I don't take roids or anything, nor do I have a certification in anything, but you can toss out all this influencer stuff, because it's just rehash nonsense. It has nothing to do with mobility, either, and there's zero need to elevate heels. Look, just get under a bar, stand with feet shoulder width, toes pointed out like 30 degrees. Now the important part- rotate heels out until feet are pointed straight. Squat down. If it feels weird, just use a slightly wider stance, but those feet gotta be kept straight. All this other stuff is recycled, unnecessary fluff. Try it.
As someone with longer legs and shorter torso, for very long time, I thought that me not being upright while squatting was because my technique was bad. I can't tell you how much I cursed myself for it. It was before quite some time that I learnt this. Wish I knew that before. Anyways, thanks for addressing this issue, Eugene ❤️. This will save many people a lot of terrible heartache.
Can you tellme what variation you do? I'm a long legs and shorter torso guy too and I feel more tension on my lower back than on my legs everytime squat 🙁
@@yodapapu8752 Front squats for the win! My leg day consists of: 1. Barbell front squats 2. Dumbbell Bulgarian split squats/ Heel elevated dumbbell goblet squats 3. Leg extensions/Landmine squats I find that people with longer femurs benefit immensely from heel elevation. As far as training the posterior chain is concerned, there are innumerable options for us. My favourite is the RDL.
@@MahirParekh Front squats feel so much better for me but my problem with them is that my shoulders and arms and upper back tend to fail before the legs. My legs can handle more weight then I can hold.
I started doing heel elevated squats and it eliminated my lower back pain and I can squat deeper. I never knew femur length had anything to do with this! Thanks Eugene! Also I found the Zercher squat to be a good alternative to front squats.
I have long legs and great ankle mobility but that lowe back pain/tightness has always been my issue. Im gonna take your advice and try the heel elevation regularly.
I remember my professor telling me that people often consume and take in a lot of knowledge and information but in a superficial and surface level to appear intellectually good but he pointed out that there will be a disparity between your knowledge and your action.
@@coacheugeneteo I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. He is the way, the truth, the life. In Jesus Christ name. Amen. I am becoming more powerful and more perfect. My name is KingGod Shawn Sang Ik Kim. Thanks
Basically what he Bible says - be doers of the word , not hearers only. Knowledge profits little without application. The word of God is also likened to seed and the human heart like different types of soil. The seed can be stolen by birds or it can be fully received and produce much fruit.
As someone with extremely long femurs, I was able to squat much deeper after playing around with my stance width and pointing my toes out more. This allowed me to squat much deeper and more upright.
What tremendously helped me get those good atg squats - front squats, a bit wider stance and toes pointed out. If you haven’t tried front squats I definitely reccomend them, just makes your squats “squattier” lol
Depth is a concern to a degree, but something to consider with wider stances is are you moving away from intended muscle target to different areas of your body. Just something to think on
Yes please, would love a video on deadlift! Also, talking about individual differences...I am a female with very small hands and when I deadlift I am almost dropping the barbell, not because I can't handle the weight but because I am losing the grip. If you could talk about this, I would love to hear your ideas on how to work with this issue 🙏
For me this has been such a great video. I’m tall and lanky and always felt awkward when comparing myself to other smaller people who seem to squat perfectly. This helps me understand that I’m doing ok after all. Thanks man.
I really appreciate someone speaking about this. I was always frustrated because the traditional squat method never really worked for me, and I had similar back pain all the time. I found out that front squats work best for me, but it's really frustrating that it took me so long to learn why things weren't working for me when they worked for everyone else.
Reaffirms how great my PT was. Recognizing my forward lean was due to my way above average height for a woman and tighter hip/hamstrings postpartum. Immediately we worked on elevating the heel and front squat variations along with hip/hamstring strength/mobility and yeah I've seen a lot of improvement. On my bodyweight and warm up set I can hit full range of motion in a back squat. I still have to elevate my heels once I add significant weight but after almost 2 years it has improved a lot.
This is brilliant. I am a 5'11" female and have always had to lean quite far forward in order to squat and keep my knees in a proper position. For the longest time I have watched all sorts of people doing squats. Shorter people always make squats look effortless. I get a lot of strain on my lower back when I squat, and feel like I never can get to the point where my legs are engaged as much as they could be. I have elevated my heels before and it makes a HUGE difference in my form, but I always felt guilty for "cheating". Even my husband who is 6'4" can squat with a more upright position than myself. Even though he is taller than me, we are proportioned different. I have a shorter torso compared to the length of my legs, and my husband is pretty evenly split between the two. This video put my mind at ease. I'm going to try elevating my heels from now on and see if I can get more gains in my legs and less strain on my back!!
I love squatting with heel elevation, it lets me go ass too grass with zero lower back pain. I hated squats because I couldn't get my quads to reach failure, but with heel elevation I'm beginning to like squatting more than leg pressing (my previous favorite).
This has worked for me too I’m 6’2 with most of my height in my femurs squatting has always been uncomfortable for me but I’ve found recently that’s heels elevated squats or wall squats work good for my quads and my hip
This is excellent! Everyone should see this video before beginning to do barbell squats! I am 68 years old and continue to learn valuable tips from your videos. Thank you seems hardly adequate!
