Why I Am Not A Fan Of The Pre Hinge

A common squat setup technique I see used, and I myself used to use frequently, was cueing the initial starting position with a pre-hinge. I personally used to use this with many lifters to help with reducing extension bias and allowing a more natural chest drop and forward lean. But over time I started seeing more issues than not with this technique, as I found it became a band-aid solution for most versus actually getting down to the primary issues. In my latest KZbin video I break down the reasons why I am no longer a fan of using a pre-hinge. I take a look at who or who might not benefit from using a pre-hinge. I discuss the reasons why typically I see it causing more issues than it fixes. And lastly I cover what I actually see as being the root cause of most of the issues a pre-hinge is supposed to address and what to focus on instead.
#squattechnique #squatform #squatsetup #lowbarsquattechnique #powerlifting #powerliftingtechnique #powerliftingcoach #lowbarsquat #squat
Setup and Bracing Guide For Low Bar Squatting: • Setup and Bracing Guid...
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[@youcefazri7009]

I have being waiting for this, thanks

[@PRsPerformance]

Enjoy!

[@brandyduley]

I needed this video! Thank you ❤

[@PRsPerformance]

You're welcome!

[@siawinkelmolen2851]

This addressed all my problems, thank you! Never had issue with depth, started pre-hinging and the problems started.

[@PRsPerformance]

You’re welcome!

[@thecuriouslifeofamanoutoft8451]

all this video is missing to become trending in PL is 🔑🔑🔑in the title

[@PRsPerformance]

I refuse

[@ethansanders7107]

gotta add "MAJOR 🔑🔑🔑 to Squat PRs??", combined with a weird facial expression on the thumbnail. Boom, instant viral video

[@thecuriouslifeofamanoutoft8451]

@@ethansanders7107 a certain coach that doesn't flex would be issuing a cease and desist for copyright infringement

[@keljerel]

My lower body is longer than my upper body and I noticed my squats flow a lot more smoothly when I pre-hinge. Pre-hinging also increases my squat depth and reduces lower back pain.

[@PRsPerformance]

As mentioned in the video, there are some who might benefit.

[@SignaL2k10]

great topic and video as always! with pre hinge i had heel bias too and shited com forward at the bottom and since i dont pre hinge and finding my forefoot in the starting position my knees and the movement/com feels so much better

[@PRsPerformance]

Sounds like the perfect case of what I typically see!

[@brothersingaming143]

thank you coach for the video!!♥

[@PRsPerformance]

Welcome!

[@adamdpeeler]

Teaching bracing mechanics and altering head position are always my go to cues for fixing this

[@PRsPerformance]

The actual fixes!

[@skandalbanker]

Always have knee slide at the bottom, thought this was because of my long legs. I'm going to start more upright from now on. Excellent infos here, never seen videos going so deep in the details.

[@PRsPerformance]

Hope this helps then!

[@shaunakthakar608]

Commenting to say thank you because this channel has been a constant 'lifting companion' and has helped me learn so much and yet so much more to learn always.. and shall always be.. Also, it is amazing how many of these things are intintuitive if one just keeps awareness while lifting for example i picked up this 'wrong' habit of looking in front some time back and it stayed with me for some months until I realised again that 'ah! it's my head'- the moment I changed my head position by keeping it slightly down and in front all clicked together and I fell in love with squats again :) .. to MISQUOTE Hegel beautiful squat is 'march of god on earth' .. felt nearly same again :).. till now i only had my intution now you through your ellaborate and beautiful reasoning gave me understanding of why i felt the way i did.. this is incredibly helpful not just because it is validating but mainly because it is so enriching it terms of understanding one's own squat.. sorry to bloviate .. thank you again for everything i genuinely genuinely feel that it is because of people like you that my love for lifting gets deepper and deeper everytime .. that is why, thank you sir.. lots of love :)..

[@PRsPerformance]

You're welcome man, glad it has been so helpful!

[@enzolcvvr6112]

Content still gold. I mean you are a precious stone though the mass . Love from France

[@PRsPerformance]

Thank you!

[@lluism200]

I think I am a mix between reasons 2 and 3. and lately I've been feeling weird during squats as if I cant do the movement right. So this maybe the issue or may not, but I am certainly revisiting it now again since it could be one of my current problems. Thanks!

[@PRsPerformance]

Hope this helps then!

