Why is it always the guys who can't squat who call it overrated hmm..

The squat is one of the 7 foundational human movement patterns. You don't need to be breaking world records, but you should be doing some variation if you want to be truly strong and capable.

The lady watching here. I love squatting even though I was rubbish at it when I learnt the "old way", even though I've done yoga for 20 years and can sit comfortably in a super low body squat for ages. Your techniques make so much more sense and have helped me a lot. No stupid leg presses for me. Barbell all the way!

Heres me spending 20 min of my evening listening to zack explaining every little detail to me like i was a gym newbie, prentending like im actually deeply interested and still really freaking enjoying it! Damn your videos are awesome man. You really have such a talent for wxplaining those things, even to someone who already knows this. KEEP UP YOUR WORK. It seriously enriches my life and lifting experience. Much love from germany

I completed my first 3 sets of 225 for 5 reps yesterday. I know it’s not that much, but it’s a lot more than what I started out squatting. The barbell back squat has become one of my favourite movements now. 🏋🏽‍♂️

I'm just doing squats because Mark Riptoe told me the make me harder to kill

I FUCKING LOVE THIS VIDEO More info like this is needed for the “long femur community” For years I believed ankle mobility was the problem. Felt bad my squat didn’t look like others. FINALLY, I realized I was anatomically different than most people squatting around me. Learning about the femur length was a game changer.

Coaches who say this kind of crap about Squats are overrated ...etc. Those coaches are speaking to those athletes who want to have bigger legs in the main muscle groups AKA Bodybuilders. These people don't want to have a better posture, better weight distribution, or core strength while doing certain movements like the clean and snatch. They simply just want bigger legs.

I'm 6'7" and I went through this journey back in 2008. I lifted with my university's powerlifting club (basically the only people that had access to proper weights) and was told the whole "you should keep your shins as vertical as possible, or at least not let the knees track beyond the toes" thing. No matter how much I tried, I could not go below parallel whilst trying to do that, and I'd end up with a ridiculously horizontal back trying (so basically I was good morninging my squats). Then I started to think about it, I watched some weightlifters squatting (and I'll admit that, a bit like Clarence Kennedy said in your recent video, I just plain thought it looked more cool). I stumbled on an article on ExRx giving a bunch of stretches to improve squatting mobility and after a few months I was squatting hamstrings to calves with a relatively upright torso. Not only did it feel better, not only was it more fun, but after a few months of doing it that way it overtook anything my old, above parallel powerlifting style squat had ever managed. It transformed squatting from an exercise that I hated and feared to one I always look forward to. I'm sure that my build means I'll never squat as much as someone else of a similar weight to me who's built for squatting, but that's fine. I was never going to win any competitions anyway, and am happy to simply compete with myself.

Hey dude, as someone with a degree in sports science and one in osteopathy I completely agree with you. From both an athletic and a health perspective, achieving a deep squat is very desirable. I'm 6'3" and do weightlifting. I love your channel, great content! Writing this comment from a deep squat.

You’re the prime example of who supposedly “can’t squat” and yet you’re strong!

I'm 5'7 with long femurs and a bad dorsiflexion, and during years I thought I was just not built to do backsquats. Now, using the zercher as a first approach (as it is less limitating mobility-wise) and the 5 minute squat routine from Zack, I can backsquat with a nice technique, front squat and do olympic weightlifting. And it is a good circle: now I feel strong and never had such mobility. It feels so great. I PR'ed just today and hope I'll be able to squat more in the future!

I feel you Zach! I'm 6'3" with a 6'8" wingspan. Very long femurs, my wife is 5'2" and when we sit at a table we are eye level lol! I just started taking legs very seriously and fell in love with the squat. Past four months went from 255 1RM to 365 1RM! It took a lot of ankle and hip mobility and finding my proper foot placement. I take so much pride in my form that people come up to me and ask advice all the time at my Crunch gym. Thanks for your content, it has helped tremendously.

The phrase which comes to my mind is ‘physical literacy’. Knowing your squat inside out through various stances, tempos, type of squat etc contributions greatly to your understanding of your own body and mechanics. I think approaching the squat with a white belt mentality for 10 years plus is some of the best training you can do.

Love the Contant! You’re teaching me a lot. Appreciate it.

Great video, great info. Thanks Zack.

I just love the passion you show for your work and that is exactly what makes you different from every other coach or something. You are not selling a product, you are showing what you love and you have had showed it long enough to live from it. You totally deserved it!!!