Incredibly great advice! The heel elevation fixed the strain on my lower back immediately. I spent so much time trying to force my back to be straight. Little did I know that understanding my personal structure was the key to better form.
WOW, as a beginner (5 months of lifting) this is the kind of advice I always needed to hear. Started doing back squat for quads and always suffered from lower back pain since I have an extremely short torso, always felt disappointed for not being able to improve without hurting my lower back. I had to ditch the exercice completely since I didn't want to waste time learning how to squat. I don't want to do program hopping right now so I'll wait a little bit before going back to barbell squats. I am saving your video for futur reference, thx a lot.
@@Hoppitot I feel like I am still progressing in the leg press, and I am still fresh from my lower back injury, RDL is enough of a stress already, if I swap for squats I'll need to maybe change the deadlift form too. I just want to keep my options as available as possible
The lifting straps on the front squat is genius! Thank you! I have watched your previous squat mechanics video, along with others, and appreciate the materials that you put out. Thanks again!
Heel elevation has really helped my squat. I also took your advice from another video related to form checks to fix my squat technique. Slowing down the eccentric part of the movement feels so much better.
When I started lifting way back when, the less than helpful gym owner told me I squatted like an old man. I would fall over if keeping my back straight. Flaring my knees out seems to help get a deeper squat and somehow my ankle mobility has increased 35 years later. Your videos have really helped me. Thanks!
Maybe an unintended consequence, but this video really helped me with some self acceptance I struggle with. Thank you for posting it, and for the honest thumbnail. Subscribed, never seen or heard of you before now! 🤝🏻
Lucid times one million. Excellent. My structure is similar to Katrina's. Buying a wedge has helped me. I get about a 1 inch raise under my heels and my back fatigue (and hip fatigue, too) has eased. Also, I feel it in my quads much more the next day or two (used to be just a vague 'spread-around' fatigue; now it is definitely quad-centered). Before buying the wedge, I also spent a year learning to do a good front squat. Those are great, too.
Great video. I always thought I had to do back squats just because I was 'supposed to'. I hated doing them as I felt I had to lean so far forward and it felt really uncomfortable. I recently switched to doing front squats and now I love squatting.
There's no reason that you 'HAVE TO' do squats in general... You can just do isolation exercises to work the same muscles even though it might increase training time. There are many trainers that force you to do compound movements but then there are others (more qualified imo) that know how to upgrade the training for your goals and needs.
@@tigertamerz7257 if a trainer is using tons of isolation work and you can do compounds they are giving you less value for your time. Training is expensive so many trainers are trying to give you the most out of the limited time you have together. Sounds like you prefer the ones that are milking you for more money by giving less value per session 🤔.
@@dmanzawsome Not trainers that charge by the hour... there are trainers that do package deals and don't charge based on time. I'm talking about mentors that talk about this, I haven't been scammed by anyone since I wasn't charged for the information.
As a taller lifter with long legs and tight hamstrings, I have found that the best quad and glute focused squat for me is the Bulgarian split squat, which you highlighted in another video. I use a wide powerlifter style back squat as a back and hamstring exercise that gives me a little quad activity as a bonus. Can't say enough good things about the balance benefits of single leg exercises. Lunges can also be great
Uncle Eugene. I love you. I love that the education and messages you send about fitness come across in a way that’s clear, concise and from a place of passion and love. Thank you! ❤️🧠
Thank you Eugene! My squat form as a long femured person has gone through a lottt of improvement and about half that improvement has come from your past videos! I started out barely even half repping, then working on my ankle mobility and getting better. Then fixing my stance (wider and toes out). Then working on hip mobility. Now I can squat to parallel and the only thing was the leaning forward thing, which Im now ok with thanks to this video. Thank you ♥️ squat university + this channel are >>>>
Omg this! I’ve trained and researched long enough to know that the worst thing you can do is critique and train others to use the same form. Very detrimental I’ve found, which has driven why I don’t copy others much at the gym. Thanks!!!
Just swapped to the elevated back loaded squats and doing the kneesovertoes guy stuff too. Finally able to go super deep, feel everything in the lift, etc. Highly recommend!
I am SOOOOO glad you explained this! Seems like an ongoing discussion whether or not you're doing these right yet people don't think about body structure. This was perfect 👌
after 5 + years of lifting, I never thought something was off until I started hitting actually heavy squats and the lower back pain came out of nowhere. I started losing hope because It seemed like everything else was not painful but the barbell squats after a certain weight, and obviously getting painful way before I felt my legs tiring out. thank you soooooo much for this great content!!! therapists just told me to lower my weight or stop squatting lol!
I have long femurs and a short torso and after years of thinking it was my technique that was wrong (or that I simply wasnt strong enough) this finally answers all my questions!! Thank you so much! No one ever seems to talk about this when talking squat technique!
