Light squat
Quadriceps, glutes, adductors; back and core as stabilisers.
How to do it
- Set the bar in the rack at chest height. Get under it and rest it on your traps (not on your neck).
- Grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders, lift your chest and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
- Unrack the bar, take 2-3 steps back and set your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out.
- Take a breath, brace your abs and lower yourself by moving your hips back and down at the same time, knees tracking over your toes.
- Go down until your hips are level with your knees or a little lower, keeping your back neutral.
- Stand up by pushing the floor with your whole foot, breathing out at the end.
Cues
- Weight spread over the whole foot (heel, base of the big toe and base of the little toe).
- Knees out, following your toes.
- Chest up, eyes forward or slightly down.
Common mistakes
- Knees caving in on the way up.
- Heels lifting off the floor.
- Rounding the lower back at the very bottom (an exaggerated "butt wink").
- Hips rising before the chest (turns the squat into a "good morning").
Same technique as the heavy squat, but with less weight: use it to polish your form, lower under control (2-3 s) and practise bracing. If you tend to arch your lower back or flare your ribs: don't overdo the arch when you lift your chest. Close your ribs as you breathe in (think of filling your belly and sides with air, not of raising your chest).
Photos: free-exercise-db (public domain).
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