Great video Zack. Very informative, intuitive, and engaging. Thanks

That explanation was spot on !!!!! Thanks Zack, I was reassessing my leg workout day and considering 'upping' my leg press and 'downing' my back squats....this explanation will help me stay focused on longevity as I age.

Genuinely one of the best videos I’ve seen on the squat in a long time ❤Really reassuring to know that for a lot of people out there where even just sitting in a squat can be difficult and it’s not just intuitive movement! being able to squat is a skill like any other, that you need to learn !

Thank you Zack for this video! It had to be said (made)! 💪

I found your channel 2+ years ago due to this very topic (being 6'5). Great that you revisited it in a clear no nonsense walkthrough. Great work thanks

So simple no long explanation. Every other video seems to focus on geting the weight up and you sir made it easy to see that its about gettin the weight to the bottom. I actually bought a leg press because I just sucked at squat. Now watching our ideo I'll be getting some squats on. Awsome.

Great videos , absolut truth. I mostly do KB training but i love to watch olympic lifting , it is simply beautiful to see , Full of grace

This is a really awesome video - thanks for that :)

I started by just doing pause squats, with just 135 and going and sitting in the bottom for about as long as I could stand it, and then exploding upwards as fast as possible. To me, this is WAY more engaging than just doing the typical slow eccentric/concentric squatting movement. Plus, you can only do long pause squats with much less than your 1RM, so it's near impossible to get "stuck" anywhere...unless you stay in the bottom position for like 5 minutes lol

What a great educational video. A matured and objective approach. Nice work!

Thank you brother for saying all the things that need to be said. Respect 👊

One of your best flowing videos ever dude! I have no problems squatting and I watched the whole thing because time flew by. I know you've said before that you kind of write a script for your videos and this was so well "written." Awesome stuff man, this stuff will help a lot of people!

I've been considering dropping the barbell back squat all together because its by far my worst lift and I am not built for it but this video has inspired me to approach it in a different way. thank you for the inspiration.

So many good points raised in here. I'll be sharing this to some of the people in my gym.

Great video Zack! As a 20 year old I started doing back squats in september. I fell in love with it instantly as I followed your instructions how to do it properly. I'm 6'2 with long legs so I needed time to build up the mobility for it, but truly it's my favorite excersice since then. It helped me a lot not only with my legs, but with my lower back as it was weak. It strengthened my lower back to the point that I could stand and dance through a concert, walk a lot with a backpack without any back pain. Obviously other excercises helped too, but the BS was one of the main exercises that helped my overall strength. Since then I can hit a 90 kg set, and if I would have the time or consistency I would be around 110 kg probably. Thanks to you Zack! I love your videos!

Thank you, Zach!

You are an inspiration....thank you. I have short femurs, I appreciate your take on most exercises and differences ....makes all of us better athletes

I love this video. Being able to back squat and perform the weightlifting movements gives so much bang for the buck for giraffes like us. Very much appreciate your open-minded and respectful discussion, and your points are not only correct but they are right.

I really needed to see this. Not because I'm avoiding the back squat but because I'm currently learning it. I want to get good at it and while I've heard people with long femurs (I'm 6'2) can have problems with it I don't think I'm one. I can get into that position and free stand. My problem is my hips shooting up and I'm turning it into a squat morning. I know I'm doing this so I'm backing the weight off and practicing. I put weight on just to see what it feels like to have that on my back (it's not much but some). This video helped a LOT. Thank you!

Loved the video, couldn't agree more with you

One of your best videos!

This needs to be shared and shared again

I was the gym bro doing 405 lbs + partial squats like you did in the beginning. I finally decided to actually do them correctly in full range of motion and had to back all the way down to 135 lbs. Couple years later, I just hit 430 lbs last week for a single. One of the best things i've done was deciding to find a way to get into that bottom position and then just stand up. Great video and educational information that will hopefully help many people!!

Great video!

In short: this is a truly great video, Zack. I can hear the heart behind the words, and that's great. I agree with you.

Thank you for making this video dude. Your early videos are what helped me to understand that even as a Gumby man, squatting deep and heavy are possible. It makes me sad to think there are people convincing viewers they shouldn’t or don’t need to squat.

I am 6ft 4 as well and mostly leg. I started out in HS doing back squats with foot ball where were taught nothing and had a bad time doing them. I had that same reasoning that it wasn’t for me and just tried to use leg machines to get strong. It didn’t work and I went back to squats. The purpose of strength training isn’t too “build muscle” that’s just a form of reasoning to excuse your self from learning new movements and giving hard effort. The purpose of strength training is to load normal human movement patterns in progressive way. As side effect muscles are built bigger and performance in life and sports improve. Another big thing is you have to learn something you’ve never done. In squatting my two biggest places I learned form was from Starting Strength and Zack both have changed my training immeasurably. Learning that science and every picky little detail from SS and then learning to just sit in a deep squat from Zack has improved my mobility, strength, and performance by leaps and bounds.

