The Overhead Squat
So, this is maybe now a little disjointed…at least for the time being.
In terms of teaching the Squat I’d usually go Back Squat, Front Squat then Overhead Squat and that was my plan for this Squat technique series.
However, I started with the Snatch and as I got past the 2nd pull into the turnover and catch I realised that although I took it that I was talking to athletes that probably already knew how to squat, I would probably need something to reference back to as a baseline if I didn’t want to write what I’m putting down here twice.
Ultimately, you need a prior knowledge of the most basic component before you move onto the more complex. If I had a complete beginner I wouldn’t teach them the Hang Snatch before I taught them how to Overhead Squat and even then i’d move onto the Snatch Balance after.
Finding your squat stance
There are loads of ways coaches use to find what stance you should squat in, and much like finding your grip in the Snatch, a lot of coaches overcomplicate it. Some have you jump up, or broad jump using where your feet land as a starting point for your Squat. Dan John takes it a step further and has you do 3 jumps with the 3rd being your stance for that day, or at least thats what he said in a recent video.
Ultimately, whatever method you use it has to facilitate finding a squatting stance that will let you hit maximal depth rather than maximal weight due to the nature of the Snatch and Olympic Lifting in general.
Personally, I’m not keen on overcomplicating it and like Greg Everetts method the best. Quite simply, sit down into the deepest ‘Resting Squat’ that you can. If you’re unsure, a resting squat is a squat where your knees are completely bent and your upper body is relaxed. So don’t worry about some rounding in the back for the time being.
From there, have a wiggle around and while keeping the knees in alignment with the foot, find the foot position where your hips feel loosest. It will most likely be a more narrow stance than you originally think if this is your first time doing it.
From there stand up, then perform a bodyweight squat maintaining tightness through the whole range of motion. You won’t get as deep as you did in the resting squat, but you won’t be far off. Once thats completed, you now know your baseline in terms of squatting stance when it comes to maximal depth.
Grip and getting the bar overhead
I’ll keep this brief…
In terms of the Overhead Squat, as long as you’re safe it doesn’t really matter too much if your slightly out in terms of ideal width. However, in terms of the Snatch its hugely important to get it right!
I’ll not go over it again, its in the prerequisites of my Snatch Technique series, so I’ll just leave the link here instead. If you haven’t read it, go read it now.
The OVERHEAD Squat
So, you know your stance and I’ll take it as read that you’ve headed off for a couple of minutes to read the pieces on grip width and putting the bar overhead within the Snatch Prerequisites article. In all honesty, if you’ve done all that correctly, the rest should come pretty easy as all you’re doing is sitting down...
So, ‘sitting down’ once everything is in position isn’t really that helpful, so i’ll elaborate a little but i’ll keep it fairly brief.
Take a bracing breath then hinge at the hip slightly to initiate the movement. From there I like two different cues and I just pick the one that works the best for that lifter.
Either ‘sit down onto the heels’ or ‘squat into the shins.’
Finally, balance is important in the squat, especially with the bar overhead. When Overhead squatting the bar needs to be inline with and stay directly over two places on the body…
The base of the neck.
The midfoot.
Once you’re at full depth, stand back up making sure the chest and hips rise at the same time maintaining the angle of the torso!
Cueing & Fixes
There’s a lot of things that can go wrong in the Overhead Squat, it’s impossible to cover them all and its usually less to do with mobility than people think. Below I’ll cover the main problems, cues and fixes I see and use on a day to day basis.
If you struggle with just putting the bar overhead…do some behind the neck snatch grip presses as described in the Snatch Technique Prerequisites that is linked above and build some strength there.
If you tip forward on the way out the hole…make sure you’re keeping your head up and eyes fixated on something just higher than straight ahead. If the head drops, so does the chest and the bar will follow.
If you still tip forward…press your big toe into the ground, as it could be because of an inactive foot causing balance issues.
If you struggle with position…do some slow tempos on the descent focussing on balance.
If you struggle with Mobility….do some pauses in your bottom position.
Lastly, a Snatch Grip Sots Press is a great assistance movement for the Overhead Squat.
Summary
I’ll do a quick step by step summary to finish and also link the Snatch Technique Series Turnover & Catch at the bottom of the page.
Put the bar in a ‘High Bar’ Position with the hands at Snatch width and take the bar out of the rack.
Take a bracing breath, pick a spot on in front of you to focus on and put the bar overhead using the technique described, use leg drive if you need to, but if your strong enough to need leg drive you probably don’t need this whole article.
Once stable start to squat down either aiming to sit down onto the heels, or by squatting into the shins.
Remain balanced through the whole movement by keeping the bar over the base of the neck and the midfoot.
Coming out of the hole, the hips and chest should rise at the same time and torso angle should be maintained.
Finally, theres no link, but I sometimes run what I like to call ‘The Overhead Squat Overhaul’ where I go through this in more depth. It’s 14 days long and FREE, so keep an eye out for it if its something that interests you!
Adam Johnston, 20th July 2020
