Eye Sight in the Squat

Where we focus our eye sight during the squat matters: as we squat, we want to look down and ahead -- approximately 8-12 feet in front of us. By doing so, initiating hip drive out of the hole is more easily accomplished. However, if we look straight ahead or gaze up toward the ceiling, many times we tend to lead with our chest because it follows where we focus. When our chest comes up first, our hips, and subsequently our knees, move slightly forward; this decreases our knee angle and results in reduced hamstring tension due to the relationship between our knee and hip joints. (Our hamstrings are a valuable prime mover in this exercise -- many people fail to recognize this), and when we lose even the slightest bit of elasticity, power is reduced. So the next time you set up for and execute the king of exercises, be sure to have the appropriate line of sight. Your gains will thank you!