How To Fix The Forward Lean In Your Squat
Revised by Stephanie Zaban (Registered Kinesiologist & Masters of Kinesiology)Table of Contents
Leaning Too Far Forward on Squats?
The majority of us have something to fix in our squat, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of! One of the most common squat errors is leaning too far forwards. This is when you cannot maintain an upright position during the squat, and you start to lean forwards during your descent. A forward lean can occur for multiple reasons, but luckily with some attention and practice, you can correct your forwards lean!
Why Might You Be Leaning Forward When Squatting
So why does a forward lean happen? There are a few different reasons as to why this can occur. For most people, tight hip flexors are the culprit. Tight hip flexors are often seen in those who are sedentary and are sitting down for long periods of time. If this wasn’t bad enough, many people who sit for long periods of time also have poor posture! Rounded backs and poor posture create weak posterior chains. Developing a strong posterior chain is one of the keys to reducing the forwards lean in your squat.
Some of you might be wondering why a forward lean is such a bad thing since you can still perform a squat, even with a load. The answer is that a forward lean places excess strain on the lower back. This strain is amplified if you are using a load and can result in injury to the spine. As well, a forward lean also reduces the involvement of the Quadriceps, which should be one of the main muscles used in your squat.
In This Article We Will Be Answering:
Is your squat leaning forward?
Why do I lean forward when I squat?
How to fix leaning forward when squatting?
How to know if you have a forward lean squat?
Can you get injured by having an excessive forward lean during squat?
The Answer
The overall takeaway is that we need to stretch out our hip flexors and strengthen the posterior chain in order to reduce the forward lean in our squat! Let’s dive deeper to see how we can achieve this.
Movement Preparation to Improve Squat
The first thing we should do before initiating a dynamic warm up is to perform a self-myofascial release. This can be done with a foam roller or lacrosse ball. The main focus will be on our hip flexors, calves, quadriceps, and adductors. When faced with a tight area, spend a little more time and focus on rolling out that area. Try rolling for at least 5 minutes total.
Upon completing self-myofascial release, move into a dynamic warm up. By performing a dynamic warm up we bring our joints through their active ranges of motion (AROM) to get them primed for movement.
Half Kneeling Active Hip Flexor Stretch
Plate Elevated Ankle Mobilization
Find a weight, lie it flat down, put the balls of your feet on the end of the plate allowing your heel to touch the floor, let your knee track forward till you feel a stretch in your calves. Return and repeat.
Downward Dog to Cobra
Superman
Get into a prone position with your arms overhead touching the ground, keep your feet together, extend up so your arms, feet and chest leave the ground, squeeze your glutes and back.
Cat Cow
Get into an all 4 position, hands underneath the shoulders and knees under hips, drop your lower back to create a downward arch, flexing that lower back, return to starting position, bring your back into a upward arch position, allowing your shoulder blades to protract.
For more dynamic stretches click on the video below.
Exercise Considerations to Strengthen the Posterior Chain
Romanian Deadlift
Just like the conventional deadlift although we are going to keep or knees in a slightly bent, fixed position, hinge at the hips, keeping the weight close to our body allowing us to get a good stretch in the hamstrings.
Pendlay Row
Get a slight bend in the knees, hinge at the hips (lean forward) maintaining a straight back so you get into a table top position, the weight should be at shoulder level, pull the weight through the elbows, squeeze the back at the top portion and allow the weight to come to a dead stop at the bottom and repeat.
Barbell Hip Thrusts
Get a flat bench, sitting on the ground along the edge, lift your arms up, allowing your shoulder blades to dig into the flat part bench, bring your heels close enough so they get to about a 90 degree angle, drive through your heels, so you come into hip extension, squeeze the glutes, and lower to the bottom to repeat.
Seated Cable Row
Once on the machine extend the legs so the cable moves out a little bit, bring your shoulders up and back, so they are now in fixed position, allowing a good stretch in your latissimus dorsi and back muscles, pull through your elbows so the handles touch the body, squeeze your back, extend your arms and repeat
Cable Face Pull
Using the commonly know tricep pushdown rope, bring the cable machine to a level where it rests at chest height, grab the ends of the rope so that both thumbs are pointing up, take a step or two back, and pull the rope towards your forehead allowing your arms to come into a position where it looks like you would be flexing to show someone your arms. Squeeze your upper back, return to resting position and repeat.