Great video topic. I feel like a lot of people just yell, “Stay upright, toes more forward!” Without giving anyone help on how to accomplish the goal. Alan Thrall and Quinn Hennoch had similar videos, but most others don’t give any helpful how-to’s. At this point I can squat several inches below parallel, but when I do, my hamstrings don’t rest on my calves like Lu Xiaojun. I can get well below parallel, but my proportions won’t allow me to get a true ATG squat.
When I first started lifting, I loved squatting but I ended up with a coach with a very 50:50 legs:torso body that was trying to get me to squat upright like him. I physically couldn’t do it and started hating the exercise because trying to stay upright was so frustrating. thankfully 2 years later a coach explained that i had some of the longest femurs he’d ever seen and it was normal. (when I pull my knees into my body, my knee touches my nose) I eventually completely switched to front squats without the guidance of a coach because it felt way more comfortable. Recently I was feeling like maybe I “need” to do back squats but this video was very validating. Thank you
Thanks for making a video for us short torso'd long femur'd folks! I definitely struggle with squats for the reasons mentioned. I also found that I get adductor strains and super bad DOMs even though I didn't really push myself. Front squats or goblet squats really helped me avoid some of that.
EXCELLENT VIDEO! I have super long femurs and now I finally understand why squatting has been so difficult. Working on ankle mobility has helped significantly! Thanks...
This is why oly lifters have been a game changer for me. Using close to 1 inch elevation allows me to stay more upright and fully utilize my quads rather than my lower back and glutes trying to fight to do most of the work.
Loved this video. Us grasshopper-legged lifters get told on the regular that it's our fault for not feeling good in our squats. It's nice having the science broken down.
My lower back hurts when I'm a few reps into squatting and I could never go down below parallel, which made me substitute back squats for Bulgarian split squats. But after seeing this, I'll give the heel elevated squat a shot ! Thank you for the informative video !
OOOHHHH I have a long femur so I was always interested in why I wasn't able to dip as deeply compared to my shorter friends. Thanks for making me feel like I'm not doing anything wrong!
Thank you for posting this. I have been playing with my stance, wearing squat shoes, low bar squat and so many other things for years and it doesn’t seem to matter. I look exactly like the woman in your video. I have been so frustrated. I did recently just start front squatting with a kettle bell just to keep up strength and mobility.
5:25 to 6:10 is severely underrated, and something that is often learned through lengthy trial and error for many people. All of the cues and bits of info should be supplemental to the core principles of the actual movement itself (squat, deadlift, bench, olympic lifts, etc.) by filling gaps in your knowledge. But they shouldn't be taking up as much headspace as the main cues and reasoning behind why they're done that way. Idk if Eugene's program/website is good, but if it seems worthwhile, go for it. One thing I REALLY wish I had done early on was to go to an olympic weightlifting gym or find a coach to dial in my squat. Had I set up a proper foundation early on and just worked based off of that, I could've achieved much better results AND had proper technique. Instead I spent close to a year's time slowly dialing in my squat, even until now. The knowledge a good coach possesses, or in this case, the program/website can give you, can eliminate an enormous amount of trial and error on your part.
Such a great video. My lower back gets so pumped up when I do squats, and my form is solid. I always thought it was just because my lower back was weak. I understand now.. thanks for the informative videos
This is one of the greatest if not THE greatest video I've seen on how to properly perform a squat based off of body structure. Thank you so much for this information. I will definitely have to start applying some of the techniques demonstrated in this video. Well done!
I vibe with this video. I have a short torso and back squats is so uncomfortable. I've been doing zercher squats (sad it wasn't in the video) instead and now leg days are so much more comfortable. 5/5 advice 10/10 hair
Great video, Eugene. I struggled with my squats for YEARS because all basic tips very completly useless. My angle mobility was bad but that wasnt the only problem. I had to find the right stance and learn how my body can perform the exercise in the best way. I recommend anyone to keep working on the squat technique. It is so much more important than the weight you can squat. If you can squat very well, the weight you can move will blow up. Learning to squat in a better way is always worth it and information about how different people with different bodies can improve their squat is highly appreciated.
Very useful information. Now I feel less frustrated when doing barbell squat and more comprehensible when seeing anyone doing that excerscise. Can't wait for leg day to try the advises given in here . Much appreciated
Ok, I'm like Katrina! Great quality content, to the point, thanks a lot Eugene! Now I want to go measure my body segments, and learn how to deal with myself :)
Wow, one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. I’ve been binge watching squat videos recently and filming and analysing my technique and also playing with squat wedges /angles and Doing the knees over toes zero book. But this video just really made some things clear. I thought I had long femurs and now I see from the video what’s going on and that I have to lean forward and low to maintain my balance on a bodyweight squat. Holding a weight play or dumbbell out in front I think would help me sit more upright , which would help keep my lower back from rounding and then allow me to sink deeper into the squat. If using a barbell I think some sort of front squat would work for me instead of back Thankyou !! 👍
Thank you so much Eugene! I can always count on your content to bring reassurance and an open-minded approach. After playing around with my stance width and squatting in a more agreeable position for my long femur body type, my lower back feels A LOT less fatigued
Excellent video. Very informative. Kind of reinforced why I'm doing squats with heel elevation. They feel a lot better and also I'm very prone to achilles tendonitis so for me it is probably even more important reason than keeping upright.
