Squat form check: a live coach on your phone
The squat is the most common lower-body strength exercise, and depth and torso angle are what most people want to check. A good squat reaches about knee height or lower with the hips, keeps the chest up and stands all the way back up.
No equipment needed. Practise at home. Just do the rep properly in front of your phone. Bodyweight squats, push-ups and lunges need nothing at all, and you can check the hinge and press patterns with a very light weight or none: the coach judges your movement, not your kit.
What good looks like
- Stand with your feet about shoulder width and your toes slightly out.
- Sit back and down, keeping your chest up and your weight over the middle of your foot.
- Reach about knee height or lower with the hips, as far as your mobility allows.
- Drive up and stand fully tall at the top before the next rep.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Not reaching depth
Partial reps work less of the legs. Go down until your hips reach about knee height, as far as your mobility allows.
Folding forward
Keep your chest up so your back angle stays steady.
Not standing fully
Finish each rep tall, to work the full range.
What Formanti checks on your squat
The top of every rep, judged the same way.
- Knees: 155–185°. stand all the way up
- Hips: 155–185°. hips fully open at the top
- Back angle: -12–14°. tall, ribs over hips
Your bottom
The low point of every rep, judged against the guide ranges.
- Knees: 30–105°. hips down to about knee height or lower
- Hips: 30–105°. sit back as well as down
- Back angle: -5–65°. chest up: a forward lean, but not folded
What you hear and see when you are off
Sit a little deeper
The coach says: “Go a little deeper”
On screen: Sit a little deeper.
Drill: Pause squats: lower under control, hold 2 seconds at the bottom, then stand. Or squat down to a box set at knee height.
Sit back as well as down
The coach says: “Hips back”
On screen: Sit back as well as down.
Drill: Goblet squats: hold a weight at your chest, sit between your knees, and keep your chest up.
Chest up, don't fold forward
The coach says: “Chest up”
On screen: Chest up, don't fold forward.
Drill: Front-loaded squats (a weight held at the chest) to teach an upright torso, with a pause at the bottom.
Stand all the way up
The coach says: “Stand all the way up”
On screen: Stand all the way up.
Drill: Squat and pause for a count of 1 standing tall at the top of every rep.
Squeeze your glutes and finish tall
The coach says: “Finish tall”
On screen: Squeeze your glutes and finish tall.
Drill: Pause at the top of each rep and squeeze your glutes for 1 second.
Don't lean back at the top
The coach says: “Don't lean back”
On screen: Don't lean back at the top.
Drill: Film from the side and check your shoulders stack over your hips at the top.
Finish tall, ribs over hips
The coach says: “Stand tall”
On screen: Finish tall, ribs over hips.
Drill: Squat with a pause at the top, checking your shoulders sit over your hips.
Drills you can do alone
- Box squat: squat to a box or bench set at knee height, to learn the depth.
- Goblet squats: hold a weight at your chest to keep your torso upright and the depth honest.
How to set up your phone
Phone at hip height, 2 to 3 metres to your side, whole body in view. A bar, a weight at your chest, or just your bodyweight. Film from the side: back and hip angles cannot be judged head-on. It all runs on your phone and nothing is uploaded.
New: ranges from standard coaching references, not yet checked against real lifters.
Frequently asked questions
How deep should I squat?
Powerlifting counts the hip crease at or below the top of the knee. For general training, as deep as you can go with a flat back and control.
Can a phone check my squat depth?
Yes. Filmed from the side, the angles at the knee and hip at the bottom of the rep show whether you are reaching depth.
More lifts to check
Deadlift · Push-up · Lunge · Overhead press · Bent-over row · Romanian deadlift