How To Perform The Perfect Squat (FOR ANY BODY TYPE)

[@SquatUniversity]

What did you find on the femur length test? Did you find long, short or relatively “normal” femur length? Also how did you all like the format of today’s video?

[@donut7716]

Loved it, please do more videos in this format!

[@lolbubs11111]

34%, baby!

[@nezoxjr3015]

Hey brother, love your content, you share so much valuable information, i wanted to ask, how can i contact you, and if i can get a permission from you to translate your awesome videos to my mother tongue, which is Russian, i would love to spread your message further, for people, who don't speak English that well.

[@DJS-c3m]

35.5% - no wonder I feel like I’ll topple over without a wide stance and forward torso!

[@sayanbiswas_sports]

Mine is 28 % . Now I got why I am so good at squat compare to my peers. 😄

[@SevansDog-ju4fb]

You‘re the first person I encountered that understands biomechanics. I discussed that with dozens of coaches the last 14 years but they just don‘t get it. Even with drawings and pictures. Now I‘ll just show them this video. Thank you.

[@Lisa224224]

@SevansDog-ju4fb how long is your femur length?

[@Tash303]

Working on my squats, long-femurs here, your information is priceless. Thank you for your generosity!

[@baileyhaslam_]

This collab was very fun! Thank you for having us help ❤

[@sayanbiswas_sports]

❤

[@fufu2148]

Thank you for helping the community learn ❤❤

[@daniels1539]

advice from this guy's channel cured my shoulder pain, helped to master squat and deadlift technique, healed my pec tear ,saved my cat and dog's life, made me a billionaire, made Jesus appear to me in a dream, you are truly the best

[@Specter1031]

Absolutely ridiculous. Only time heals torn muscles.

[@AliBaba97966]

SQUAT UNIVERSITY CURED MY CANCER!!!…😂

[@squidaker]

​@@Specter1031 😐😑😐

[@JohnMkrv]

​@@Specter1031are you dense? There's multiple studies that showed watching Squat University increases injury recovery rate by 90%

[@Specter1031]

@@squidaker 😑😐😑

[@kbrizy7490]

Thanks for finally putting this out.. after years of teaching picture perfect squats that I for one could never ever hit.

[@billlyon7696]

Thanks very much, I’ve been told for years, “you’re leaning too far forward” and/or “bring your feet/toes in more…” I’d argue, “I’m squatting in a manner that I am most comfortable” 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@Rosey_Squirrel]

But I want those booty gains!! 😍

[@bobmac9070]

I think one thing you didn’t touch on and account for in taller people and according to the great squatter Tom Platz (he was also did powerlifting! Platz learned proper squatting technique from Olympic weight lifters Norb Schemansky and Freddie Lowe. You need the heels elevated slightly. A block of wood or a small weight plate under your heel to help assist in balance and body position.

[@joshuabenton3785]

I am 5’9” with a femur length of 22.5”, for a femur length percentage of also ~32%. Thank you SO much for this video! My squatting health will improve so much because of this.

[@squidaker]

Literally same!

[@MrMaxyrelaxy]

The perfect sum it all up video I was hoping you'd make one day. Thank you so so much for your content ! Especially this one !

[@ultimate_cel]

Aside from the topic of bar position, I agree!

[@frankmartinez2987]

This is why I keep coming back, Doctor: you try and it seems you try more than most other people on KZbin when it comes to helping people get the best squat form for them in an attempt to make this move maximally enjoyable. I still hate squats and am unable to do them but the fact you try so much to help people like me keeps me coming back. … That and most of the thirst traps; definitely most of the thirst traps. Thank you!

[@breton2240]

A couple of days ago I returned to squats after a 2-year break and then this video came out. Thanks a lot!

[@melinalicharowicz7332]

I got 33% on the test and my ankle mobility is trash garbage (I figured that out recently from another one of your videos). This makes me feel so much more hopeful about fixing my squat, I really only feel it in the quads now (no wonder) and feel a bit sheepish trying to do them at the gym. Lol

[@AnatoliaElle]

Same here, with anterior hips. Miracle to be squatting at all haha

[@suenodeoro]

35%!!! Holy cow. So it's not because I'm fat and have bad form . I have given up squatting more than once because of getting shouted at by a professional to lift my chest. I squat great with your modifications and needed this fuel to help me drown out folks who are not in my body. Ready to add some weight to that bar now! Thank you.