I just fixed my squat yesterday after months and months of trying to clean it up. The bar and midfoot thing really made my butt go up first either I'm high bar or low bar. And I've been doing that for months with trying wider stance, not going too low, everything. I found out the best stance for me is not go midfoot bar path and stand more upright with my low bar. I cleaned that shit up like right away and I'm sooooo fucking happy rn that I did. Now I could do progressive overload with it now my form is almost squeaky clean. I'm more form than load oriented anyway so, I'm pretty proud on that
Another factor is internal and external rotation of the hip. My physiotherapist said I shouldnt be squatting at all since my left side of hip have great external rotation, and my right side of hip have great internal rotation. So ideally my squat would look like my left leg should be angled while my right leg should be aligned straight.
Heel elevation helps me ass to grass which I’ve found gives me less knee and back pain compared to parallel. One of my knees is straight the other isn’t so my body is really weird.
Wow! Thanks for this! I like front squats more and have good depth there. But i cannot squat deeper in back squat without loosing my balance. I can only go till legs are parallel to the ground. So, thanks for thr clarity here. That it is okay. And that doing heel elevated back squat is better approach for me.
Excellent video! Love this! You can also adjust the squat by widening the feet and turning the feet out. This allows a more upright position as well. Good work in this video. More people need this information.
I have longer femur too and were taught with back squats to place the bar lower down on to my upper back as opposed to higher up on my traps, to alter my centre of gravity and reduce bending forward
since I put my heels on 2.5 kg plates my squats have got better before they use to be more like good mornings most of my back was doing the work then my legs I don't have flexibly ankles im working on it will take time to improve
Genuine question! Why do a ton of people opt for flat shoes such as Converse for leg day? I never know what shoes to buy and I'm personally no comfortable going barefoot in my commercial gym. Thank yoooou
Elevating the heels also allows you to function as if you had more ankle dorsiflexion. A little surprised you didn’t also address turning out the legs from the hips to shorten the effective femur length, in terms of leverage.
I'm currently in love with using heel elevations for my front squats. I never knew before how much I was incorporating my back and core to move the weight instead of fully utilizing my quads.
![Squat Form For Your Anatomy [Perfect Depth Stance And Width]](/img/n.gif)
I don't take roids or anything, nor do I have a certification in anything, but you can toss out all this influencer stuff, because it's just rehash nonsense. It has nothing to do with mobility, either, and there's zero need to elevate heels. Look, just get under a bar, stand with feet shoulder width, toes pointed out like 30 degrees. Now the important part- rotate heels out until feet are pointed straight. Squat down. If it feels weird, just use a slightly wider stance, but those feet gotta be kept straight. All this other stuff is recycled, unnecessary fluff.
Try it.
6 words in and you know the rest is going to be bullshit
I became stupider after reading this.
Tried it your way. Felt weird while doing it. Almost like there's a mobility issue preventing me from doing it. Huh...
This guy is not as bad as you think. At least he came to the right channel and watch the video so there’s hope for him yet 👍
Stop spreading misinformation just because you built big quads from carrying around your oversized ego all day.
As someone with longer legs and shorter torso, for very long time, I thought that me not being upright while squatting was because my technique was bad. I can't tell you how much I cursed myself for it. It was before quite some time that I learnt this. Wish I knew that before.
Anyways, thanks for addressing this issue, Eugene ❤️. This will save many people a lot of terrible heartache.
Thank you! 🙏 glad it helps
Can you tellme what variation you do?
I'm a long legs and shorter torso guy too and I feel more tension on my lower back than on my legs everytime squat 🙁
@@yodapapu8752 Front squats for the win! My leg day consists of:
1. Barbell front squats
2. Dumbbell Bulgarian split squats/ Heel elevated dumbbell goblet squats
3. Leg extensions/Landmine squats
I find that people with longer femurs benefit immensely from heel elevation.
As far as training the posterior chain is concerned, there are innumerable options for us. My favourite is the RDL.
@@yodapapu8752 another benefit of front squats is that when you fail, you can very easily get out of them. Just drop the bar on the safety pins.
@@MahirParekh Front squats feel so much better for me but my problem with them is that my shoulders and arms and upper back tend to fail before the legs. My legs can handle more weight then I can hold.
I started doing heel elevated squats and it eliminated my lower back pain and I can squat deeper. I never knew femur length had anything to do with this! Thanks Eugene! Also I found the Zercher squat to be a good alternative to front squats.
Awesome!! Zerchers are great too
Yes zercher are very good, I began with them as they did not require as much mobility than front and back squats. It was a great idea!
I have long legs and great ankle mobility but that lowe back pain/tightness has always been my issue. Im gonna take your advice and try the heel elevation regularly.
I’m 6’4 and I never understood why I could never get a deep squat without falling over or folding. Thank you for this information.
6’8” here. I feel ya. Taking a wider stance helps me a lot
I remember my professor telling me that people often consume and take in a lot of knowledge and information but in a superficial and surface level to appear intellectually good but he pointed out that there will be a disparity between your knowledge and your action.