Dude I love this so much. As a fellow tall guy (6’3”) with long femurs who loves squatting I hate when coaches have this take. Your “motion capabilities” (made up phrase btw) can be expanded!! Thanks for the great content Zack!

great video Zack

Excellent bro 💪

Zack. My main COMPLAINT about this video and i'm pretty sure coach Greg has pointed it out before is that the squat is sport specific. Bodybuilding coaches like Greg Doucette primarily focus on bodybuilding techniques, which may not always align with powerlifting or weightlifting practices. As someone who has been working on addressing buttwink for quite some time, I have found machines to be superior for my needs and that of teenagers (Greg's main audience). They are beginner-friendly, safer, and require fewer stabilizers, enabling me to focus on the mind-muscle connection. Additionally, I've noticed that squats have contributed to an undesirable increase in my waist size. I agree with you that kinesthetic awareness and proprioception are vital for proper squat technique. However, I think these aspects can be challenging for an online coach to teach effectively, especially to a large audience of teenagers who might not have sufficient experience or guidance. Safety is paramount, and improper squatting technique could lead to injuries if not properly addressed(if you're lifting self-taught, which almost all bodybuilding teenagers do) My argument is that while the squat may be enjoyable and beneficial for you, it might not be equally beneficial for everyone, particularly in sports or activities where it is not a primary requirement. For instance, for bodybuilders or those focusing on aesthetics, other exercises and techniques may be more suitable and yield better results. This video to me seems like you just want everyone to squat because YOU think it's cool. This video seems incredibly bias and I still don't understand why EVERYONE needs to learn the squat. I love the squat but you really don't need it.

Cool video! The barbell back squat is one of my favourite exercises and I always found it odd that people online give it so much hate. Just do it with good form and less weight, or if you have an injury do something easier. I just love how it fucking crushes your legs, I love doing it before deadlifting.

Amen brother! 🎉

I have really long femurs (I'm 6'2") and absolutely love back squatting. I started doing them 13 years ago when I started weightlifting and they have never given me issues. No excuses

Zack, hi! I've been doing weightlifting for about two years now and during that time I've grown very fond of atg squats, despite my tall height (6 ft) and leg length. What you say in the video (especially atg squats with a pause) are super correct approaches that I have also developed with my own experience. Thank you so much for the video!

Said it before, I'll say it again. You are my absolute favorite fitness content creator. A man of my own heart. The music, the perspective on fitness, everything. Cheers Zack

good take on this. as a long femur lifter myself it's advice I just recently (in the last 2 years of a ten + years of lifting) put into practice myself through a long learning process of my own movement patterns (rather than just asking someone for help like I could have) it really makes a big difference. Also as someone who fought wearing anything like lifters or belt, etc for a long time and now uses both, those are not cheating they are simply tools that can help lifters of different body types achieve more advantageous leverages when nature maybe dealt us a tougher hand than the 5'5" lifter that walks on and lifts 200 kilos with like 3 months of training. Using tools like lifters and bealt help me to use exercises like back squats etc, to get the best leg workouts I've ever had without the collateral damage I used to feel like knee pain and back pain, etc.

Loved it well said..i agree 💯 everyone should squat

A VERY GOOD VIDEO AFTER COMING BACK FROM JAPAN ..WONDERFULL

Nice video Zack!

Thank you Zach for your videos. I went on a 7 year hiatus from proper weightlifting. I started filming myself to see my technical flaws. I realized I am long femured athlete. I still got a lot more work to do and I may not be lifting over 315 lb for reps yet. I have however beat my life time 10RM of 265 for 275 and I did both for sets and reps. I also hit 330 for the first time since 2015. Also a lifetime 5rm of 305. Prior to this I had never done anything over 285 for multiple reps. All of this with no discomfort nor pain!