[@cordova2593]

From the bottom of my heart. Thank you. I have long femurs and I have a lot of external hip rotation and practically no internal rotation. Squatting was absolute hell because people will always try to criticize my form when I literally couldn’t do anything else without falling and when I did squat I would never feel it in my quads I would only feel it in my abductors. This would happen because my stance was so wide. I’ve searched the internet everywhere and all they would tell me to do is to work on dorsiflexion or accept it for how it is. This is the first time I’m hearing that ankle rotation is a factor in squatting. I did the test and concluded my ankle rotation is HORRIBLE. Definitely trying these exercises.💯

[@tonyw8018]

This video was perfect timing as I've just started back into squatting after decades of neglect.

[@arahman32]

This video needed to be made! Your hard work is changing lives.

[@perotal]

This is gold! I did the test and at 6'1 I am 36% 😅

[@marcorossi5968]

33% at 6'2

[@morgan_awawa]

@@marcorossi5968 32 at 6'4

[@Mousedream]

6'2/187cm and 34%, but you are even more cursed than me😅

[@michaelmasin1996]

I just performed the test and double checked because I got 35.9% then I scrolled down to the comments and thank god I'm not a freak of nature

[@CheyenneRosero]

Whoa this thread of comments makes me feel better about my 34%!

[@FNHot]

34% crew in the house!

[@bozolito108]

Motley crew. We freaks

[@miguelm4352]

34% too 🦵

[@jaredfielding]

33% here!

[@Slapwagons]

34.6% here! I found in addition to my ankles not being super flexible, my hips were a big limiting factor. Might be worth looking into if you're a long-femured freak like us.

[@FNHot]

@@Slapwagons I can ass to grass, super flexible hips and ankles, but past 240lbs my back starts questioning my sanity. Can deadlift 495, so i SHOULD be able to squat 240, but I have to lean so far forwards that no, I cannot. If I try front, or zercher it works, but holding more than 240 for either of those lifts HURTS. So I just dont squat.

[@iwantabiscuitplz]

I feel so validated by this video as someone with long femurs who is always told my squat is wrong and I need to have my legs straight out and feet close together, but still have an upright torso. It just isn't possible for me to do both, so thank you for explaining that some folks need to have wider and outward leg stances and that there is nothing wrong with it - in fact, it biomechanically makes sense!!

[@StuartTufft]

I have looked far and wide for help with poor internal rotation and squatting.. and at last, it makes sense! Thank you so much.

[@northkyt]

One of the best squatting tips videos I've seen, and I've been watching a lot of them. I've also been squatting for more than 20 years, and only this year have I been able to squat pain-free and without mobility limitations. I've been following the Starting Strength technique, which suggests many of the same ideas as in this video. For me, specifically that means greater torso lean angle, feet pointing outward at 25-30 degrees, and knees pushing out the whole rep.

[@marcusmoonstein242]

The "correct" foot and knee positions for squatting never felt right to me and caused a lot of knee pain. So much so that I gave up on squatting and just did leg presses instead. Finally finding out that I was an anatomical freak who needed an unusually wide stance with toes pointing more than 45 degrees outwards completely changed my squat. I can now squat deeper and with much more weight without knee pain. For the first time in my life my squat feels right and it's become my favorite leg exercise. Thank you Squat University!

[@Pytterr]

That's the best content over this topic that ive ever seen. Thanks!

[@wesbecool]

At 32% I have been noticing these factors about angle of torso and feet for a while now! This definitely helped clarify how I should be building my technique. Perfect timing too as I was working on squats today!

[@weston.weston]

This is excellent, Aaron!

[@Rosey_Squirrel]

I just tested mine, this is seriously helpful. Thank you!!

