Sophie Bennett
Why the Squat Keeps Causing Trouble
The squat is one of the most useful movements you can teach a client, whether they are a seasoned gym-goer or a complete beginner who has just signed up for their first block of personal training. It builds leg strength, reinforces hip and ankle mobility, and carries over into everything from picking up shopping bags to sprinting for a bus.
It is also one of the easiest movements to get subtly wrong. Most squat problems are not caused by laziness or a lack of effort. They come from tight ankles, weak glutes, poor body awareness, or simply not knowing what a good rep should feel like. The good news is that the majority of these issues respond very quickly to the right cue and a bit of targeted mobility work.
Mistake One: Cutting the Depth Short
A half squat is not a bad exercise, but it is a different exercise. When a client stops well above parallel, they limit the contribution of the glutes and hamstrings, load the knees more than necessary, and often convince themselves they have done more work than they actually have.
Before you shout "go deeper", check why they are stopping. The usual culprits are stiff ankles, restricted hip flexion, or a simple fear of losing balance. Try these in order:
- Elevate the heels slightly with a small wedge or weight plate to see whether ankle range is the limiting factor. If depth improves instantly, spend time on calf and ankle mobility.
- Use a box or bench as a depth target. Tapping the box gives a clear, repeatable reference point and helps the client trust the position.
- Cue the hips, not the knees. "Sit back and down between your feet" often produces a more natural descent than "bend your knees".
- Slow the tempo down. A three-second descent gives the client time to find the bottom position rather than bouncing out of it.
Once range improves, keep the depth honest. A slightly lighter load taken through a full range will build far more than a heavy half rep.
Mistake Two: Knees Collapsing Inwards
Knee valgus, where the knees drift towards each other during the descent or the drive up, is one of the most common things a trainer will see on the gym floor. It is rarely a knee problem. It is usually a hip control problem, with the glutes struggling to hold the femur in a good position under load.
Start by checking whether it happens in every rep or only under fatigue. If it only appears on the last few reps, the answer is simple: reduce the load and build the capacity. If it happens from the very first rep, the client probably needs to learn what good hip position feels like.
- Cue the outside of the foot. "Spread the floor with your feet" or "push the knees gently out over the little toes" gives an external focus that works well for most people.
- Use a light resistance band around the knees during warm-up sets. The band gives instant feedback when the knees drift in.
- Strengthen the glutes directly. Hip thrusts, side-lying abduction and single-leg work all transfer well to squatting.
- Check foot position. A stance that is too narrow or toes pointing straight ahead can make valgus almost inevitable.
Mistake Three: Excessive Forward Lean
Some forward lean is normal, and it varies with limb length and squat style. It becomes a problem when the chest collapses, the bar drifts over the toes, and the lower back takes the brunt of the load.
Forward lean usually points to one of three things: limited ankle dorsiflexion, weak upper back and core, or a bar path that has drifted out of position. Address them in that order.
- Improve ankle mobility. Kneeling ankle mobilisations against a wall, two or three sets of ten per side, work wonders for clients who cannot keep their heels down.
- Strengthen the upper back. Rows, face pulls and front-loaded variations such as goblet squats encourage a more upright torso.
- Rehearse the bar path. For back squats, the bar should travel roughly over the mid-foot. A vertical line drawn on the floor, or a coach's hand as a reference, helps clients feel it.
- Try a front squat or goblet squat as a teaching tool. The load position naturally discourages excessive lean.
Mistake Four: Heels Lifting and Weight Shifting
If your client's heels come off the floor at the bottom, the weight has shifted onto the toes. This is often the same ankle restriction showing up in a different way, but it can also come from simply not knowing where the middle of the foot is.
Cue "keep the weight over the whole foot" rather than "stay on your heels", which tends to push people dangerously backwards. A useful drill is the slow tempo squat with a two-second pause at the bottom, asking the client to feel pressure spread evenly across the foot. Barefoot training or flat-soled shoes, where appropriate, makes this much easier to sense.
Putting the Fixes Into Practice
You do not need to correct everything at once. Pick one fault, give it one clear cue, and give the client a couple of weeks to own it before moving on to the next. Film a set from the side and the front so the client can see what you are seeing, and use a lighter load while they are learning.
Most squat problems fade surprisingly quickly when mobility work, sensible loading and consistent cueing are applied together. Be patient, keep the feedback simple, and celebrate the small improvements. A confident, well-patterned squat is one of the most valuable things you can give an active adult, and it will serve them for decades.
