Intro To…Squat
In this blog post, we're going to cover an Introduction to the Squat.
Watch the YouTube video here
THE PURPOSE:
Strengthen the legs through a
large range of movement, in particular the knees and hips
Develop muscle around
- the quadriceps
- glutes
- adductors (inner thigh)
Allowing movement into low positions and developing leg drive; translating to
- pushing and lifting
- sitting up/down
- jumping and landing
2. HOW TO ASSESS:
STREAM: Hands in front → Hands behind head → Front loaded squat
1. Trunk position a) Neck behind toes
2. Feet a) Full contact b) No spin
3. Knees a) Centre of knee aligned with middle toes
4. Depth a) Thigh parallel to floor or below
5. Hip alignment a) Midline centred between feet b) Identical shin angle
→ Once this has been established, work towards finding your 10 Rep Maximum for the Goblet Squat
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3. MOVEMENT ADAPTATIONS
Stance
Narrower = emphasis on quads
Wider = emphasis on adductors
Turnout may help increase depth and hip function through squat
Depth
Greater depths may increase activation of gluteus and rectus femoris with larger knee and hip flexion. Lesser flexion may have utility in transferring to sporting tasks such as running and jumping and may provide a greater stimulation of vastus medialis and vastus lateralis (2/4 Quadricep muscles).
Depth should be limited to the amount you can perform whilst keeping upright trunk position and natural lordotic curve (not rounding the low back).
Heel raise
Heel raising can allow for a more upright trunk position, lending to greater knee flexion and greater loading at the knee joint over the hips.
Box/Pin
Squatting down to a box or pins (sturdy support bars that are an add on to some squat racks) is a great way to provide an objective squat depth, whilst also providing a clear transition point between the lowering (eccentric) part of the squat and the drive up (concentric) from the deadstop position therefore being useful variants of the squat for simplifying technique or allowing specific cues to be applied.
Some claim box squats target the glutes and hamstrings more due to the nature of sitting back to the box.
Pin squats provide a safe option if you do not make the lift, especially if it is impractical to bail the squat (busy gym etc).
Finally due to less eccentric loading they may produce less soreness that could affect further sessions in the week.
Tempo
Tempo has to be one of my favourite squat adaptations. It increases awareness throughout the movement due to more time under tension - letting you feel the correct balance and stimulation of working muscles
Often used are pauses (usually 2-3 seconds) at weak points, slow lowers of 5 seconds, pulses - where you perform 1 or more small repetitions in the end range of motion with the muscles fully shortened.
The ‘Badger protocol’ is also an interesting prescription where you hold the first and last rep for the same duration of the prescribed reps. E.g 10 second hold - 10 reps - 10 second hold.
Loading
As you’ll have experienced through the assessment, even changing the hand position can dramatically change the way a squat feels.
Changing how you hold external load will also create big changes to the squat;
Goblet squats provide some counter weight allowing you to stay reasonably upright, they also do not require any shoulder flexibility and are easy to set up and end a set. This variant also requires the back extensors to work hard in order to hold the weight in position, and as the load increases, the arms can become the limiting factor.
Back squats are a classical means of axially loading the squat through placing the bar just behind the neck with the arms supporting it. Meaning the weight travels straight through the trunk and into the floor, as the load increases the barbell becomes the centre of mass making the movement feel smoother in many cases, providing a proper mental and physical understanding of the squat has been developed. Typically back squats involve more trunk lean and subsequently less knee bend than other variants stated so an increased loading occurs through the hips.
Front squats involve placing the bar between the delts (shoulder muscles) and clavicle. This moves the centre of mass forwards allowing you to stay upright and increasing loading through the knees. Many have difficulty with the necessary flexibility in the wrists, shoulders and upper back to establish this position, therefore straps or a crossover front rack can be used.
Overhead squats as the name suggests the bar is locked out overhead with the hands typically in a wide position to allow the bar to sit over the centre of the mid foot throughout the full lift.
The most complex and unstable due to how far the bar is away from your centre of mass and the floor, meaning subtle movements can have a larger effect downstream. The trunk and shoulders are well worked during this lift and an upright position is kept to allow the bar to remain centred without compromising the shoulder position.
Squat jumps by adding a jump the speed at which muscles contract will change stimulating other muscle fibres or the same fibres to different degrees, what’s more, upon landing large eccentric forces will be experienced on the working muscles of the quads, glutes and adductors. The squat jump is classified as a ballistic movement due to the speed, which means the strength shortening cycle of the muscles and tendons will be utilised.
Other DB’s by the side, machines such as leg press, pendulum squat, hack squat or KB’s in the front rack can also be utilised.
4. KEY TAKEAWAYS
We’ve covered the utility, technical execution including checkpoints for you to help analyse your movement, and discussed a variety of adaptations to the movement that you can perform to assist in making the Squat work for you based on anatomy, current ability, available equipment and training focus.
The Squat is a great movement to be working through. It's very practical in terms of how it applies to our day to day life, but it also provides us with many muscular benefits; increasing the muscle mass around our legs, is good not only from a vanity perspective but also as we age as well. Keeping good, quality muscle mass in our bodies will allow us to continue with the tasks that are required of us, as well as being able to go off and enjoy life.
Hopefully you now have all the tools to start practicing effectively. Enjoy.