[@KiNg0fShReD]

Thank you so much for all this content. This is tremendous information. My squat has improved so much because of you and now this added info will take it even further. We appreciate all your efforts and knowledge!

[@usedcolouringbook8798]

I got long femurs and short arms, front squats are my jam

[@brooksapplegate9506]

This is so helpful - from 6’5” struggling squatter

[@nito_gocni5460]

Mine was 34 percent. Always knew there was something a little off/different. I've been struggling to feel comfortable with 130kg. I thought having a wider stance with toes pointed felt better but wasn't sure if it was okay to squat this way. Looking forward to trying it out

[@ferryvantichelen6521]

This explains so much for me, so thanks! Combining some ankle mobility exercises with a bit of heel-elevation made it so much more fun to do squats for me.

[@sco0tpa]

Finally, someone explained the femur differences. I knew there was something I needed to do differently and this is the first explanation I've seen. Thank you.

[@Adrian-cn5rk]

This man does not miss. I'll buy a pair once my reeboks break. And I'll buy a pair now if 90% of the proceeds go to the doc!

[@deekayvixen]

Long femurs here 👋🏻 Awesome explanation!

[@donut7716]

I absolutely loved this video, thank you, please do more videos like these!

[@Ghaulmylvahvai]

i have long legs, long torso and short arms. so i switched traditional squat to bulgarians altogether. works just fine for me

[@forshort6769]

32% and bad flexibility everywhere, no wonder i cant squat. I'm gonna work on your tips, super nice video man!

[@j-rb7508]

36% at 5‘ 8“. I do a couple of zerchers to get the feel for it and then grab the bar at maximal width when back squating. Lifting shoes and focusing on shifting the weight a bit on the heels also helps. Deadlifts are a lot (!) easier though ;-).

[@professionalaesthetics]

I would love to see you do a series on weightlifters shoulder. What causes ac osteolysis/ac joint compression. I’ve had two ac resections and still feel them get sore after lifting!

[@derrickrobinson7269]

I have long femurs which is why I prefer the Zercher squat. If I do a backsquat "properly" it feels like a deadlift because im leaning so much

[@alalmalal]

I’m scared that i’ll chop my biceps and forearm tendons apart if i do zerchers

[@derrickrobinson7269]

@alalmalal I use a pad on the bar and it's important to work your way up using weight you can control. If I can't squat down slowly, sit ass-to-grass for a second, then stand up 10x, then I don't progress

[@samisamuel9846]

It is The Best Squat guide You ever see :D

[@RamssesPharaoh]

Always the best content. Thank you.

[@vanessawirz6385]

This can certainly improve the squat. I wonder if the famous big lock three exercises could help with one-sided upper arm pain during standing overhead extension.

[@Afzalive]

As someone with a long femur (32%), this video is perfect! Thank you!

[@saturated3821]

Ah, thank you for this video. I always struggled to squat deep with heels on the ground, squatting especially with a heavier weight is so difficult because it felt I had to lean forward a whole lot. Now I measured myself... I'm working with the metric system, but I found my femurs to be about 60cm, and I'm 170cm tall... that's like 35% of my total height in just my femurs. I'm still going to work on my ankle mobility even though I could touch my knee to the wall, it was pretty much my max, it can't hurt.

[@Tax1kos]

Εξαιρετική δουλειά φίλε!❤

[@BlessedPRs]

I’m beyond cooked. At 5’7 my femur is 34% of my height. All my life, my squat depth has been terrible because I’ve always been told to keep my chest up but I cannot go deep if I do so. I leaned forward after watching this video and made it below parallel (a “deep squat”) with ease and great form. Straight back, very stable, relatively straight bar path. Thank you.

[@mattroyle1087]

Great information, 30 years too late, screwed up my back as a young man who loved lifting wanting to squat like people i looked up to. Chest up! Go Deep!.... Turns out I have nearly 32% thigh to height ratio and only 2.5 inches of ankle mobility, no wonder! That being said I really like doing squats now with a weighted backpack and dumbells on a decline, leaning pretty far forward and bracing my core well, I can go ass to grass and it feels pretty good!

