Starting Strength

come into flexion together during the descent. Tension builds on the isometrically tight hamstrings as they approach the bottom; in this way, they control the back angle and contribute to the stretch reflex effect as the rebound occurs. A few people lack sufficient extensibility in the posterior chain muscles, and some people have tight joint capsule ligaments, but not nearly as many people need stretching out as merely need the correct stance, the correct knee position outside the ASIS, and a loud reminder to keep their knees out. The weighted squat has few superiors in the realm of things that go stretch , anyway, and what little stretching is actually needed can usually be done within a few sets of weighted squats that incorporate a correct knees-out descent.
    Our previous discussion of low-back position can now be understood in a more complete context. A developed kinesthetic sense of spinal position is necessary for efficient force transfer and for effective athletic performance in general. Relying on ligament tension and general trunk tightness is fine with very light weights, but is really a handicap at work-set loads. If the lumbar spine and the pelvis do not stay perfectly rigid in what can be called “pelvic lock,” force transfer is not as efficient up the spine, and posterior chain rebound is soft because of the less-than-efficient relationship that a loose lumbar spine has with the pelvis and the muscles attached to it. Rigid lumbar extension places the pelvis at a better angle to tighten the hamstrings at the bottom, making a more efficient rebound possible because force isn’t being absorbed by a loose lumbar spine. And the hamstrings produce a more efficient stretch reflex with a rigid lumbar spine at the back angle used in the low-bar squat. Think of it this way: there is a war between the erectors and the hamstrings over control of the pelvis, and the erectors have to win if the back is to stay rigid and the hamstrings are to be used effectively.
    If you do not know how to contract your erector muscles in order to arch your lower back, with no tension from the hamstrings interfering, this means that you do not know how to assume this position voluntarily. You do not have the kinesthetic sense to know when the arch is there and when it isn’t, and you can’t put your back in this position at the bottom of a deadlift or keep it there at the bottom of a squat when hamstring tension is at its highest. If this is you, make it a priority to learn how to control your lower back position.
    To recap: The complete concept of the correct use of the hips in the squat is best understood as the use of both an actively locked lumbar extension and actively shoved-out knees, resulting in a below-parallel squat that incorporates a stretch reflex, using all the muscles of the posterior chain in the most optimal way possible. This movement pattern gets the thighs out of the way of the pelvis so that good depth can be more easily obtained. At the same time, it makes the squat stronger because the active use of the external rotators holds the femurs in a position that enables both the external rotators and the adductors to contribute to hip extension. This hip extension produces a more effective use of more muscles over a wider range of motion.
     
    Knees
     
    In a correct back squat of the style advocated here, there is one correct place for the knees: directly in line with the feet so that the femurs and the feet are parallel. This position will, for most people, be slightly out in front of the toes, with the exact distance being determined by the anthropometry of the individual. This basically means that the femur and the foot should be in a straight line as seen from directly above, so there is no twisting of the knee. Depending on your femur, tibia, and trunk dimensions, your knees could be anywhere from very slightly behind your toes, with short femurs and long tibias, to 3 or 4 inches in front of the toes, with long femurs and short tibias.

    Figure 2-45. The differences that anthropometry can produce in the appearance of the bottom position of the squat. Both are correct, but both are different due to variations in leg and trunk length.

Since your knees will be directly in line with your toes, the angle of your feet in your stance will determine the angle of the knees as well. As shown in Figure 2-12 , an angle of about 30 degrees out from the perpendicular works for most people, although this varies as