One of the most common issues people have with the barbell squat is properly setting the upper back for the exercise.

Having the upper back muscles not quite solidly engaged or in a poor position to support the weight can make the exercise just plain uncomfortable or even completely throw off form, leading to injury or a missed rep.

This is my simple method for getting a perfect upper back setup every time. It takes just a few seconds and it puts your upper back in the ideal position for supporting the bar for a squat, no matter how light or how heavy you go.

Because, bottom line, people are TOLD to tighten up the back to support the bar, but they're not always shown how to actually DO that effectively.

First, grip the bar where you normally would for squats. My grip width for squats is the same width as my bench press grip...index fingers on the smooth rings.

Next, angle your body, duck your head under the bar and let your bodyweight sink forward, pulling your shoulders back.

I find this is NOT tough on the shoulders at all, simply because instead of using the rear delts and upper back muscles to pull the shoulders back into external rotation (which creates a lot of tension in the joint), you're letting your bodyweight do the work to move your shoulders into that externally-rotated position. It's a more passive action, so to speak.

This makes a HUGE difference in terms of feel and mechanics. I don't have great shoulders and this position actually feels just fine to me.

Next, you're going to perform a "sort of" behind-the-neck pull-up/pulldown movement as you step forward and move your body up.

Again, because your bodyweight is pulling your shoulders into that externally-rotated position, it shouldn't be painful in the joint at all.

Focus on contracting your upper back muscles HARD as you step and pull forward. This is what's creating the shelf.

Keep moving up and forward until your upper back contacts the bar. This works with high and low bar positioning squats (high bar is set higher up on the upper back...low bar is lower on the upper back.. I won't get into the merits of each form here, though).

The spot I find most comfortable is about medium (closer to high than low)...just on top of the "shelf" created by the shoulder blades and padded by the contracted middle traps.

While keeping your upper back muscles contracted, keep stepping forward, rotating the bar as you do so. Now you're locked in and ready to unrack.

Step back and setup for the squat. You should feel nice and solid with your upper back now and the bar should be fairly comfortable on your back.

Perform your squat as normal now.

I find with this technique and improvement in "solidity" in the upper back, I'm able to keep better form during the exercise.

Give this a shot next time you squat...it's very simple to do.

Just remember...body at an angle, let your bodyweight pull your shoulders back, perform a pull-up and contract the upper back muscles hard.

I put together a quick 2-minute video of the setup for you to watch here (definitely worth watching to get the best idea of how to do the setup).

You might also notice that this position is very similar to the squat shoulder mobility drill that I talked about a few weeks ago that you can find here.

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