The King of the Exercises

I asked one of my staff to do a squat demo and I thought that they did a good job with this.

It really is a great exercise for rugby players. There is no hiding with it! Just get under the bar!

Technically the guy here knows his limits of 'how deep to go' (just about) by keeping a slight curvature in the lower back. Rounding of the back with that much weight on your back will cause problems. These include overstretching of the posterior ligaments of the back and excessive shear force through the discs.

If you have trouble going down as deep then:

a) Build yourself up to this depth by using boxes set at a height just above 'breaking point' in the lower back. Gradually lower the depth with another box as you get accustomed to this depth. Hold the curve and push those hips right back
b) Aggresively stretch and foam roll your hips and IT Band, Hip Flexors and Lower Leg. EVERY DAY!
c) Get ART (Active Release Technique)

This should help you get deeper and allow you to recruit your hamstrings more. When you do this....watch out!