This article is reprinted with permission from Calibre Press.
By Richard Hough and Hannah Burkhart
It’s a routine call.
You’re positioned behind a vehicle, watching movement inside. You’ve dropped your center of gravity — slightly crouched, balanced, ready. You’re not thinking about it. It’s just where your body goes when attention sharpens. Seconds pass. Then more. Nothing happens — but you don’t come out of position. You stay there, waiting and watching.
And then the moment changes. The door opens. Movement. Noncompliance. Now you have to move — forward, laterally, into control. But your legs are already fatigued. Your posture has drifted. Your ability to generate force from that position is compromised.
What fails in that moment is not tactics. It is position.
A position we don’t train
Law enforcement training has evolved in important ways. We are more thoughtful about use of force, better at communication and increasingly focused on decision-making under pressure. But one area remains largely untouched: we do not train positions.
We train how to shoot. We train how to defend. We train how to control. But we rarely train how to hold the positions that make those things possible. And that matters, because many critical moments in this profession do not begin with movement. They begin with being in the right position — and staying there long enough for it to matter.
An officer behind cover. An officer preparing to move. An officer engaged in a physical encounter where posture determines leverage. These are not dynamic moments. They are positional ones. And if the position fails, everything that follows is compromised.
We don’t lose control because we don’t know what to do. We lose control because we can’t hold position long enough to do it.
What the squat actually is
Law enforcement is a physically demanding profession requiring strength across a wide range of tasks — restraining individuals, lifting, pushing, or moving objects, navigating obstacles and maintaining control in unstable environments. At its foundation, the squat is not just a gym exercise. It is a human movement pattern.
Outside of the weight room, the squat appears in everyday actions — standing up from a chair, lowering the body to interact with objects, or maintaining a crouched position behind cover. In law enforcement, this position is frequently assumed but rarely trained directly.
The value of the squat lies in its integration of the entire kinetic chain. Properly performed, it activates the abdominals and spinal stabilizers, the glutes and hips, the quadriceps, and even the stabilizing structures of the feet. This coordinated engagement allows the body to generate force, maintain balance and resist collapse under load. That combination — force, balance and structural integrity — is not abstract. It is operational. Because the job does not ask whether you can squat. It asks whether you can maintain position, generate force from that position and transition out of it under pressure.
The operational reality
Officers do not operate in controlled environments. They operate under load, often carrying 20 or more pounds of gear, in awkward positions, on uneven surfaces, and while processing information in real time.
Research on law enforcement wellness and performance consistently shows that load carriage alters movement mechanics, increases fatigue, and places additional strain on the spine and lower extremities. For specialized units, where additional equipment is required, those effects are amplified.
At the same time, many law enforcement tasks require sustained or repeated partial squat positions:
- Holding a position behind cover
- Preparing to move during a high-risk encounter
- Engaging in physical control during an arrest
- Lifting or dragging objects or individuals
These are not maximal strength events. They are positional strength events, and they are often performed under fatigue. That distinction matters.
Maximal strength is what you can produce once. Positional strength is what you can maintain when the situation does not resolve quickly. And in law enforcement, situations often do not resolve quickly.
Position under pressure
Consider a common arrest scenario.
An officer initiates contact on a noncompliant subject. The subject resists — not with immediate assaultive behavior, but with instability, pulling away, forcing the officer to adjust position repeatedly. The encounter transitions quickly from standing to a partially lowered stance, then toward a takedown attempt. The officer drops their level to establish leverage. At that point, the outcome begins to hinge on something very basic: The ability to maintain position while generating force.
If the officer can hold that lowered posture — hips engaged, base stable, spine controlled — they can drive through the movement, maintain balance and transition into control.
If they cannot, the position degrades. The chest comes forward. The heels shift. The knees collapse inward. The base narrows. Force is lost. Now the officer is no longer controlling the encounter. They are reacting to it.
That transition happens quickly — and often without awareness. But it is not random. It is a function of positional strength.
A quick squat screen
Before integrating squat training into a program, it is useful to assess baseline movement. A simple bodyweight squat provides valuable information about mobility, stability, and control.
When performing a bodyweight squat, observe the following:
- Can the individual reach parallel (approximately a 90-degree knee bend)?
- Do the heels remain in contact with the ground?
- Does the torso remain stable, or collapse forward?
- Is the spine maintained in a neutral position?
- Do the knees track properly, or collapse inward?
Compensations in these areas do not mean the movement should be avoided. They indicate where adjustment — and improvement — is needed.
In many cases, small modifications can immediately improve movement quality. Elevating the heels slightly (using small weight plates or plywood) can address ankle mobility limitations and allow for better depth and posture. Addressing lateral hip strength can improve knee tracking (If you notice your knees tend to migrate inward) and overall stability.
The goal is not perfection. The goal is a movement pattern that is stable, repeatable, and capable of being loaded safely over time.
When position breaks down
Movement compensations in a squat are not just technical issues. They are indicators of how the body will respond under stress.
