The Squat…King of the Exercises…and very easy to do wrong or have bad form in! And one of the most common issues I see in people trying to squat is the torso pitching forward as they come down into the squat.
This tip is going to help you FIX that.
Stretch the Calves HARD Before Squatting
One of the main problems that causes that pitching forward in the upper body is lack of flexibility and mobility in the calves and ankles. If your calves are tight, as soon as you start sitting down, your tight calves and ankles will block the movement. In order to continue the squat, the upper body then has to come forward to compensate.
Fixing this is simple…just stretch the calves before you squat. It can be with just about any good calf stretch, as long as you hold it for at least 30 seconds on each leg then repeat a few times.
This will improve your form pretty much immediately, especially if you do have tight calves to start with.
Nick Nilsson is known in the fitness industry as the “Mad Scientist of Muscle,” and for good reason! For more than 28 years, Nick has been creating unique, new exercises and training techniques and putting together some of the most innovative muscle-building and fat-loss programs available anywhere.
i agree with you Squats are the KING of all exercises because they are a “functional” exercise that affect your ability to live a full, healthy life. Anything from getting out of a chair, to squatting down to pick something off the floor requires squat strength. Especially as we get older, proper squat technique is absolutely critical to maintain health and longevity.
thank you
-Marc Ringer