THE SQUAT = the champion of strength training. If you told me that you were able to do only one strength training exercise, I would tell you that it must be the squat. Hands down! No other exercise works your body as one whole unit in the way that squats do. With the squat, you are building strength not only in your thighs, hips, and buttock, but you are also strengthening bones along with surrounding tendons and ligaments throughout the entire lower body. In addition, it is the most functional of movements. Think about it. You are seriously squatting each and everyday of your life. You squat down to pick stuff off the floor, you squat to sit on a toilet or couch… you squat all of the time! (And yes…. You should be squatting to pick up items from the floor, NOT bending over and using your back!) However, the squat is a tricky exercise to perfect with proper technique. Poor execution of the squat can result in injuries to the knees and lumbar spine.
We have all heard that, “Squatting below 90 degrees is bad for your knees.” This is a common myth. WRONG! Think about real life situations, when you get up off of the ground, your body is already at a position that is below 90 degrees. If we do not train our muscles to adapt to this full range of movement, all too soon we will become that little old lady in the commercials stating that she “has fallen and can’t get up.” We need to train our bodies to squat deep so that we are able to perform the movement properly when we need it the most….in life! Your knee joint is strongest when it is either fully flexed or fully extended, not somewhere in the middle that is often referred to. This can create muscle imbalances and in turn lead to injuries. Not a pretty sight.
So what is the cause of knee pain that is often related to squats? The vast majority of the time, it stems from bad technique or lack of mobility. Without good mobility, a full squat cannot be fully executed. We must first increase the flexibility range of our hip in order to begin the process of squatting. As for technique, we are constantly stressing to you to lead with your hips, keep your toes pointed slightly out, maintain knee alignment and use a hip-drive to push the weight up. There are many other cues and factors that are necessary to performing a good squat, but these are key ingredients.
Once the squat has been mastered, there are is a huge range of variations that can be built upon. Familiar ones that we use are the overhead squat, front squat, pistol (one-legged squats), and jump squats. Thus proving just how vital an exercise the squat can be once properly executed.
WOD~ AMRP20 (95/65#)
5 DL
5 HPC
5 FS
5 PP
5 BS
**Compare to 7/27/09
Post rounds and weights to comments.
