“Wall squats” help to fix squat technique

Leaning forward on the way up is very common mistake in the squat. Constant reminders of “don’t lean forward”, “keep your back straight”, and “tighten your lower back” aren’t always enough. Sometimes I prescribe “wall squats”. In addition to helping keep the back straight, it also helps in solving knee problems. What problems exactly? The more your knees move ahead of the toes, the deeper you have to squat to reach depth. So what “wall squat” looks like? Look at this picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christophe Rebreyend (Netherland) is my tallest student. He is even taller than Kirill Sarychev (200cm vs 197cm). His knee travel problem used to bother me very much. So I prescribed wall squats. See the difference now in the before and after. His technique is not perfect for sure, but much better than before.

Sometimes it is hard to keep your face off the wall. To avoid this you can find a short wall so that your knees will hit the wall but your head is able to go forward a bit. I usually prescribe 3 sets of 5 reps with an empty bar before back squats as a warm up. If you are quite tall like Christophe I’d recommend you to widen your stance  and turn toes out a little bit. Feet should be positioned under 45 degrees angle and knees should be aligned with toes during the whole movement.

P.S. I have chosen some pictures of Russian athletes with good technique. They compete in the equipped category but you can still get the idea. Pay attention to their shins. They are vertical.The knees don’t go ahead at all. That is perfect technique!