That's really well put!
@@coacheugeneteo I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. He is the way, the truth, the life. In Jesus Christ name. Amen. I am becoming more powerful and more perfect. My name is KingGod Shawn Sang Ik Kim. Thanks
Basically what he Bible says - be doers of the word , not hearers only. Knowledge profits little without application. The word of God is also likened to seed and the human heart like different types of soil. The seed can be stolen by birds or it can be fully received and produce much fruit.
@@boobee2511 greetings from Scotland. I’m sorry, I’m not quite understanding your question
As someone with extremely long femurs, I was able to squat much deeper after playing around with my stance width and pointing my toes out more. This allowed me to squat much deeper and more upright.
As a fellow long legged dude I found the same
What tremendously helped me get those good atg squats - front squats, a bit wider stance and toes pointed out. If you haven’t tried front squats I definitely reccomend them, just makes your squats “squattier” lol
Depth is a concern to a degree, but something to consider with wider stances is are you moving away from intended muscle target to different areas of your body. Just something to think on
This was insanely informational and bloody damn useful! Could you do smth like this on the deadlift?
Sure!
Yes please, that would be so helpful!!!!
Yes please, would love a video on deadlift! Also, talking about individual differences...I am a female with very small hands and when I deadlift I am almost dropping the barbell, not because I can't handle the weight but because I am losing the grip. If you could talk about this, I would love to hear your ideas on how to work with this issue 🙏
For me this has been such a great video. I’m tall and lanky and always felt awkward when comparing myself to other smaller people who seem to squat perfectly. This helps me understand that I’m doing ok after all. Thanks man.
Glad to hear it 🙏🙏
I really appreciate someone speaking about this. I was always frustrated because the traditional squat method never really worked for me, and I had similar back pain all the time. I found out that front squats work best for me, but it's really frustrating that it took me so long to learn why things weren't working for me when they worked for everyone else.
Glad it was helpful!
Reaffirms how great my PT was. Recognizing my forward lean was due to my way above average height for a woman and tighter hip/hamstrings postpartum. Immediately we worked on elevating the heel and front squat variations along with hip/hamstring strength/mobility and yeah I've seen a lot of improvement. On my bodyweight and warm up set I can hit full range of motion in a back squat. I still have to elevate my heels once I add significant weight but after almost 2 years it has improved a lot.
Well done 🙂
This is brilliant. I am a 5'11" female and have always had to lean quite far forward in order to squat and keep my knees in a proper position. For the longest time I have watched all sorts of people doing squats. Shorter people always make squats look effortless. I get a lot of strain on my lower back when I squat, and feel like I never can get to the point where my legs are engaged as much as they could be. I have elevated my heels before and it makes a HUGE difference in my form, but I always felt guilty for "cheating".
Even my husband who is 6'4" can squat with a more upright position than myself. Even though he is taller than me, we are proportioned different. I have a shorter torso compared to the length of my legs, and my husband is pretty evenly split between the two. This video put my mind at ease. I'm going to try elevating my heels from now on and see if I can get more gains in my legs and less strain on my back!!
I love squatting with heel elevation, it lets me go ass too grass with zero lower back pain. I hated squats because I couldn't get my quads to reach failure, but with heel elevation I'm beginning to like squatting more than leg pressing (my previous favorite).
Awesome!!
This has worked for me too I’m 6’2 with most of my height in my femurs squatting has always been uncomfortable for me but I’ve found recently that’s heels elevated squats or wall squats work good for my quads and my hip
This is excellent! Everyone should see this video before beginning to do barbell squats! I am 68 years old and continue to learn valuable tips from your videos. Thank you seems hardly adequate!
Thank you! 🙏
Incredibly great advice! The heel elevation fixed the strain on my lower back immediately. I spent so much time trying to force my back to be straight. Little did I know that understanding my personal structure was the key to better form.
WOW, as a beginner (5 months of lifting) this is the kind of advice I always needed to hear. Started doing back squat for quads and always suffered from lower back pain since I have an extremely short torso, always felt disappointed for not being able to improve without hurting my lower back. I had to ditch the exercice completely since I didn't want to waste time learning how to squat. I don't want to do program hopping right now so I'll wait a little bit before going back to barbell squats. I am saving your video for futur reference, thx a lot.
Good luck mate! Glad this helped you 😄🙏
You dont need to completely change program. You could just swap an excerise or so
@@Hoppitot I feel like I am still progressing in the leg press, and I am still fresh from my lower back injury, RDL is enough of a stress already, if I swap for squats I'll need to maybe change the deadlift form too. I just want to keep my options as available as possible
@@yacineacheroufkebir5658 well if you're injured its a completely different story.
The lifting straps on the front squat is genius! Thank you! I have watched your previous squat mechanics video, along with others, and appreciate the materials that you put out. Thanks again!
Thank you! 🙏
Heel elevation has really helped my squat. I also took your advice from another video related to form checks to fix my squat technique. Slowing down the eccentric part of the movement feels so much better.