[@StephColbertsonStrength]

I’ve been biasing more toe pressure since hearing one of the PowerliftingNow podcasts and it’s helped a ton. I feel like so many points here really apply to the other piece of what I need to work on. I don’t intentionally prehinge but there is quite a bit of forward lean. But I think where I’m screwing up is trying to “save” my knee flexion and trying not to push them too far forward too fast. But gonna try some stuff after watching this and see if I can get it feeling better.

[@PRsPerformance]

Like I mentioned, no matter what on low bar, you are going to have a "head start" on that torso lean and the knees are already playing catch up. So I'd say as a generality most people need to bias to leading with the knees while slowing continually to lean as they descend.

[@TheBrick534]

@@PRsPerformance I've found this to be true af, especially with a closer stance "raw" style squat, compared to the wide stanced equipped squat often seen in those comps. With the torso already being pitched forward from the get go, I really just focus on sinking my ass down between my hips and allowing my knees to travel forward as necessary.

[@user-wp2mf8ql3w]

Thank you for this great info. I started pre hinging a while ago because I thought it would benefit me as I kept good morning my squat under heavy loads but encountered these issues. I think I just have really underdeveloped quads and adductors in comparison to posterior. I watched your squat technique video as well and I have started squatting with a narrower stance, knees forward and chest lean. Definitely a lot tougher but my good morning squat is becoming less and less obvious! (I hope my diagnosis is correct xD) Thank you!

[@PRsPerformance]

You may never squat perfectly upright though and stay on your quads, as mentioned some people are going to have to bias to that "good morning" position to leverage their strengths based not only on musculature, but more so your anatomical build. Your quads could in fact be "strong", they are under greater demands to extend the knee due to your leverages.

[@user-wp2mf8ql3w]

@@PRsPerformance That makes a lot of sense, thanks for clarifying. Essentially if my body always wants to be in that good morning position based on anatomy/stronger musculature my technique should be adapted to work with that ?

[@PRsPerformance]

So I can't say that without coaching you and knowing how you move, but yes, in some cases fighting that pattern is only limiting you, as it may just be the way you best squat. AKA just like some people are going to have a fairly rounded back on conventional deadlift.

[@LBPL300]

Lots of ppl in France pre hinge, I used to do it myself but am now trying to remove it but still struggling to find my mid foot pressure. Thanks for the great vid

[@PRsPerformance]

Ya, that has a lot to do with their bar position, but even so, I see some French lifters doing it that IMO would help so much if they stopped.

[@nathanaiel]

Hey Steve ! Thank you for dropping this! ITs a gem. For lifters with longer femurs & shorter torso, will definitely have an increased torso angle to hit depth especially with comp squat (mid-low bar), which then means they would have to resist that with alot of extension.Most of the time controlled with the "band aid" you mentioned. -Hinge to feel stacked - Rotating ribcage up- Gazing up excessively- In your opinion, how would you cue a lifter with such leverages to squat ?

[@PRsPerformance]

I wouldn’t overly cue them different, it’s just a matter of different joint angles comparatively and where we need to bias.

[@ulfang]

Great video, as always. Regarding head position, would you say its better to keep it alligned with the torso during the whole lift? I usually bring it back/eyes up on the ascend, to fight for back extension.

[@PRsPerformance]

Just depends, some people will lift it up as they ascend and it works fine. It’s more just having the understanding head position controls a lot.

[@ulfang]

Another point: what usually happened when I pre-hinged was a bias to bring the quads forward too much, as there was nowhere to go (as you mentioned) and the knees shooting back earlier during the ascend with the weight shifting to the heels

[@kmw5100]

yeah the pre hinge gave me a lot more issues than it fixed. it would make me lean forward too far, I felt awkward getting to depth, my knee tracking felt super weird. I stopped thinking so much about it and just got practice in with reps and have been slowly upping my PRs in the 4 months since I dropped the pre hinge

[@PRsPerformance]

Sounds like the common case I see!

[@hyeongjinoh584]

I very much agree with this content, as I experienced the chronic lack of depth whenever I pre-hinge before descending. Do you think this advice applies to the high-bar squat position? I recently transitioned to this position due to the arm pain.

[@PRsPerformance]

Even more so with high bar, I see no reason to pre hinge with high bar

[@hyeongjinoh584]

@@PRsPerformance thank you!

[@ethansink3116]

When talking about who would benefit from the pre hinge you talk bout lifts who will need to fold over more anyway to squat, would a 6’3” with long femurs short torso qualify? And would you see the pre hinge be more benefiting to taller lifters in general?

