Are you intimidated by the idea of squatting heavy?
Do you feel unsteady when squatting with heavy kettlebells?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, these tips are just what you need to not only improve your squat, but also to increase the weight of the kettlebell you use.
When done correctly, the double kettlebell squat will help you increase not only your strength and muscle mass, but your balance as well.
First, make proper squat execution your priority. Ditch the weight to begin with and exercise with just your body weight, making perfect form and balance your main focus.
Second, you should always feel that you are in full control throughout the entire movement. If you ever feel unbalanced, then there is something wrong with your form or there is a weak area that fails to maintain proper alignment during movement. Form and focus are critical.
Your eyes should look forward and slightly upward.
Your lower back should always be straight, try to place two pieces of tape vertically on your lower back while it is straight, this way if your back starts to bend or you feel the tape pulling the tape you can straighten it before bending your back
Your knees should NEVER move forward past your feet or inward. This can injure your knees. You will want to make sure that your knees go over your feet and that your feet are completely flat throughout the movement.
Third, if you are completely new to squatting, you may want to practice with a chair behind you and work your form while sitting in the chair and then standing while maintaining tension and balance at all times. feet on the floor while standing while tensing your abs and lower back at the same time.
Finally, you want to make sure that your hips are strong and flexible enough to perform the movement, if you have problems in the lower part of the squat, then you may want to work on improving hip flexibility. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of squatting, especially with two kettlebells. When balancing two kettlebells, the lack of flexibility in the hips will generally prevent you from being able to squat low enough and this causes overcompensation when trying to descend into the squat, resulting in a lack of confidence while squatting, affecting balance form.
These four tips will help you make sure you’re squatting heavy and avoiding injury in the process.