How to Improve Your Squat: 7 Simple Tips

The squat rewards patience. Most people don't need a new programme — they need seven small corrections repeated until they stop being corrections.

1. Find Your Stance, Don't Copy Someone Else's

Hips are shaped differently. Start around shoulder-width and experiment a few centimetres in and out over a couple of sessions. The right stance is the one where you can reach depth without your lower back rounding and without your hips feeling pinched.

2. Turn the Feet Out — Then Screw Them In

Most people squat well with the toes turned out roughly 15–30 degrees. Once your feet are set, imagine screwing them into the floor without actually moving them. That creates tension at the hip and stops the arches collapsing.

3. Brace Before You Descend

Take a breath into your belly — not your chest — and tighten your midsection as if you're about to be nudged. Hold that pressure through the descent and the first part of the drive up, then breathe at the top. A braced trunk is what keeps the spine position you set at the start.

4. Track the Knees Over the Toes

Your knees should travel in the same direction your toes point. Knees caving inwards under load usually means the hips need more work or the weight is too heavy. Cue "spread the floor" and drop the load until the pattern holds.

5. Let the Hips and Knees Bend Together

Sitting straight down makes it knee-dominant; shooting the hips back turns it into a good morning. Start both at once — hips back and knees forward simultaneously — and let your torso angle settle naturally.

6. Chase Honest Depth

Aim for the crease of your hip to reach roughly the top of your knee, but only as far as you can go with a neutral spine. If your pelvis tucks under at the bottom, that's your current limit — work below it and improve range over time with mobility work.

7. Progress the Boring Way

Add a rep, then a set, then a little load. Film a set from the side every few weeks. Video is more honest than how a set felt.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Heels lifting. Usually ankle range or too-wide a stance. Try a small heel elevation while you work on ankle mobility.
• Rushing the bottom. Bouncing hides weakness. Pause for a count at the bottom on lighter sets.
• Looking straight up. Keep your head in line with your spine and your eyes a couple of metres in front.
• Loading before the pattern is solid. Bodyweight and goblet squats first; the barbell will still be there next month.
• Squatting only in one style. Box squats, tempo squats and split squats all feed the main lift.

Quick Summary

• Stance and foot angle are individual — test, don't copy.
• Brace before you move and keep knees tracking over toes.
• Depth is what you can own with a neutral spine, not a fixed target.
• Progress slowly and film yourself occasionally.

Squat sessions are unforgiving on kit that doesn't stretch or stay put — our leggings and men's shorts are cut for full range of movement.