Excellent
Ok this is the best explanation i have seen so far on the internet. Kudos Eugene & Crew.
Thank you! 🙏
When I started lifting way back when, the less than helpful gym owner told me I squatted like an old man. I would fall over if keeping my back straight.
Flaring my knees out seems to help get a deeper squat and somehow my ankle mobility has increased 35 years later. Your videos have really helped me. Thanks!
Awesome!
Maybe an unintended consequence, but this video really helped me with some self acceptance I struggle with. Thank you for posting it, and for the honest thumbnail.
Subscribed, never seen or heard of you before now! 🤝🏻
Thank you! 🙏
Thank you for delving into body mechanics. Most people tend to use one size fits all thinking. I for one, appreciate your deeper thought process.
Thank you! 🙏
Lucid times one million. Excellent. My structure is similar to Katrina's. Buying a wedge has helped me. I get about a 1 inch raise under my heels and my back fatigue (and hip fatigue, too) has eased. Also, I feel it in my quads much more the next day or two (used to be just a vague 'spread-around' fatigue; now it is definitely quad-centered). Before buying the wedge, I also spent a year learning to do a good front squat. Those are great, too.
Great video. I always thought I had to do back squats just because I was 'supposed to'. I hated doing them as I felt I had to lean so far forward and it felt really uncomfortable. I recently switched to doing front squats and now I love squatting.
So good to hear
Front squat gang
There's no reason that you 'HAVE TO' do squats in general... You can just do isolation exercises to work the same muscles even though it might increase training time.
There are many trainers that force you to do compound movements but then there are others (more qualified imo) that know how to upgrade the training for your goals and needs.
@@tigertamerz7257 if a trainer is using tons of isolation work and you can do compounds they are giving you less value for your time.
Training is expensive so many trainers are trying to give you the most out of the limited time you have together. Sounds like you prefer the ones that are milking you for more money by giving less value per session 🤔.
@@dmanzawsome Not trainers that charge by the hour... there are trainers that do package deals and don't charge based on time.
I'm talking about mentors that talk about this, I haven't been scammed by anyone since I wasn't charged for the information.
As a taller lifter with long legs and tight hamstrings, I have found that the best quad and glute focused squat for me is the Bulgarian split squat, which you highlighted in another video. I use a wide powerlifter style back squat as a back and hamstring exercise that gives me a little quad activity as a bonus. Can't say enough good things about the balance benefits of single leg exercises. Lunges can also be great
Uncle Eugene. I love you.
I love that the education and messages you send about fitness come across in a way that’s clear, concise and from a place of passion and love. Thank you! ❤️🧠
Thank you! 🙏
Thank you Eugene! My squat form as a long femured person has gone through a lottt of improvement and about half that improvement has come from your past videos! I started out barely even half repping, then working on my ankle mobility and getting better. Then fixing my stance (wider and toes out). Then working on hip mobility. Now I can squat to parallel and the only thing was the leaning forward thing, which Im now ok with thanks to this video. Thank you ♥️ squat university + this channel are >>>>
Really informative and bringing new things to the discussion.
Good work as always.
Thank you! 🙏
Omg this! I’ve trained and researched long enough to know that the worst thing you can do is critique and train others to use the same form. Very detrimental I’ve found, which has driven why I don’t copy others much at the gym. Thanks!!!
Just swapped to the elevated back loaded squats and doing the kneesovertoes guy stuff too. Finally able to go super deep, feel everything in the lift, etc. Highly recommend!
I am SOOOOO glad you explained this! Seems like an ongoing discussion whether or not you're doing these right yet people don't think about body structure. This was perfect 👌
after 5 + years of lifting, I never thought something was off until I started hitting actually heavy squats and the lower back pain came out of nowhere. I started losing hope because It seemed like everything else was not painful but the barbell squats after a certain weight, and obviously getting painful way before I felt my legs tiring out. thank you soooooo much for this great content!!! therapists just told me to lower my weight or stop squatting lol!
A very overlooked and under discussed factor and topic. Thanks Eugene.
Thank you! 🙏
I have long femurs and a short torso and after years of thinking it was my technique that was wrong (or that I simply wasnt strong enough) this finally answers all my questions!! Thank you so much! No one ever seems to talk about this when talking squat technique!
I always appreciate any advice improving my squats! 👍
I have really long legs and a short torso, and have always struggled with back squats. This is really helpful. Thanks u!
I love not only the great information, but also the calm and relaxing demeanour.
Just a side note: your voice is incredibly relaxing in this, especially with this mic. Like, it's bordering on ASMR.
Great video, thanks Eugene. Now I know why I favour the front squat more with my longer legs. Cheers dude.
🙏🙏
Great video topic. I feel like a lot of people just yell, “Stay upright, toes more forward!” Without giving anyone help on how to accomplish the goal. Alan Thrall and Quinn Hennoch had similar videos, but most others don’t give any helpful how-to’s. At this point I can squat several inches below parallel, but when I do, my hamstrings don’t rest on my calves like Lu Xiaojun. I can get well below parallel, but my proportions won’t allow me to get a true ATG squat.
