Squatting is an essential part of any fitness routine and you will likely see squats in some form or another multiple times throughout your training week. Therefore, we are going to break down the best stretches to do before you squat. These stretches should lead to better performance and less injuries.

These stretches include:

1. Deep Squat

2. Lunge

3. Pigeon Stretch

4. Couch Stretch

Begin by sitting in the bottom of a squat and press your elbows into your knees allowing your hips to open. Be sure to squat slow and controlled and hold at the bottom for a few seconds to really feel the stretch. A couple sets of ten are ideal for this stretch.

This helps loosen up your lower body. Either do the movement in place or perform walking lunges. Be sure to really reach with your front leg. For more of a stretch place your hands or elbow down on the inside of the front leg.

Pigeon is a common yoga pose that will help stretch/prime your hips for squats. You can move directly into the pigeon stretch from the lunges by placing the front leg on the ground and making it perpendicular to the opposite leg. Try to keep the back leg straight for this movement.

The final stretch, couch stretch, can be done against couch, wall, or wall ball. Make sure the back leg's foot is placed on the wall while your opposite foot is in a half knee position. You should not feel any pain in this stretch, if you do experience pain move farther away from the wall/couch/wall ball.

Now that you are primed for your squats go out and get some PRs!

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