Squat Series #6: AVOID THE ARCH! How to Set Up for a Squat - Proper Bracing and Posture

"ARCH!" used to be the wisdom of the day for an effective squat setup. A few generations later, we are seeing the wear and tear in older lifters caused by this dysfunctional movement pattern.. This is a breakdown of how I setup for a squat using cues I've used successfully to rehab injuries while increasing performance.

[jonathanfeatherston]

Not sure how many subscribers you have. But for some of us you're making a big difference. After the last 15 years of following the arch type squat with heavy breathing into the belt - I have a slipped disk, serious knee problems and agonizing hip pain. I live my life in constant pain. I refuse to give up but you've already helped me so much to identify what's wrong. So this a very sincere thank you! Rooting for you to hopefully have a fantastic result in next year's official strongman games!

[Rich-igbp]

Just a cue for you guys who find it it hard to squeeze glutes on the way down, which it definitely is.... I think about squeezing my hamstrings instead, don't even do it hard, just engage them and this really works. If you engage them and try purposely arching your lower back it's almost impossible :-) Great work Alexander Bromley!

[harrisashraff]

THat advice will save tons of lower back injuries.... thanks a lot bro....

[mattreling]

Wish I saw this video 10 years ago, before I destroyed by lower went from a 455lbs squat to not being able to at all. It's been a long road back!
Wize words my friend! Keep up the great videos!

[Kickboxer]

You are a super hero. I don’t feel my lower back anymore while doing squats and I have zero pain. Meanwhile squats are my favorite exercise. Thank you very much

[brettduce]

Thank you. This is so true. In the 90’s our clubs squat cues were “Chest up, butt back, Drive through your heels!” It took me so long (over a decade) to work out that it wasn’t working for me. It is good to have this explanation/validation of moving away from this set-up.

[snorlaxcom]

Always overxtended lumbar in my squats and put me out for a year after reaching 3 plates. Getting back to it is all about my abs and ass. Weak as fuk but is the greatest feeling to not have a thrashed lower back after lifting. Only recently not associating constant pain and difficulty walking with gym progression. sic channel.

[Smithster]

This has literally helped so much for me, I had a suspicion I was doing this on my squat and then started engaging more glutes with a better spine position and my squats feel better than ever

[joshuamichael]

You're so right about recording yourself. By recording myself, I realized how bad my overall posture had gotten. Rounded shoulders, thoracic kyphosis, and anterior pelvic tilt. Basically, I'm fucked and have a lot of work to do LOL.

[pierre-renepeitzmeier]

This video clarified a lot of myths about back position when lifting.
A lot of guys think about their back when squatting or deadlifting. But if we are honest, or tiny spine and the related muscles can only support a fraction of the weight in contrast to when our abdomen/core is supporting the spine like an airbag.
When I focused on my back muscles by arching, I had a lot of trouble with my back….
When I started to focus on my abs when lifting (bracing), I stopped feeling my spine but am able to lift trouble free.

This is the reason why I never had problems lifting sandbags…an arched spine was not possible and I braced naturally.
Never dared to apply the same to deadlifts because of the „you have to arch your back“ advice…

Now when deadlifting with my altered form, my impression is that my spine is round, but in reality it is just flat…all the years of arching have misguided my senses…Now I have to relearn what a neutral spine is and that a neutral spine will feel somewhat rounded for me because of my arching history.

I don’t concentrate anymore on my back position but more on a really hard braced core and that my abs never loose contact to my hips if that makes sense….stacked like you call it….

Thanks a lot for your advices…they are helping a lot of us guys trying to get stronger …

I don’t get why guys like Matt Wenning are still preaching to arch the back……?

[jtsmith]

Your videos are a game changer, this has completely eliminated any back pain I have while squatting. Thanks for putting this information out!!

[dannownz_]

My man brought up everyone I’d use to argue against him good shit sir you may have saved me from an injury

[ottowelt]

Jesse Burdick recently mentioned that the "arch your back" is a really a really outdated cue that was used to tell stupid 350+ lbs men to keep their back straight. Not every cue helps everyone

[Julez]

Good on you to fight misinformation like this.
I've had to unfuck so many aspects of my lifting after being taught the wrong cues at the start of my lifting journey and it lost me years of progress.
Keep it up man.

[Him_Himself]

This stuff is amazing
I dont get why you dont have more viewers.

You are the first YouTuber to give me this much free advice. Not only on this video but the whole squat series, DL series, …

Thank you so much !
Greetings from Belgium

[ChillPill]

Great video! Gonna rewatch it multiple times for sure. Beginner-intermediate lifter here. I’m having to relearn bracing for squats/deadlifts and start all over again with lower weights because of overarching. If I’m squatting or deadlifting heavy regularly my lower back gets super tight and painful. Very frustrating!!!

Thanks for taking the time to go over this! 👍🏻

[TL-hevu]

Another great video for sure. I've been binging your content for the last week, and I can't believe that you don't have more subscribers. I really feel like I've found a hidden gem here. The one time the YouTube algorithm actually suggested something good to me I think.

Please keep up the good work!

[Schlook]

Your content is golden. Just golden. I went to your website and bought your spreadsheet just to support you with something right away. I wish I had this 15 years ago. What you describe is exact and precise - the crazy cues about a big arch etc... my goodness I am blessed that I never injured myself but my lifts also suffered. I feel so much stronger lifting with proper bracing. Big thanks.

[poledan]

thank you so much saving me before I get injured haha i found the anterior pelvic tilt made my squat more stable because I didn’t know how to brace before doing it but I always felt my lower back fatigue

[aduc]

Agree, some people said that they only maintain the natural arch of the spine but the cue can be misinterpreted (I did it and got back pain)