Could also try squatting low bar with a wider stance that’s what helped me
Best video that I ever saw about the matter.
Thank you! 🙏
When I first started lifting, I loved squatting but I ended up with a coach with a very 50:50 legs:torso body that was trying to get me to squat upright like him. I physically couldn’t do it and started hating the exercise because trying to stay upright was so frustrating. thankfully 2 years later a coach explained that i had some of the longest femurs he’d ever seen and it was normal. (when I pull my knees into my body, my knee touches my nose) I eventually completely switched to front squats without the guidance of a coach because it felt way more comfortable. Recently I was feeling like maybe I “need” to do back squats but this video was very validating. Thank you
thanks for making a video about me and the story of my life
This is gold!! I need to watch this one like 2o times🤙🏾🙏🏾👏🏾
Thank you! 🙏
Dude you speak with clarity and precision.
Thank you! 🙏
Thanks for making a video for us short torso'd long femur'd folks! I definitely struggle with squats for the reasons mentioned. I also found that I get adductor strains and super bad DOMs even though I didn't really push myself. Front squats or goblet squats really helped me avoid some of that.
EXCELLENT VIDEO! I have super long femurs and now I finally understand why squatting has been so difficult. Working on ankle mobility has helped significantly! Thanks...
Thank you! This is the most in depth information I’ve ever come across. I look forward to exploring your channel as a new subscriber. 😊
This is why oly lifters have been a game changer for me. Using close to 1 inch elevation allows me to stay more upright and fully utilize my quads rather than my lower back and glutes trying to fight to do most of the work.
you are a man who is good at his job.
Loved this video. Us grasshopper-legged lifters get told on the regular that it's our fault for not feeling good in our squats. It's nice having the science broken down.
LOL - I love that glass "tripod!" You should see how I jury rig stuff here. One does what one must! Always good content. Thanks, Eugene!
you have GOT to be kidding me! this was such an informative video, I can't wait to share with my friends.
Thank you! 🙏
My lower back hurts when I'm a few reps into squatting and I could never go down below parallel, which made me substitute back squats for Bulgarian split squats. But after seeing this, I'll give the heel elevated squat a shot !
Thank you for the informative video !
Try front squats
OOOHHHH I have a long femur so I was always interested in why I wasn't able to dip as deeply compared to my shorter friends. Thanks for making me feel like I'm not doing anything wrong!
omfg thank you for this. for the longest time I couldn't understand why I had to lean so far forward!
Great video! Clears up a lot of the reasons why I've never been able to do Back Squats with correct form.
Thank you for posting this. I have been playing with my stance, wearing squat shoes, low bar squat and so many other things for years and it doesn’t seem to matter. I look exactly like the woman in your video. I have been so frustrated. I did recently just start front squatting with a kettle bell just to keep up strength and mobility.
5:25 to 6:10 is severely underrated, and something that is often learned through lengthy trial and error for many people.
All of the cues and bits of info should be supplemental to the core principles of the actual movement itself (squat, deadlift, bench, olympic lifts, etc.) by filling gaps in your knowledge. But they shouldn't be taking up as much headspace as the main cues and reasoning behind why they're done that way.
Idk if Eugene's program/website is good, but if it seems worthwhile, go for it. One thing I REALLY wish I had done early on was to go to an olympic weightlifting gym or find a coach to dial in my squat. Had I set up a proper foundation early on and just worked based off of that, I could've achieved much better results AND had proper technique. Instead I spent close to a year's time slowly dialing in my squat, even until now. The knowledge a good coach possesses, or in this case, the program/website can give you, can eliminate an enormous amount of trial and error on your part.
Such a great video. My lower back gets so pumped up when I do squats, and my form is solid. I always thought it was just because my lower back was weak. I understand now.. thanks for the informative videos
This is one of the greatest if not THE greatest video I've seen on how to properly perform a squat based off of body structure. Thank you so much for this information. I will definitely have to start applying some of the techniques demonstrated in this video. Well done!
I vibe with this video. I have a short torso and back squats is so uncomfortable.
I've been doing zercher squats (sad it wasn't in the video) instead and now leg days are so much more comfortable.
5/5 advice
10/10 hair
The time spent on this video was definitely worth it Coach 💯
Thank you! 🙏
THX for your content, uncle eugene, its always so great!
Thank you! 🙏
That's really good advice. I never saw that until you pointed it out. Great work with all your videos.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much Eugene this was absolutely informative.
Thank you! 🙏
Great video, Eugene. I struggled with my squats for YEARS because all basic tips very completly useless. My angle mobility was bad but that wasnt the only problem. I had to find the right stance and learn how my body can perform the exercise in the best way. I recommend anyone to keep working on the squat technique. It is so much more important than the weight you can squat. If you can squat very well, the weight you can move will blow up. Learning to squat in a better way is always worth it and information about how different people with different bodies can improve their squat is highly appreciated.
Finally here it comes! It's a wonderful video 👍
Thank you! 🙏
Very useful information. Now I feel less frustrated when doing barbell squat and more comprehensible when seeing anyone doing that excerscise. Can't wait for leg day to try the advises given in here . Much appreciated
I stopped doing regular barbel squats because i am like katrina, my squats tend to use more glutes and back, so now i mostly only do front squats
Nice!