[@PRsPerformance]

It is a big "it depends". It is hard to give blanketed statement of who would benefit, but yes, the aspects you mentioned would fall in line with someone who could use a pre hinge and find benefit. I wouldn't necessarily say tall is part of that though, more the long femur and short torso where you are going to fold no matter what you do.

[@springpistonriflefeverlone9611]

I'm 54, been lifting since I was 12, squatting since I was a teenager and still struggle with my squat. When I was 25, I squatted 300×25, and I'm still trying to figure out how I stayed so tight. Need to figure out my old squat technique.

[@PRsPerformance]

If you haven’t check out my low bar bracing and squat technique videos, make sure to give those a watch then!

[@mohammedammar5439]

Ive just started the gym and tried squats with my friends , im around 100kg and not been to the gym properly before and around 6ft 1 . I did try squats but didn't work for me , my heels kept going off the ground and knees were quite spread apart , it's like I know what to do but my body isn't allowing it , the form could be better but normally I get the form right but needing tweaks but with squats it's as though I just can't get my body to do it and it just is weird , could there possibly be like a body issue of mine , maybe mobility issues or im just doing the form wrong ?

[@PRsPerformance]

You likely just need work on technique. I’d recommend watching my other squat videos that are more detail with technique, as well as starting with goblet squats and safety bar squats first before working to a barbell

[@MirNovichok]

What do you think of the "squeeze your glutes" cue before intiating a squat? Brian Alsruhe recommends it, however the Kabuki folks have said that stacking the ribs on the pelvis and controlling the lumbar spine is a better cue for that. Also, what would you suggest for lifters with extremely long femurs? Accept the forward lean bwfore initiating the squat?

[@PRsPerformance]

One of the worst cues in all of existence. There is a time and a place for pre hinging like I mentioned. But I’d adamantly say no one ever should squeeze their glutes before initiating the squat. I have a whole blog post on my website about that.

[@MirNovichok]

@@PRsPerformance I'll check it out, thank you! Your information is top notch. Not very common to see folks address such differences in the sport. Most cues I've heard for squatting seen like they're only meant for stubby lifters. "Chest up" while my torso sits near my knees at the bottom of the squat, I mean really?

[@whiteou7.]

Should lifters cue shoulder depression on bench press? My arms tend to rotate as I depress my scapulas :/ for reference I bench wide grips.

[@PRsPerformance]

Go to my bench videos and watch those

[@eugeneimbangyorteza]

I used to do pre-hinge when I strated pl but as I got stronger I just figured out that I'm stronger just hinging along the descent. Though, obviously, there are people with certain anatomy (i would guess long thighs) that would naturally pre hinge

[@PRsPerformance]

Yep, as discussed, it is possible that longer femur or wider stance lifters may find a small benefit to pre-hinging.

[@elim5353]

The pre hinge as you called it i dont think is bad. Unless they over hinge. But its a good way to lock in hips and lower back for the squat

[@PRsPerformance]

Well obviously I disagree based on this 14 minute video.

[@elim5353]

@PRsPerformance perfect. And that's OK. Not saying I'm right or wrong. Just my opinion.

[@elim5353]

Either way good content

[@danoontjeh123]

06:25 is exactly what I see someone I follow on instagram do a lot of the time lol, always annoyed me but never had a good reason fot it.

[@PRsPerformance]

And then often you find they pre hinge even more thinking that will fix it, when it’s actually the thing causing it

[@BrazosValleyStrength]

Cosign.

[@PRsPerformance]

I’ll accept your signature and raise you a 3rd attempt deadlift pull for the win.

[@An-kaiioi]

I tested pre hinge for a whole block nd it ruined squats for me

[@PRsPerformance]

no pre-hinge it is for you then

[@jingsndthings]

I dont even hinge to sit

[@PRsPerformance]

Built different

[@HenDiesel]

The pre hinge is just another stupid trend. Most lifters don’t even know why they’re doing it. People think it looks cool. Same with lifting the elbows sky high as you take a big gulp of air Amanda Lawrence style.

[@PRsPerformance]

What’s interesting is it’s resurgence. Was popular in 2019-2020 in the US, fell out, but then Europe seemed to bring it back in 2022

[@HenDiesel]

Probably just depends on who’s popular and doing well with the algorithms at the time. We also see a lot of kids biting their necklaces when they squat these days…

[@goldman1996]

YO IT WAS A HOT CHICK IN THE THUMBNAIL BUT IT WAS A DOOOD GADDAYUM I GOT JINXED

[@PRsPerformance]

Surprise!

[@jakehansen7825]

first

[@PRsPerformance]

you win