[@M1keDaly]

Such a good informative video. The femur length test revealed why I cant keep upright as I squat. 5'10" with 22 inch femurs. I already own a pair of Squat University barefoot trainers, which I love, but now you have me considering the L1's.

[@tretre4435]

Great, new style of video!

[@theenlightenedone1283]

Long time no video ❤

[@dima_saur]

You’re a genius. I’m at 32% femur length with hip retroversion. My high bar looks like a relatively wide stance with toes out. I’m able to stay fairly upright as my long torso helps offset my femur length 😵‍💫

[@MrAlex-]

Long torso 54 cm, 44 cm femur, 34 cm and inversion hips and after 10 years of experimenting and watching squad university, I realized a hybrid wide stance helps me to stay upright

[@DJS-c3m]

This is sooooo helpful! Thank you!!

[@yvesrongy4355]

Thanks, I have short legs and a long torso and long arms. I must very often adapt the "standard" form of most exercice.

[@hoplitomeryx490]

your content is gold Thank you

[@grazjj]

Great information. Now I wish someone would discuss femur:tibia length ratio in regard to squat technique

[@mattgoyette4965]

I always felt I want doing a perfect squat. No wonder why, I have terrible ankle mobility and my femur is 34% my height. Thanks for the tips

[@dexterhatchet3529]

wow thank you, this helps a lot! 👍👍👍

[@En5an3]

really nice video. great information

[@mhdurmaz]

excellent guide, thanks

[@herbertdavis82]

I use 5 pounds plates on the floor under both feet as a incline to get in good position to squat , it help my back significantly

[@lehnerfitness6706]

I would love to learn about the impact of femur length on the ability and technique for pistol squats!

[@mrtigris6979]

Please make a video on bicep tendinitis in shoulder Plz

[@Lisa224224]

person with 31% femur length here. you dont need lifting shoes. you dont need a super wide stance at all. you dont need to front squat either. you just need to work on mobility for a long time. i squat ass to grass upright and even get compliments for my form at the gym. it took me a long time to get there though because of course its difficult. this is what i recommend, other than the obvious ankle stretch: 1) you need excellent hip mobility. i do a pidgeon pose stretch with my leg in a 90 degree angle in front of me and my torso flat on the ground on that leg every time before i squat and hold that for a good while 2) figure out your ideal stance (width: by jumping up and seeing how your feet land naturally, angle: like explained in this video by looking at hip rotation mobility) 3) hold onto a pole, plant yout feet solid on the ground and pull yourself in while you slowly go down, not losing tension or your upright position. go as far down as you can this way. when youre all the way down, stretch by pulling your hips in between your feet by holding onto the bar. find the most comfortable position and go up from there. 4) keeping tension in your side glutes is key. if youve got good tension in your side glutes, you wont have a butt wink. if you also maintain good tension in your abs, you wont fall forward. 5) when going up, push through the front of your feet to maintain the upright position. this is what i learned in almost 10 years of lifting, starting out with horrible squat form, basically doing a good morning squat, to an upright ass to grass squat. hope it can help somebody.

[@SlickyWickyy]

Im going to be real honest with you, you’re right to a point. Mobility is definitely going to help most people and should definitely be a focus. That said, at 31% your biomechanics are much more suited for squatting than many of the people in this thread. We’re seeing people in here going up to 36%. The difference between you and a 36% person is the same distance between you and somebody that is 26%. Those differences are massive and for those people in the higher ranges, no, you can’t just fix it with mobility improvement.

[@Lisa224224]