Your squat routine got me from falling with a 15 lb snatch to a 120 lb snatch in 6 months. I'm a first yr crossfit, never used weights. 5'3" and all your advice still helped all my lifts

I have bad leverages for the squat, im a very leggy individual. But I believed and still believe that it was extremely valuable. Lifters like you and GVS having similar proportions to me I've spent the last 8 months addressing limitations, learning how to squat, and just doing anything I can to really understand and benefit from the movement. It finally clicked recently and its insane how great the movement feels when finally getting it. Honestly, it was extremely gratifying getting it. I have to drop my weight tremendously to rebuild properly, but working at the squat until you get it is possible for anyone. Lots of my issues with my mobility were injury based and I was physically unable to squat for a long time. But it IS possible and this movement IS insane. I've never felt quad stimulation like this in my life. I dont know why coaches wouldn't want someone to take the time to learn how to squat right, but whatever. Glad you're pushing against the grain.

Best Squat Video i've seen🙏🏻

I'm 6'7" and since taking time off from lifting in the pandemic have had a really hard time squatting without beating my joints up. Tried this methodology yesterday (found a solid bottom position holding a post then worked up to a paused single) and today is the best my joints have felt in years. This video is solid gold

Damn I miss squatting, excellent video

Nice! I´m also 6´3 with 6´8 wingspan and started working on ankle/hip mobility to decrease knee pain while squatting. I started with exercises from kneesovertoes guy and made slow, but constant effort!

Thank you for inspiring me to keep improving my technique and mobility! About a year ago I was ready to give up on squatting since I do have longer femurs and not so great mobility. Everyone made it sound so disheartening, that Id have to use powerlifting shoes only, or alternative variations instead of a regular squat. But I worked on being in a squat more often and was able to make a ton of progress ❤ Id still say its my weakest move for my size (and that Im a woman so I acknowledge my upper body is always gonna lag). But Im happy with where Im getting to

Great video Zack! I can’t stand hearing these “coaches” say people Shouldn’t squat. I started over a year ago doing your five minute squat routine. It was HARD I had been a low back back squatter for years. My squat looked awful and leaned forward. Barely hitting parallel. But now I have a great ATG squat even with long femurs!

Good vid mate

Zack is 100% correct on this topic based on my own experience. I’m just over 6’6” and didn’t start squatting atg until i was 40 years old. I had to start from scratch and greatly improve my mobility but it’s totally possible with the right knowledge and progressions

This is a VERY well done video Zack, even for your high standards. Great job!

Loved the leg press machine. Couldnt squat because of lower back pain. My trainer told me i had lower back pain because I didnt squat... Started to squat - back pain gone. He was right!

So i injured myself badly in Muay Thai and I have not been able to back squat since. It just creates odd pains loading my spine, but I still front squat, goblet squat, knees over toes split squat, and hack squat. All of these feel amazing and I am working toward backsquatting again. Couldn’t kick without my whole leg going numb for years, but the above listed exercises with some weightlifting shoes have allowed me to not have to worry about any of the numbness or pain. Built up to a 285 front squat and 180x8 top set for goblet and feel healthier than I have in years, squatting is the key and it heals. As always, appreciate your insight Zack.

I think you did such a good job with making the barbell back squat more accessible with this video. Thank you! Trainers need to help lower the barrier to entry to lifting, not increase it.

This is a brilliant video for us tall guys.

I’ve been doing your 5 minute squat for 3-4 weeks now. I do them in 1 minute sets and then I will extend the time in less sets. I’m 42 so I start pretty stiff but loosen up and all is good. My mobility was terrible but has become a lot better doing this exercise. My back squat technique is 10 times better than before. Your videos are great! Thank you

Absolutely on point here

And people look at me funny when I recommend they do "Pin (Overhead sometimes) Squats" to help with their overall mobility and bottom position at the commercial gym I go to... xD Great vid! Nothing I didn't know before but you reaaaally demonstrated the gymbro mentality so well.

I think squatting is overrated, especially in weightlifting for amateurs. So much of the weightlifting world is just smashing kids with squats and the ones who respond well to that become champions, and the ones who don't, well they quit or got cut when they didn't perform as well as the others so we never hear about them. And that idea of constant squatting and basically nothing else filters down to the amateur level. But many of us are of the caliber that quit or got cut, still trying to squat as if we aren't, and wondering why all this squatting isn't doing much for us beyond injury. I trained weightlifting for many years trying every damn method of squatting there is and mostly just accumulated every damn squat related pain there is and never really gained much strength before another injury knocked me back to square one. It wasn't til I started training in a commercial gym and doing more in the way of basic leg extensions and lunges etc that my knee pain stopped and squatting became not entirely damaging. But even still, I can struggle to have any kind of productive squat session, then casually bench the same weight for more reps, because it's just so much easier on my body. And that's absurd because I'm a weightlifter and I've never put any thought into training the bench. I'm probably the worst squatter of all time in terms of time and effort invested to results achieved. So I gave up on traditional squat training and my squatting these days is more along the lines of getting a minimal effective dose of loading and skill at the squat, then bulking out my leg strength with other exercises. I'm a lot healthier and happier for it.

