
the cue of ‘breathe and brace’ before descending into your next squat rep. This will
ensure you’re maximally recruiting your core muscles. It’s easy to get lazy with
‘breathing and bracing’ under lighter loads, but this is exactly when you want to
practice this cue so that under heavier loads it feels natural and you don’t lose tension
in the bottom.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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03
Want
to
improve
your
squat
technique?
Ribs
ared vs. ribs down position
Movement goal:
The goal of “ribs down” is to ensure your spine is neutral and that you’re not hyperextending through your mid-back. Additionally, this squat cue will help you maintain
and hold your core bracing throughout the entirety of the lift.
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Other commonly used cues:
Pack your stomach
Bring your sternum and belly button together
Do a one-quarter crunch
How to implement:
After you’ve initiated the ‘breathe and brace’ cue, and before you descend into the
squat, think about drawing your ribs down.
Continue to maintain a neutral pelvic position.
Don’t tuck your pelvis underneath of you too much.
If you are over-extending in your spine at all, you will feel the spine shift forward into a
more neutral position.
Your belly button and sternum should feel like they’re pulling closer to each other.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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When to use:
Use this squat cue just before you initiate the downward movement of the squat. For a
lot of lifters, this cue will become obsolete once an effective ‘breathe and brace’ is
implemented. However, for lifters who have a problem nding a neutral spine or pelvic
position, this cue will be important in order to align and stack the joints properly.
Additionally, if you nd that you’re losing your brace while you rep out a set of squats, it
could be that your rib cage is aring upwards, and you need to use the ‘ribs down’ cue
to engage your core again.
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04
Squat Cue #4:
Claw The Floor
Feel each point of contact on the
oor
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Movement goal:
The goal of “claw the oor” is to nd the balance on your feet prior to executing the
movement. Your feet are the point of contact between the load and the transfer of force
through the oor. The most effective transfer of force happens when the barbell is
directly over the midline of the foot. If you get off-balance while squatting, and the
barbell shifts either forward or backward from the centre of the foot, then the transfer
of force becomes ine cient.
This cue has been shown to help lifters who squat with duck feet, where their toes are
outward too much.
Other commonly used cues:
Grip the oor
Find your balance
Feel the oor with your feet
Root your feet
Screw your feet into the oor
How to implement:
Prior to initiating the downward movement of the squat, draw your attention to your big
toe, pinky toe, and the heel.
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Once you feel the load evenly distributed over these three points, claw the ground with
your toes. This should feel like actively curling your toes into the ground.
The nal step is to think about screwing your feet outward, which will naturally open
your hips up and engage your glutes. Engaged glutes will help keep the barbell over the
midline of the foot.
When to use:
Use this squat cue if you feel like you’re not consistent with keeping the barbell over the
midline of the foot. You might nd that you can keep the barbell in the right position
while squatting for a few reps but under fatigue or a heavier set, you begin to fall
forward or backward. If this is the case, always come back to “clawing the ground” and
nding your balance.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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05
Squat Cue #5:
Externally Rotate
Your Femurs
Externally rotate the femurs to push the
knees out prior to squatting
Movement goal:
The goal of “externally rotate your femurs” is to open up the hips so that your knees
track properly over your toes while squatting. In addition, this squat cue will allow you
to maximally recruit your glute medius (the side part of your glute), which helps
externally rotate your hips and prevent your knees from caving.
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Other commonly used cues:
Hips open
Knees out
Push your knees
How to implement:
Starting from your feet, think about screwing your feet outward. The goal is not to
move your feet, but to create the sensation through the oor that you’re screwing them
into the oor.
Think about taking your femurs on both legs (upper thigh bone) and rotating it out.
This should naturally point your kneecaps outward so that when you squat down your
knees are already tracking out over the toes naturally.
When to use:
Use this squat cue when you feel like your knees are caving as you squat. If your knees
are caving regularly, it’s probably that your glute medius is not strong enough, so
cueing won’t solve this problem entirely. But, ensuring that you have cued your hips
open and knees out prior to squatting will be the rst step in correcting any knee
tracking issues.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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06
Squat Cue #6:
Crack At The Hips
And Knees
Crack at the hips and knees simultaneously to initiate the squat
Movement goal:
The goal of “crack at the hips and knees” is to ensure that you have an equal balance
between your hip and knee extensors as you descend into the squat. You don’t want to
bend one before the other, so the idea is that you bend both your hips and knees
simultaneously to begin the movement.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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Other commonly used cues:
Sit back (if people ex into the knees too much)
Sit down (if people ex into the hips too much)
Straight up and down
How to implement:
Prior to squatting, think about the load being distributed over the mid-part of your foot.
To initiate the squat, push your hips back at the same time as you bend your knees
forward.
Avoid any excessive forward-leaning with the torso.
Avoid any excessive forward knee bent with the knees.
When to use:
Use this squat cue to start the movement ensuring that you’re evenly distributing the
load between your hip and knee extensors. If you crack too much into your hips, you’re
overcompensating with your glutes. If you crack too much into the knees, you’re
overcompensating with your quads. As long as you bend both the hips and knees at
the same time you’ll be initiating the movement correctly.