@SlickyWickyy yes but the girl in the video he was saying wouldn’t be able to squat upright probably could, just doesn’t have the mobility. I don’t know for sure about the 36% people but I have a friend that’s been training for like 2 years now that I believe has longer femurs than me, never measured though. I’ll get back to you once she squats ass to grass upright or if she will be unable to get there even with great mobility. With that said, my mobility has room for improvement and as I said in my comment, it’s maybe 50% mobility, 25% knowing the right technique/stance for your body and 25% strength in places other than the squats, for example the side glutes. My naive opinion without having tested this is that you can probably get there with lots of work and research, but might have to squat only to/a little bit past parallel. Squatting all the way down is not necessary but the more mobile/the shorter the femurs, the easier it is, so I’m pretty confident you can squat upright at least to a certain point where you get to a Limitation of being able to put your hips between your legs because there is too much leg. Because that’s what the squat essentially is, putting your hips between your legs. If you’re squatting leaning forward, you’re not doing that to the degree that you should and instead you’re putting your hip behind your leg. If there’s a lot of leg to put move out of the way, then it’s harder, because the legs can only go 1) with the knees over the toe 2) hips essentially opening up and legs to the side along the direction of the feet 3) knees travelling outwards over the feet, which I think is actually quite fine, most pro lifters do it, and as long as it doesn’t cause pain why not 4) you can always widen your stance, my stance is not that wide, so the longer the femurs, the more you can use that variable So I think with time and figuring lots of small improvements out, even with long femurs, it’s possible to get to a cute squat form.

[@kjerstiva]

36% here. That explains my awkward squats. I always have to lean forward a lot and stick my butt out, or i will feel unbalanced

[@jeffP777]

Cool video. Instant sub.

[@priyan_759]

Very helpful thanks🤍

[@joeymatteo2774]

Can you please do a video on hand pain

[@cgc]

I love goblet squats and they keep me up right, but trying to get a dumbbell loaded with enough weight is tough. I'm finding belt squats resolve this outside of the pinch across the groin of the belt lol Oh, and my femur is 30%. I generally find myself leaning forward wider stance and slight outward toe position. Zero ankle mobility issues.

[@XxxAtlantaxxX]

I come here for the knowledge. I stay for the eye candy 🍬

[@Nole2701]

180cm. Femur length 60cm. So 33%. Squats and deadlifts have always been a problem for me. My friends keep teasing me for depth despite me already having a wide stance and trying to go deep. I squat low bar and my lowest point my back is almost horizontal. With deadlifts I have to pull sumo. Whenever I try conventional my starting position has my back pretty much horizontal as well. I may also have relatively short arms which contribute to this. For hypertrophy goals it's not really a problem since I can do other exercises but I like powerlifting and unfortunately I just have to follow the lifts and rules there. It sucks.

[@vikas430]

I didn’t get the concept of tribial rotation.. more rotation is perfect or less rotation is perfect? What does he mean at 6:49 by positive test? Positive mean it is good thing or a limiting factor ?

[@romystika]

From what I've got, it means that "limited tibia rotation" can lead to an unbalanced position of squatting; so to improve and solve this problem you may try this exercise ( at 7:56 )

[@vikas430]

@ thank you mine is perfect then

[@smiledogtheking8034]

Hi, please could you make a video on quad dominance, ive always felt like im more connected to my left leg, left quad, ham and glute, but not that too connected with my right leg. Recently ive been feeling my right quad overworking while my right glutes and hams aren't firing as much, this is causing my right quad to overwork and becoming inbalanced. Please make a video on how i can fix this

[@renxu9]

I know that gym, that’s iron kingdom in Ringwood Vic shout out to that gym.

[@mybagoftheday1722]

I measured my femur and it is 35% of my length 😮 I am 178cm tall. We measured my daughter’s legs and she has the exact same proportion even though she is still growing. Squatting has been so hard for me and still is, when heavier weights, after soon 3yrs of active training. I have great ankle and hip mobility but it does bot solve the problem of lack of power when I am at the deep position. I think there are many other consequences from long femurs in addition to the leaning position. I also have a longer distance from hip to torso/ weights when I am deep in the squat and it is harder to push the weight up. Also having long limbs and long muscles means the relative width of the muscle is smaller compared to someone with short limbs

[@LunaticXiao]

What do you think about barbell position? I feel like a low bar position on my back also helps with keeping my torso upright.

[@creylacoste4981]

My femur is over 2’ long (28”) lol now I have a good excuse no never train legs again in my life yay

[@rnUyghur]

Hey man, love your stuff. I recently added running to my routine and think I am experiencing Extensor Tendonitis. I went searching and couldn’t find anything from your channel on this. Any chance you could cover that?

