We all know the squat is the king of exercises. But let’s face it – not everyone is cut out to do a deep squat. Here’s some ideas for Better Ways to Squat.
Squats are functional training that benefits your joints, muscles, and posture and helps you run faster with the proper form. Doing squats can be more powerful if you know how to do it properly and have some equipment to help you do it easily.
Get that squat up there with these helpful things:
Better Ways to Squat – Overview
Proper form is necessary to avoid injuries and fully get the benefits of the exercises you are doing. You can achieve the correct form for squats by keeping your feet roughly shoulder-width apart and turning them out slightly, between 5 and 30 degrees. Tighten your feet to the floor to engage your lower muscles and build stability.
Doing squats is not just all about the lower body as your upper body, specifically your chest, is involved by keeping it up to avoid rounding your upper back and shoulders. Bend your knees, push your hips, engage your core, and descend. To help you do these movements, especially if you are new to squats and lifting, here are some gear and equipment to help you do your squats effectively and take them to another level.
VersaLifts V2 Heel Lift Inserts
Aside from raising the heel-to-toe drop of your training shoe by 1/2″, the VersaLifts V2 Heel Lift Inserts also feature a high-durometer polymer construction furnished to endure heavy loads while staying light and comfortable for everyday use.
These inserts raise the versatility of your favorite athletic shoes and create a new dynamic for everything from snatches and clean to box jumps, wall ball throws, and double-unders. The difference in heel height can also dramatically improve your form and positioning in squats and the long-term effectiveness of the movement.
Nike Romaleos 4
The Romaleos 4 is the top dog in Oly lifters – check out our full review of the Nike Romaleos 4 lifting shoe.
The Nike Romaleos 4 is an advanced Olympic weightlifting shoe, revised for efficient power transfer, complete stability, and a lockdown fit. The revamped design of the shoe highlights a supportive midsole and a wide, flat outsole, with adjustable straps over the laces at the midfoot to protect the foot during high-intensity workouts.
The substantial heel-to-toe drop decreases the ankle flexion required at the bottom of a lift and, merged with the rigid midsole, allows greater explosiveness off the ground. Its wide heel also produces a more reliable foundation for heavy lifts, while the durable rubber treads provide helpful traction.
Nike Savaleos
For the full details on this shoe – Nike Savaleos review – this is a great lifting shoe and significantly cheaper than the Romaleos.
The Nike Savaleos is optimized for max stability on the heaviest lifts with its hook-and-loop strap locks down the midfoot and an elevated heel for incomparable balance. The Savaleos also comprises a padded mesh inset at the heel for breathability and impact absorption and a padded tongue and collar with “Nike Weightlifting” branding.
The flat, wide sole creates a solid base under pressure, and the rugged midsole construction provides superior power transfer from the ground—vital for explosiveness.
Rogue 7MM Knee Sleeve – Pair
The contoured seams and flexible compression material used in Rogue 7MM Knee Sleeve can help ease knee strain and pain during and after a workout without confining your range of motion as you train.
Rogue Squat Wedge
Rogue’s Squat Wedge is one of the few in the industry made from steel—certainly preferable when the purpose is stability and durability. Using a squat wedge helps improve squat depth and range of motion, engage the quads, and protect and strengthen the knees. Each wedge is furnished with a slot-and-tab feature for comfortable alignment and nesting.
It also has laser cutouts and degree indicators for immediate identification of diverse angles and a patented 2-hole feature that allows easy storage on any Monster, Monster Lite, RM43, or Infinity upright/strip. A handle cutout on the top of the Squat Wedge will enable you to pick it up off the floor with comfort, and the formed/bent side parts double as valuable handles in their own right.
SAML-24 Monster Lite Safety Spotter Arms (Pair)
Rogue’s heavy-duty 24″ Safety Spotter Arms are developed to protect the weightlifter and the bar and are compatible with all Monster Lite racks. Dependability is crucial when adding spotter arms to an existing rack, especially for athletes training alone in a home or garage gym.
Monster Lite Spotter Arms is manufactured from 3×3″ 11-gauge steel tubing, with welded-on end-plates for added safety and specially designed hitch-pins to lock the spotters in place. The arms feature a UHMW plastic insert on top to protect your bars’ knurling, making them dependable. The spotters highlight 5/8″ holes and a 5/8″ pin instead of the 1″ varieties of the traditional Monster Spotter Arms.
Monster Lite Strap Safety System 2.0
Protecting your equipment and body during even the heaviest lifts is now possible with the easy but reliable solution offered by the Monster Lite Strap Safety System. The system includes 0.3125″ thick-formed steel brackets and 0.625″ diameter pin, and a pair of 3″ Wide Reinforced Black Nylon Straps, rated for over 10,000LB.
The design of the straphangers is revamped to a J-Cup style pin-and-swing system, so you can make fast, easy height adjustments without having to remove the pin. Just insert the pin at the preferred height, swing the clasp down, and the safeties are ready to go..
SB-1 – Rogue Safety Squat Bar
SB-1 has a unique way of distributing weight. Training with the Rogue Safety Squat bar can tax your anterior chain; the weight dispersal falls between the front and high-bar back squat to change your power output training. This bar is safer for intense squat progressions or maximum load lifts.
This bar increases your maximum working weight compared to the traditional back squat. The bar has a black cerakote finish with a 1.5″ diameter formed solid steel shaft and a 1″ diameter included solid steel handles. It has a fully welded design and machined Olympic sleeves.
Want more Safety Squat Bars?
Rogue CB-4 38MM Camber Bar
The Rogue CB-4 38MM Camber Bar design is meant to produce a curved/bowed specialty bar fitted to the world’s top powerlifters, Strongmen, and athletes of every size and ability level. It is intended to accommodate the size of the strongest competitive and at-home lifters, giving them room to place their hands wider apart than a traditional barbell.
The added 9″ of the distance between the sleeves also guarantees that the cambered portion of the bar won’t flip down when unsupported on most racks. It also enables you to build strength with less weight by delivering the maximum drop between the center of the bar and the sleeves. This propels you to keep the lower back tight in the squat, resulting in a more significant stimulus than the same weight on a straight bar.
Rogue Resin Squat Wedge
The Rogue Resin Squat Wedge is made from compression-molded, 100% post-consumer recycled plastic—the same material used in the famous Resin Plyo Boxes. It is made in Michigan, USA, with debossed Rogue branding and heel height indication lines running up the face at 0.5”, 0.75”, and 1”. It measures 13” wide x 6” deep and features a single, standard incline of 10 degrees, rising to a height of 1” at the back.
The Resin Squat Wedge has a strengthened rib structure in the base to provide the power and integrity of the wedge under heavy weight. Elevating the heels on an inclined wedge during squats has been proven to increase the range of motion, improve form, and better target the quad muscles.
Better Ways to Squat – In Summary
That’s our close-up look at Better Ways to Squat.
Squats work various muscle groups, primarily the quadriceps and glutes. Next time, do better squats with these pieces of equipment from different brands sold by Rogue. Both technique and gear can help you boost your performance and help you do your squats correctly, especially if you are new to squats and lifting.
Looking for more options? Check out these other great products:
You know what else helps with a big squat? How about a rock solid Power Racks or set of Squat Stands from Torque USA – these hold the bar for you safely.
Rep Fitness also has squat rack options such as the Rep Fitness SR-4000 Squat Rack.
Find more gym equipment for squatting from Rogue.
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