What Cues do you guys use on Squats?

[Horowitz]

So people who are squatting correctly, what cues do you guys use. If I'm trying to hit correct depth and use hip drive then I feel like I should focus on knees out, keeping my back extended, and driving my hips. Thoughts?

[veryhrm]

Last couple of weeks what i tend to write next to my squat sets is :

- breath
- tight back
- tight abs
- knees out
- bounce!

My focus during the work sets (as you can probably see from the cues) is maintaining tightness. And "tight abs" means really "the rest of the trunk" after setting the back. Not saying this is what you should focus on or that these cues are useful to you, but that's what's in my notebook right now.
At one point i used to have "drive hips" after "bounce!", but now i'm much more likely to good-morning my reps so that's come off.

[Edit: also i make no claims that my squat is correct :-) ]

[OCG]

Step under the bar, deep breath, tighten up. Step backwards. Deeper breath. Sit down and stand up whilst pushing into the belt.

[matclone]

In addition to the cues already mentioned, I noticed that if I focused on a spot 5-6 feet ahead (as Rip says we should do) rather than some further point out (as I was actually doing), that I went right to the bottom (i.e., deep), and that it felt natural from there to lift from the hips.

So, I
look at my spot (5-6 ft ahead--which isn't far)
breath
tighten up (thinking of the lower back)
knees out
chest up

[lil_vince]

For me, its been making sure ribcage-pelvis area is tight.

I find a "hollow body" position, Hollow Body Progression making sure everything is tight. If I unrack it and don't feel that tightness(with low back ARCHED, not flat), usually I'll re-rack it. I feel so much more controlled and explosive, and I've reset my squat recently because I lost this in overextending/losing that torque.

[utexas61]

In my mind:

"Stay tight. Stay fucking tight. SIT BACK. KNEES OUT. BOUNCE. TIGHT"


Usually works.

[Shion]

"Don't die"

[Marotta]

"Push"

[blowdpanis]

For the purposes of getting the squat to look like the SS model, I think this is the easiest way (to teach and think about it):

1) Assume the Set Position. Set Position = big breath, chest up, hold breath. This is the stage where you establish back position, arguably the most important aspect of a safe squat. It's easier to do this BEFORE going down than trying to assume the proper posture AFTER descent has begun.
2) Squat down thinking "knees out" and "(weight over) midfoot."

I think this works because you can usually only really think of one or two things at a time without it becoming awkward/overthought. The set position gets you in the tight position you need to be through the rest of the movement, at which point you can concentrate on the descent to put you into the proper bottom position, which includes the knees "out" and the weight of the system (you + barbell) over midfoot. At that point, you're pretty much just standing up. Or, if you prefer, "drive hips."

[FKYT]

I get everything tight, especially upper and lower back & shoulders. Unrack, take a deep breath, and squat down while shoving my knees out. During the descent, I think "Up! Up! Up!" so I can explode out of the hole as soon as I hit parallel. I also concentrate on keeping my elbows up, since it makes the bar more stable on my shoulders.