Zack you OWN that bottom position with HEAVY weight! Beast!!

right on ZT!

Great video

Man this is like the best video on barbell back squats I’ve ever watched. I did 4 sets of 12 reps of ass to grass (not literally) squats after watching this video. 95lbs, I weight 149 lbs.

This was a really good video

I’m no where near as tall as you, Zach, but I’m also no Eoin! I’m not really “built for squatting” but seeing you squat heavy, meant I never doubted my ability to squat - I was aware that I just needed to find the right technique for my morphology. I do love weightlifting, so I do love me an ATG back squat. The only thing I love more than that, is an ATG front squat! I’m aware that’s weird to most people, but who cares what most people think? You do, Zach - and you try to change what they think, and that’s what keeps me coming back here!

Looking substantial my dude

nice---lg from a 2 meter lifter from Austria

I tried the ass to grass method you suggested and it seems to have gotten rid of my knee pain. Can't squat nearly as much weight so it feels like starting over, but with the knee pain gone, it's worth it.

Long femur/ short torso guy. I've been squatting low bar for 7 years with back pain until i had enough of it and decided not to squat anymore. Then I saw Clarence Kennedys deep squat and decided to try it out. It took me 4-5 training sessions to find position that feels comfortable, and now it's my favorite movement in the gym. Zero pain.

funnily enough I originally found your channel because i tried squatting ages ago and couldnt go to parallel and I asked a friend and he said that olympic weightlifters are the experts on heavy weight mobility. Now I can squat atg moderately heavy but tbh it was a fair amount of work to get there. For me it was worth it because I focus on athleticism and health. but for some of my friends that just want to look good or be confident i dont think i would recommend going through it if they are tall and cant squat well i feel like they might get more out of leg pressing etc. and using the extra time saved on cardio.

Folks are looking for an easy way; strength doesn't come easy tho, demands learning and understanding you body; thank you brother for doing what you do. I hope you read this.

This is what you call coaching ❤

Hi, long time average full time enjoyer of you content. Could you provide the link to your metal giraffe tee in the description? I couldn't find it.

Lady here! This was insanely motivating as someone teaching themselves barbell movements from ground 0. Thank you Zach! (Love the zelda music at the end too)

I have started doing horse stance several times a week. I can now stand for 2 mins. I hope they'll help my flexibilty in the squats and general hip health etc. Been doing them like 3 weeks. I'll definitely will incorporate more of this deep squat positioning too. I can sit every now and then infront of the tv. 👍

While I completely agree with Zack there are some things I would add to his statements: 1. Having long femur is not the problem exactly, but the proportion of a long femur with sorther tibia. (IT CAN ALSO BE FIXED WITH PRACTICE AND MOBILITY EXERCICES SHOWED IN THIS VIDEO) 2. Zack has the longest femurs you can find in a gym, but the relation femur/tibia looks like a 1:1 because he also has long ass tibias. No intent to hate with this coment, It's just my physiotherapist/personal trainer picky personality. And before people jump on me, all my clients learn to do high bar back squats and most of them get really good at it! Keep up with the work Zack, I love your videos!

I think you hit the nail on the head with the effort bit at the end. Simply put, it's hard haring a coach say "try this for 10 years and see where that takes you" after asking how do I progress in the Barbell Squat. Willpower and discipline always outweigh a quick fix. That's why the people talk about that effort being too much, will never stay consistent. The essence of your message is 100% right. Also, don't use an outlier to prove a rule.

Can you do a video on how to safely drop the weight in the bottom position during (front)squat, cleans and snatch failures? The Justyn Vicky incident is highly relevant and I'd appreciate it very much. Thx❤

15:00 This speaks deeper than just the squat, it speaks to how society has changed for the worse. Great content. No excuses, just improve.

As a 6'2" long femur guy, I wish I would have seen this video about 4 years ago before wasting so much time on powerlifting low-bar squat form. I just recently switched to high bar with more focus on range of motion as you show, and now I'm inspired to go even further with this.

I wish I could do a training session with you. I’m 6’4 with very long legs as well. I’ve been lifting a long time (as a hobby) and have all but given up on the back squat. I just can’t seem to find a position that works for me. And now I have lower back issues that get irritated when I try. I can do low bar squats, but I hate them for some reason lol. I just do hack squats instead.

Man I really need to feel around for my form on squat, your depth puts mine to shame, and I barely squat 3 plates.