Ok, I'm like Katrina! Great quality content, to the point, thanks a lot Eugene! Now I want to go measure my body segments, and learn how to deal with myself :)
Thank you thank you. I have really long thighs, and almost no torso. And these tips are a lifesaver.
Wow, one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. I’ve been binge watching squat videos recently and filming and analysing my technique and also playing with squat wedges /angles and Doing the knees over toes zero book. But this video just really made some things clear. I thought I had long femurs and now I see from the video what’s going on and that I have to lean forward and low to maintain my balance on a bodyweight squat. Holding a weight play or dumbbell out in front I think would help me sit more upright , which would help keep my lower back from rounding and then allow me to sink deeper into the squat. If using a barbell I think some sort of front squat would work for me instead of back
Thankyou !! 👍
Glad it helpedb
You’re absolutely amazing! So glad I found your page! So educational and interesting, not boring and not overly excitable. Perfect ✨
Thank you! 🙏
Loving the consistency. New subscriber, maybe you’ve always been this consistent. Either way, 🔥
Welcome!!
Thank you so much Eugene! I can always count on your content to bring reassurance and an open-minded approach. After playing around with my stance width and squatting in a more agreeable position for my long femur body type, my lower back feels A LOT less fatigued
Front Squat is an excellent Squat pattern. Also heel elevation is awesome. Everyone should have a pair of "squat" shoes.
Excellent video. Very informative. Kind of reinforced why I'm doing squats with heel elevation. They feel a lot better and also I'm very prone to achilles tendonitis so for me it is probably even more important reason than keeping upright.
Fantastic Video Eugene. Thanks for all the effort🙏
Thank you! 🙏
I just fixed my squat yesterday after months and months of trying to clean it up. The bar and midfoot thing really made my butt go up first either I'm high bar or low bar. And I've been doing that for months with trying wider stance, not going too low, everything. I found out the best stance for me is not go midfoot bar path and stand more upright with my low bar. I cleaned that shit up like right away and I'm sooooo fucking happy rn that I did. Now I could do progressive overload with it now my form is almost squeaky clean. I'm more form than load oriented anyway so, I'm pretty proud on that
Another factor is internal and external rotation of the hip. My physiotherapist said I shouldnt be squatting at all since my left side of hip have great external rotation, and my right side of hip have great internal rotation. So ideally my squat would look like my left leg should be angled while my right leg should be aligned straight.
Love the Analysis paralysis PSA. I Definitely gotta keep that in mind scrolling fitness channels.
Excellent video. I'm glad you're covering the importance of human levers when it comes to any movement.
I just love you... Thank you for being you. And thanks for the pep talk at the end...
Heel elevation helps me ass to grass which I’ve found gives me less knee and back pain compared to parallel. One of my knees is straight the other isn’t so my body is really weird.
Awesome!
Wow! Thanks for this! I like front squats more and have good depth there. But i cannot squat deeper in back squat without loosing my balance. I can only go till legs are parallel to the ground. So, thanks for thr clarity here. That it is okay. And that doing heel elevated back squat is better approach for me.
Its nice to see u back home after long tour trip❤️❤️❤️ when u gonna visit honolulu? 🥰
Hopefully next year
Excellent video! Love this! You can also adjust the squat by widening the feet and turning the feet out. This allows a more upright position as well. Good work in this video. More people need this information.
I remember reading itoje and lawes (English rugby union players) don’t squat because it hurts their back, this explains why!
I have longer femur too and were taught with back squats to place the bar lower down on to my upper back as opposed to higher up on my traps, to alter my centre of gravity and reduce bending forward
Outstanding information! This is a huge shift in how I see my squats now, as a guy with relatively long legs.
since I put my heels on 2.5 kg plates my squats have got better before they use to be more like good mornings most of my back was doing the work then my legs I don't have flexibly ankles im working on it will take time to improve
Genuine question! Why do a ton of people opt for flat shoes such as Converse for leg day? I never know what shoes to buy and I'm personally no comfortable going barefoot in my commercial gym. Thank yoooou
Just to remove the extra cushioning found in most shoes that can mess with stability
Proud to be part of the international Ganbaru gang! and yes, im subscribed to the app too
the only thing im missing is the merchandising :/ i want a hoodie and a oversized shirt
🤗🤗🤗 you're the best
There's a Storewide sale on now! Time to get some 👀👀
Amazing content as always I also love the added part to the video ✨☺️
Thank you!! 😁
Elevating the heels also allows you to function as if you had more ankle dorsiflexion.
A little surprised you didn’t also address turning out the legs from the hips to shorten the effective femur length, in terms of leverage.
Myself and my long-femured brethren thank you for this! Fantastic video
🤗🤗
I'm currently in love with using heel elevations for my front squats. I never knew before how much I was incorporating my back and core to move the weight instead of fully utilizing my quads.
High quality info subscribed!!
Thank you! 🙏😄
Best video on squats I’ve ever seen, thank you 😊