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07
Squat Cue #7:
Push The Floor
Push the
oor away using your quads
Movement goal:
The goal of “push the oor” is to ensure that you’re driving from your legs rst out of
the bottom of the squat. The primary muscle group used to extend the knees are the
quads, so pushing the oor cues your quads to do their job rather than relying on your
hip extensors to compensate.
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Other commonly used cues:
Drive away
Use your legs
Use your quads
Push from your knees
How to implement:
In the bottom of the squat, think about your feet on the ground and driving the oor
away from you.
You’ll want to extend from the knee rst keeping your torso angle in the same position.
Avoid your hips shooting up faster than the pace of the barbell, which will cause your
torso angle to shift forward.
When to use:
Use this squat cue when you want to switch directions from eccentric to concentric.
The rst movement out of the bottom of the squat should be using your quads to drive
the oor away. If you struggle with using your quads, then your glutes will be
responsible for assisting with the movement, which will cause your hips to shoot up
quicker than the pace of the barbell. You’ll know if you have this problem if your torso
angle becomes more horizontal to the oor.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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08
Squat Cue #8: Drive Your
Shoulders Back And Up
Into The Barbell
Push your shoulders back and up into the barbell as you drive out
of the bottom
Movement goal:
The goal of “drive your shoulders back and up into the bar” is to help maintain upper
back tightness during the bottom and mid-range of the movement. In addition, this cue
will allow you to maintain an optimal torso angle when squatting up from the bottom,
which should remain unchanged from how your torso looked squatting down.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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Other commonly used cues:
Traps through the bar
Traps up
Stand straight up
Press up into the bar
How to implement:
As you stand up out of the bottom of the squat, think about pushing your upper back
into the barbell.
Avoid arching your chest up, which will hyper-extend your spine. Continue to maintain
the ‘ribs down’ position previously discussed.
When to use:
Use this squat cue as you’re driving through the bottom and mid-range of the
movement. This cue will be helpful for lifters who have their hips rise before the chest
out of the hole (aka the good morning squat), or generally struggle with keeping their
torso angle the same as how it looked when squatting downward. I also nd that
cueing a part of the body that is closer to the barbell when grinding out a squat can
have more of an impact on the success of the movement than thinking about your feet,
knees, hips, or any other body part.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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09
Squat Cue #9:
Accelerate Through
The Lift
Drive fast regardless of the weight
Movement goal:
The goal of “accelerate through the lift” is to ensure lifters are applying maximum force
at all times. Sometimes lifters can get lazy under sub-maximal loads with how ‘hard’
they push the barbell. This is because they are only applying the minimum amount of
force necessary to overcome the resistance. However, it should always be the case that
lifters are practicing maximum force application, regardless of the load on the barbell.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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Other commonly used cues:
Push through
Drive through
Squat fast
Keep pushing
How to implement:
Be mindful that you want to squat as fast as possible on the way up no matter the load
on the barbell or number of reps performed.
Even under 60% of 1RM loads, you want to think about driving up out of the hole fast,
accelerating through the mid-range, and continuing to carry that momentum into the
lockout.
If you have a sticking point, make sure that once you are passed your sticking point
that you continue driving quickly. Avoid slowing down just because you know the ‘hard
part’ of the movement is over.
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When to use:
Use this squat cue as you drive out of the bottom of the squat. This cue is particularly
useful under sub-maximal loads in order to train your body to ‘move quickly’. Once
you’ve developed this habit of always ‘driving fast’, then under heavier weights, it will
be second-nature. It’s important to recognize that even if the barbell is moving slowly
(because it’s a heavy load), you still want to think about moving quickly, It’s the
intention of moving the barbell fast that actually matters.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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10
The One Squat Cue You
Should Never Use:
“Chest Up”
One of the worst cues you can use while squatting is “CHEST UP”.
This is because using a chest up cue will over extend the low and mid-back, which puts
your spine and torso in a disadvantaged position. But also, by extending through your
spine, you’re losing your core activation that will ultimately stabilize the movement and
allow you to transfer energy e ciently through your limbs.
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The reason why people cue ‘chest up’ is for the following reasons:
They want to avoid having their hips shoot up out of the bottom of the squat.
They want to maintain their torso angle while squatting up.
They want to prevent the barbell from pushing their upper back forward.
For each of these reasons why lifters use the ‘chest up’ cue, they can be accomplished
by using one of the other cues mentioned in this article, while avoiding any of the
negative consequences that comes with it.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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11
Final
Thoughts
When you’re implementing squat cues into your training, remember that you can only
use one or two at a time. You need to identify the movement outcome that is your main
priority and use a cue that will help you accomplish it. Many of the squat cues
discussed relate closely to one another. So it’s likely that if you implement one cue
properly that you’ll be taking care of several cues in the process without having to overthink them.
9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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12
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Techniques
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These are principles that every lifter must understand before trying to optimize
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9 Squat Cues To Improve Technique (And 1 You Should Not Do)
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