Step 1
Starting position: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width, with your toes pointed forward or slightly outward. Position your feet so that the balls of your feet align under the bar.
Step 2
Squat down to firmly grasp the bar just outside of the knees using a closed, alternating grip (thumbs wrapped around the bar with one hand facing forward, the other hand facing backwards) grip. Position the bar 1" in front of your shins.
Step 3
Position your body with the spine in neutral (normal-to-flat), shoulders depressed (no shrugging) with scapulae retracted (squeezing shoulder blades together). Keep your chest held up and out, head in line with your spine or slightly extended (raised), heels on the floor, and shoulders over or slightly in front of the bar. Your eyes should be facing forward or slightly upward.
Step 4
Upward Phase: Before lifting, stiffen your core and abdominal muscles (“bracing”) to stabilize your spine. Lift the bar off the floor by extending your hips and knees simultaneously to a full standing position. Think about pushing the floor away from you with your feet to return to a full standing position where the barbell rests against the front of your thighs with your arms extended, and shoulders retracted (squeezed together) and depressed. Raise the hips and shoulders together. The objective is to keep the bar close to your body as it moves upward.
Step 5
Downward Phase: Gently lower the bar back towards the floor by first shifting your hips backwards then downwards to create a hinge-like movement at your knees. As you lower your hips the knees will then start to shift forward slowly, but try to control the amount of forward translation (movement) of the tibia (shinbone). Lower the hips and shoulders together and attempt to keep your back flat, shoulders retracted and depressed. Think about holding a pencil between your shoulder blades throughout both phases of the movement.
Step 6
Grip Variations: With light weights, you may opt to use a closed, pronated grip (thumbs wrapped around the bar with both hands facing backwards) or a closed, supinated grip (thumbs wrapped around the bar with both hands facing forward).
Technique is very important in this lift. Two common mistakes are (a) increasing the lumbar lordosis (curve in the low back) during the lifting and lowering phases and (b) not raising and lowering the hips and shoulders together.