Heels rising off the ground reduce stability and limit force transfer. Excessive forward lean compromises balance and shifts load away from the hips. Knees collapsing inward reduce structural integrity and increase injury risk.
In an operational setting, these are not minor flaws.
They become:
- Loss of base during a struggle
- Reduced ability to generate force
- Increased likelihood of fatigue-related collapse
- Greater exposure to injury
The body will default to its strongest pattern under stress. If that pattern is inefficient, it will fail when it matters most.
5 squat mistakes officers make
- Treating squats as just a gym exercise: If it doesn’t connect to how you move on the job, it won’t show up when it matters.
- Losing position at the bottom: The bottom position is where control is built — or lost.
- Letting the heels lift: This reduces stability and limits force production when you need it most.
- Knees collapsing inward: A weak position under load becomes a failed position under stress.
- Only training one rep range: Strength without endurance — or endurance without strength — leaves gaps in performance.
Building the pattern: Squat variations
One of the strengths of squat training is its adaptability. Variations allow officers to develop strength across different positions and demands. For those with limited experience, starting with a dumbbell or kettlebell goblet squat is often effective. This variation encourages an upright posture and reinforces foundational control while developing lower-body strength. As competency improves, additional variations can be introduced.
The barbell back squat is one of the most effective tools for developing total-body strength, muscular endurance, and postural stability. It also strengthens the spinal erectors, which play a critical role in maintaining position under load — particularly relevant for officers experiencing spinal discomfort from extended periods of gear wear.
The front squat shifts demand toward the anterior chain while requiring a more upright torso position. This places greater emphasis on core stability and thoracic mobility, helping to counteract the rounded postures associated with prolonged sitting and equipment load.
For individuals with current back concerns or sensitivity to axial loading, alternative variations can be used. The Zercher squat allows for significant loading without direct spinal compression while reinforcing bracing and control in positions that more closely resemble real-world lifting and carrying tasks.
Additional options, such as belt squats or machine-based variations, can further reduce spinal stress while maintaining lower-body development.
The specific variation matters less than the outcome. The goal is to build a body that can hold position, manage load, and generate force when required.
Why variation matters
Training must reflect the range of demands placed on the officer. This includes development across a continuum from muscular endurance to maximal strength.
Muscular endurance — developed through higher repetitions and lower loads—has been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk factors, an important consideration given the health profile of the law enforcement population.
Maximal strength — developed through lower repetitions and higher loads—has been associated with improvements in high-intensity performance. This has more direct carryover to short-duration, high-demand tasks such as physical control encounters.
These qualities are not interchangeable.
An officer who only trains endurance may lack the ability to generate sufficient force when needed. An officer who only trains maximal strength may fatigue quickly when required to sustain effort over time.
In practice, the job demands both. You are not always operating at maximum effort. But when you are, nothing else matters.
Three ways to train it this week
- Bottom position holds (20–40 seconds): Drop into a controlled squat and hold. Focus on posture, balance, and breathing under tension.
- Goblet squat progressions: Start light, build control, then gradually increase load while maintaining upright posture. This shifts more of the work to developing the quads.
- Load + time combination sets: Perform controlled repetitions, then finish with a static hold at the bottom position.
Train not just to move — but to stay there.
Training implications
If squatting matters — and it does — then it must be trained with intention. Not as a general fitness exercise, but as a tactical capability. That requires a shift in perspective.
Training should emphasize control at the bottom position, where stability is most challenged. It should include exposure to load, because officers operate under load. It should incorporate duration, because not every demand is explosive. And it should span multiple intensity levels to prepare for the full range of operational demands.
There is a tendency in physical training to default to what is easy to measure—repetition counts, maximum weight, or standardized benchmarks. While those have value, they do not fully capture what the job requires.
What matters in this context is not simply how much you can lift. It is how well you can maintain position, generate force, and sustain control when it matters most.
A small skill with big consequences
It is easy to overlook the squat because it feels familiar. Everyone knows how to bend their knees. But not everyone can maintain position under load, generate force from compromised posture, and sustain control under fatigue. Those are trained abilities. And like many things in this profession, they are not used constantly — but when they are, they matter. A great deal.
Closing
An officer may go an entire shift without thinking about how they move into or hold a position. But when that moment comes — when control depends on stability, when movement begins from fatigue, when position determines outcome — there is no adjustment. No reset. No second attempt. Just position. And the ability to hold it. Because in that moment — whether behind cover or engaged in a physical encounter — the officer who maintains position controls the outcome. And whatever strength the officer brings to that moment is the strength they will have.
About the authors
Dr. Richard M. Hough, Sr., TSAC-F, is the Professor of Practice in the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). He is the author of “The Use of Force in Criminal Justice,” second edition, “Police Pursuit: Risk, Decision-Making,” and “Operational Dynamics” (forthcoming 2026), and he has taught defensive tactics for forty years.
Hannah Burkhart, M.S., CSCS, SPT, is a strength and conditioning coach, a collegiate athlete and a student in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at ETSU.
