The right form is the form that corresponds with your intentions. Learn how to bring sophistication and precision to your training.

Take any exercise. By adjusting the form of it, we can emphasize different parts of the body through stabilization, weight distribution, and muscle control.

A good exercise form requires intention and understanding of the body-mechanics that produce the movement. When you know what constitutes the basic form of a given exercise you can manipulate the form to suit different purposes.

There doesn't exist just 1 form of an exercise that is the best for everything. In fact, relying on just one form often leads to various problems.

We want to develop the body as thoroughly and versatilely as possible and to do this we need precision and some sophistication.

Let's illuminate this with 2 different squat variations. Back Squat and the Leg Press Squat. 

The Leg Press Squat

Leg Press Squat is a form of a squat that minimizes hip extension by keeping a constant forward lean. A very similar type of exercise you can find from Athlete 20XX.

Hip extension is present but it's not dominant. Rather, the muscles responsible for hip extension such as your hamstrings and glutes are stabilizing the forward lean of the upper body.

Your core then again stabilizes the spine from arching or rounding with a strong isometric contraction.

By doing this, your knee joints become the main movers in the squatting motion. This puts the greatest focus on your quadriceps muscles.

It's literally almost like using the leg press machine but your body provides the support – not the machine. This way, the transference to athleticism is also significantly greater. You are not just training the muscle – you are learning how to control and move the body.

The Conventional Back Squat

A traditional Back squat transfers workload from the quads to your hip muscles. hamstrings and glutes pull you up as you simultaneously press with the quads.

But why would anyone do a squat such as the leg press squat? Usually, everyone is concerned about how to better activate their glutes in the squat.

Even though people, in general, would use their quads a bit more than their glutes this still doesn't mean the quads would always get worked thoroughly.

What happens is that the conventional back squat emphasizes more the glutes, hamstrings and lower back than the quadriceps compared to the leg press squat.

Poor squat mechanics and overly dominating hips can leave the quadriceps partially undeveloped. This can lead to knee pain, compromised performance or make you more prone to injuries due to imbalances.

Undeveloped quadriceps can lead to:

For example, at the very end of the repetition when your knees are closing full extension, this is rarely done with control. Instead, the knees are snapped straight.

The Human body is masterful at finding paths that take the least resistance. This is why you need to know what are you training for. Are you trying to build a skill to lift heavy or are you trying to develop a more balanced body?

The key point is awareness and intention during training.

Often the only standards for a good squatting form are a straight back and full range of motion or squatting ATG – ass to grass.

For everything there is the optimal weight and the optimal range to work with. A lot of people watching this video will think that all of these exercises should be performed ATG (ass to grass) with the maximal amount of range of motion.

There is nothing wrong with this but ATG squat is just a different exercise that emphasizes different parts of the body and develops the body in a different way.

ATG squat is good but these are not ATG squats – these are different exercises for different purposes.

Sometimes less range is more optimal depending on what you are trying to target and emphasize. The range shouldn't bypass quality.

Remember: The right form is the form that corresponds with your intentions!

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