[@NicholasBLove]

Does anyone have any input on this: Does a more upright squat lessen the amount of recruitment of the posterior chain?

[@Solar6351]

I was just about to ask this same question. I always thought upright focused on quads whereas chest down (parallel to ground) was for posterior. I always hear the advice - “push your hips back like you’re sitting down”

[@christiankennedy9417]

I'm 6'3 with ~32% femur length, squatting deep and upright. Mobility can go a long way.

[@UCanGetWitThisOrUCanGetWitThat]

Love'd this. I hope you can turn this into a series. I think a bench press version would be a great follow-up. Great work! 💪🏿

[@Z-bone64]

6'6"...long femurs...long everything! Looking forward to trying your suggestions.

[@gailneal]

How can you tell if one leg is better off straight while the other should be angled out. My right foot always points right but the left goes points straight forward 🤔

[@brettkarczynski5361]

When doing the banded ankle joint mobilization, my ankle still is stiff like it needs to pop but won't. As such the stretch refuses to go any further. Is there someway to get around this, or through it?

[@geronimoflyingfree]

that was helpful and thorough - thank you! 🙏😊 and what about butwink? at the end of the video wehen both women squatted I think they both had a slight butwink - didn't they? And doesn't it matter if it's slight? 🤔

[@perotal]

He has a video on that, check it out

[@geronimoflyingfree]

@perotal I have.. 😊 but still it seems that what I already thought might be a problem isn't seen as one - so I'm wondering if I'm to strict and a slight butwink is not an issue.. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@luemun]

Would you recommend low bar or high bar for people with longer femurs?

[@Hubriss]

Does the same apply to the deadlift? People with longer femur to have significantly better balance and force vector, if they are using sumo stance?

[@ChristopherTorres-u4k]

Can you make a video on how to squat on a smith merchine

[@ari6498]

In Italia usiamo i centimetri, non ho capito .... Devo dividere la lunghezza del femore per la mia altezza? In centimetri 60:174 *100 ?

[@WarIII941]

My long femoral I resolve it with smith machine, I lift more pounds and I don’t stress my hips. At bare bell squat for make a correct squat I have to wide my position and do not was good the day after, my hips was sore and pain for days.

[@sammi__joe1048]

How important is bar path? I notice the bar moving forward during this video for the longer femur woman- is this OK?

[@Tomcatf15se]

How about front squat? As a long femur guy I find front squat difficult. I always fall forward slightly and have a hard time keeping upright.

[@alternate3787]

I do the exact things suggested here after many years of being uncomfortable with squats. Guess I wont need to check my fermur length

[@marios-dj5qs]

i have chondromalacia patella but am doing powerlifting my knee has been hurting sometimes this past 3 months, is there anything i can do for that? doctors just tell me to give up squatting

[@gm836]

Does the forward leaning make squats a more hamstring exercise for those with long femurs? Greta video. Thank you.

[@Issvor]

They might be used more for balancing and stability, but since you're bending the knee still, it won't have much affect in terms of making your hamstrings stronger or bigger

[@johannesvejle2621]

Buddy, the bottom and inside of my elbow is in a lot of pain. What so I do

[@FakeSpawn]

Hey this is a problem I’ve been having for a while now, any time I keep my legs in a bent position like when I’m sleeping. Then try to get up my knees feel like they lock themselves or pop and it hurts really bad. Not only that but sometimes when I bend down to pick something up they start to hurt, but don’t always pop. I can still always feel an uncomfortable movement in my knee even if it doesn’t pop. I wanna fix this but I really don’t know how. Is there any kind of exercise I can do to get rid of this problem? Also I’m only 16.

[@Mousedream]

34%, my problem is I'm the strongest with feet at shoulder width and quite forward toe position squatting low bar. Opening the hip more sucks, I'm caving in really hard with the knees. Even with an ok dorsiflexion, I benefit from weightlifting shoes quite a lot. Sure, there is a massive load on the quads, but it works best for me.

[@GOAT-rl2uq]

What about tibia length? Does that have an effect?