How to Squat Properly: Depth, Stance and Bracing Explained
To squat properly, stand with your feet roughly shoulder width apart and turned out slightly, take a breath into your belly and brace as if about to be nudged in the stomach, then sit down between your heels with your knees travelling in line with your toes. Go as deep as you can while your heels stay down and your lower back keeps its position, then drive up through the whole foot. For most people that means hips at or a little below knee height. There is no single correct squat. There is a correct squat for your hips, ankles and limb lengths, and the job is to find it.
Why there is no universal stance
Hip sockets vary in depth and angle from one person to the next, and so do thigh and shin lengths. That is why one person squats comfortably with feet close and toes forward, while another needs a wider stance and more turn-out to reach the same depth without their pelvis tucking under. Copying a stance from a video is a reasonable starting point. Keeping it after it feels wrong is not.
Finding your stance in five minutes
- Start with heels about shoulder width apart, toes turned out 15 to 30 degrees.
- Squat down slowly with no weight, holding a door frame or a post if you need balance.
- Note where it feels blocked: a pinch at the front of the hip, heels lifting, or the lower back rounding.
- Widen the stance by a few centimetres, or turn the toes out a little more, and repeat.
- Keep the position that lets you go deepest with the least effort to stay balanced. That is your working stance.
A front-of-hip pinch usually means you need more width or turn-out. Heels lifting points to ankle range, which I cover in ankle mobility for squats.
How deep should you squat?
The common benchmark is “parallel”: the crease of your hip level with or just below the top of your knee. In competitive powerlifting, hip crease below the top of the knee is the rule. For general strength and muscle, the useful depth is the deepest position you can reach while keeping control of your spine and keeping your heels down.
The old warning that squatting below parallel is bad for your knees has not stood up well. Deep squats done with control and appropriate load are a normal part of strength training. The real issue is the point at which your lower back loses its position at the bottom, often called “butt wink”. A small amount with light weight is common and not something to panic about. A pronounced tuck under load is where you should stop the descent a little higher until mobility or technique improves.
A simple depth test
Set a box or bench at a height where your hips are at about knee level when you sit. Squat down to touch it lightly without sitting. If that is easy and controlled, lower the box. If you lose position before touching, raise it. This gives you a repeatable target instead of guessing.
Bracing: the part most people skip
Bracing is what lets your trunk transfer force between your legs and the bar without bending. It is not the same as sucking your stomach in.
- Stand tall and take a breath through your nose into your belly and lower ribs, not your chest. Your waist should expand slightly all the way round, including the sides and back.
- Tighten your trunk muscles against that breath, as if someone was about to poke you in the stomach.
- Hold the breath and the tension through the descent and the hardest part of the way up.
- Breathe out near the top, then reset before the next rep.
With light weights you can breathe more freely. With heavier ones, a reset breath every rep makes a noticeable difference. If you have high blood pressure or a heart condition, holding your breath under heavy load may not be appropriate, so talk to your GP and your trainer first. I go into the technique in more detail in how to brace your core.
Where should your knees go?
Your knees should travel roughly in the direction your toes point. If your toes point slightly out, your knees go slightly out. The fault to watch for is the knees collapsing inwards as you drive up, which usually shows up when the weight gets heavy.
Knees going past your toes is normal. How far they travel forward depends on your proportions and how upright you want to stay. Forcing your shins vertical pushes your hips back and your chest forward, which shifts more load to the lower back. Let the knees go where they need to, as long as the heels stay down.
The descent and the drive up
- Start the movement at hips and knees together. Pushing the hips far back first turns the squat into a lean.
- Keep the whole foot planted. Think of three points of contact: heel, base of the big toe, base of the little toe.
- Control the way down. Two to three seconds is a good tempo while learning. Dropping fast and bouncing hides weaknesses.
- Drive the floor away. On the way up, push through the whole foot and keep the chest and hips rising at the same rate. If the hips shoot up first, the weight is likely too heavy or your trunk is giving way.
Common faults and what to do about them
| Fault | Likely cause | First fix to try |
|---|---|---|
| Heels lift | Ankle range or stance too narrow | Widen stance, small plates under heels while you work on ankles |
| Knees cave in on the way up | Load too heavy, weak hip muscles | Drop the weight, cue “spread the floor”, add split squats |
| Lower back tucks at the bottom | Depth beyond current control | Box squat to a slightly higher target |
| Hips rise before chest | Weak trunk or quads, poor brace | Re-brace each rep, use goblet or front squats |
| Losing balance forwards | Weight drifting to the toes | Slow descent, hold a counterweight out front |
Which squat to start with
If you are new, a barbell on your back is rarely the right starting point. A goblet squat, holding one dumbbell at your chest, teaches you to stay upright and brace almost automatically. It is self-limiting too: when the weight is too heavy to hold, it is too heavy to squat. Once that is solid, a barbell back squat in a rack with safety arms set just below your bottom position is the natural next step. I have written a separate guide to the goblet squat if you want to start there.
Most people need a few weeks of regular practice with moderate weight before the pattern feels automatic. Two squat sessions a week is plenty. Progress the load gradually, and only when every rep looks the same as the first.
Why it is worth having someone watch
You cannot see your own lower back at the bottom of a squat, and a mirror changes where you look, which changes how you move. Filming from the side at hip height helps. A coach watching in real time is better, because the correction happens on the next rep rather than the next week. In our studio in Highgate, squatting is coached in a full rack with safety arms, and the first sessions of 1-1 personal training usually spend real time on this pattern.
If you have a history of knee, hip or back injury, are pregnant, or are returning after a long break, check with your GP or physiotherapist before loading the squat. The NHS guidelines recommend muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days a week, and squats are one of the most efficient ways to cover the legs.
Questions we get asked
Should I squat with a belt?
Not while learning. A belt gives you something to brace against, but you need to know how to brace without one first. It can be useful later for heavy sets.
Are squats bad for your knees?
For healthy knees, squats done with control and sensible progression are generally considered safe and useful. If you have existing knee pain, get it assessed before loading it.
Should I wear lifting shoes?
A raised heel helps people with limited ankle range stay upright. Flat, firm trainers are fine for most. Thick, soft running shoes make balance harder.
Can I learn to squat properly in one session?
You can learn the basics and leave with a safe version. Making it automatic under load takes weeks. See the personal training page or browse The Highgate House for how sessions work.
Book with The Highgate House
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