Squats and Deadlifts: Variations, Modifications, and Programming for All Fitness Levels

Enhance strength and well-being with two essential exercises

Squatting and deadlifting are both foundational movement patterns that should be a big part of all fitness and training programs. Both movements are needed to perform activities of daily living, high level athletics and everything in between. Because they are so important, you must be proficient in coaching proper technique and be able to prescribe a host of variations of each movement to match the needs and activity levels of your clients. 

In this course, you will learn the specifics of a high-quality squat and deadlift, explore a variety of progressions and regressions for each, and collect programming ideas so you can use the squat and deadlift appropriately in your clients’ training programs.

Developed by Mitch Hauschildt, MA, ATC, CSCS, Prevention, Rehab, and Physical Performance Coordinator at Missouri State University, this course will improve your ability to teach and coach the squat and deadlift to improve overall programming and give clients an enhanced training technique. 

Upon completion, you will be able to:

• Understand why squatting and deadlifting are important for all individuals
• Describe the important checkpoints for an ideal squat and implement variations to fit each client’s needs
• Recognize proper techniques for the deadlift, trap bar deadlift and Romanian deadlift
• Integrate deadlifting variations within a larger training program