A buttwink is a joking term used by gym bros to call out bad form on a squat. This happens when you squat with really bad form.
Butt Winks are when people tuck their hips into a posterior pelvic tilt at the bottom of the squat. Your lower back is also arched with your hips, making a winking shape that can cause a slew of problems if unaddressed.
Many people try to avoid this because there’s a high injury risk to your spine and knees. If you’ve been told that you have a butt wink, don’t worry. Bad form should and can be corrected!
This is what you will have to do.
How Does A Buttwink Occur?
A buttwink squat looks like a flexed rounded spine. Most people do this when they squat, trying to get the motion of throwing their hips back. This can happen in any type of squat, such as a front squat, back squat, goblet squat, or a bodyweight squat. You’ve probably seen it before and probably done it as well. Because it’s pretty common, you might think it’s not a big deal, but it has many negative consequences.
Some lifters might argue that buttwink isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it should be addressed for your safety.
As a former powerlifter, buttwink often caused me some grief and lower back discomfort. If you wish to lift for as long as possible, try to incorporate mobility routines into your training to avoid issues in the future.
Common injuries from buttwinks include injury to the spine, lower back pain, and damage to the discs and vertebrae. Buttwinks also reduce squat effectiveness because the strength is put on your lower back as opposed to your glutes and legs.
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How To Fix A Buttwink
There are many ways you can try to fix a buttwink. For some people, it’s as simple as telling them verbally but others have to re-learn how to squat. It’ll take time and practice to break bad habits and build better ones. You can fix your squat by:
- Keeping your feet shoulder-width apart
- Keeping your chest up
- Straitening your back
- Make sure you are using proper squat mechanics
Once you’ve made your form better, work on your hip mobility and core strength to help increase your squat power. Sometimes buttwink may occur due to pelvic tilt or poor ankle mobility. Practice squatting with good form to make sure your bad buttwink habits don’t return.
We also recommend that you focus on improving hamstring and hip flexor mobility to loosen up your hips.
Out of general practice, you should be sprinkling daily mobility work into your routine in addition to spinal decompression to spare your lower back. You may also consider using lower body exercises with reduced spinal loading to get the same intensity as squatting but without the stress on your lower back.
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