How to Progress Your Squat
Work within your active range of motion where you are able to maintain a close to upright posture. Start with a high box squat and work your way lower onto a flat bench, eventually working your way to a single flawless body weight squat hitting parallel, at that point you would like to add volume to the point where you’re able to complete a few sets of 10-12 body weight squats before adding any sort of load.
Can’t Keep My Torso Upright During Squats
Many of us have probably been told to stop leaning forwards when we squat. But do we actually know why this is bad? Or if it is even incorrect in the first place? Let’s take a moment to understand what causes leaning forwards when we squat.
First, each person’s body is different. We all have different body types and limb lengths. Therefore, movements that may be easy for some people, are much more difficult for others. This is the case when we examine the squat. The movements of our hip and knee are interdependent, meaning that when the hip changes position, the knee changes as well and vice versa.
Biomechanically, the hip and the knee each have their own moment arm which is influenced by the length of our segments (i.e. the length of the femur and the tibia) and is what will mechanically result in a forwards lean for some people.
What Causes Leaning Forward When Squatting
Individuals who have a long femur in comparison to a short tibia or, long legs and a short torso will lean forwards when they are squatting. Because of these limb lengths, no matter what techniques you try, you will most likely always have a forwards lean in your squat- and this is okay.
However, for individuals who have a short femur in comparison to a long tibia, or short legs and a long torso, you can fix the forwards lean in your squat! Once you identify the source of what is causing you to lean forwards, often you can change your technique to achieve the ideal squatting form without a forwards lean.
Can't Squat Without Leaning Forward
If you find that you cannot squat without leaning forwards, examine the length of the segments in the lower body. Remember, if you have a really long femur in comparison to a short tibia, or longer legs and a short torso, a forward lean is okay due to your body’s proportions. If this is not the case, there are a few reasons why a forward lean can be occurring including,
Your weight is not balanced in the mid-foot
The range of motion in the hips is limited
The range of motion in the ankle is limited
Weak muscles in the upper back
Weak muscles in the lower leg
To be able to correct forward lean in the squat, you need to identify where the potential source of your forward lean is coming from. Often, individuals only need to adjust one cue to correct their movement.
How Do I Stop Falling Forward When Squatting
If you feel like you are falling forwards when you squat, the first area we recommend you examine is your feet. To be perfectly balanced during the squat, you want your weight to be evenly distributed throughout your foot. This means that you are not raising your toes, or your heels when you are squatting.
If you are lifting your toes, focus on gripping your toes to the floor as you squat. If you are lifting the heels, focus on driving through the heel as you come out of the bottom of your squat. Limited mobility in the ankle could also contribute to an imbalance in the foot. If this is the case, you should include exercises to increase the range of motion in your ankle into your exercise routine.
How Do I Keep My Upper Back Tight While Squatting
Weak muscles in any area of the body will cause other muscles to overcompensate which increases the risk of injury. When examining the back, weak muscles can cause rounding or arching as a result of the spine trying to make up for the lack of support and strength from the surrounding muscles. Add exercises that will increase muscular strength in the upper back to help protect the spine and support your squat.
A cue you can remember during your squat is to focus on keeping the upper back tight while you are squatting. When you lift the bar off the rack to place it on your shoulders, make a point of squeezing the shoulder blades together (as if you were performing a row) and have a tight grip on the bar before you place the barbell on your back. Engaging the muscles of the upper back before you load them with the weight of the bar will help to prevent rounding of the upper back that can occur during the squat.
Lean Up Instead Of Leaning Forward
Tight hips can be one of the sources that are contributing to a forward lean in your squat. The best way to improve the range of motion in the hip is to consistently perform stretches that will help to reduce tightness.
Before squatting, try a dynamic warm-up of Leg Swings. If you are someone who is sitting for most of the day, this is a great exercise to help increase hip mobility and performance.
After squatting, static stretches can help to increase hip mobility. Some examples of stretches that will target the hip include,
Keep in mind that it takes time and consistency to reduce hip tightness. Being patient and committed to performing these stretches multiple times a week will yield the most progress.