The squat is undoubtedly one of the most essential exercises in the whole world of sport, fitness, and culture.
In the training of strength – even functional – and of the hypertrophy of the thighs and buttocks, its high value is perhaps the only collective bargaining point.
WARNING! This doesn’t mean that you can’t train your thighs and buttocks without a squat! But it’s just a very effective execution. There are physical conditions that dictate that you should avoid it, but it would not be possible to train the lower limbs.
Such as a deadlift or a ground lift, bench press or distention on hip, pull-up or trough, the squat is a natural athletic gesture – in other disciplines, we could also mention: snatch, clean, jerk, muscle up, front lever, etc.
To find out more:
How to Train Pectorals
How do you do it?
We will give a brief description of the back squat, the most widespread and generally practiced.
Note: wanting to be “pinnae” – although it is more precisely a question of accuracy – before approaching the squat.
It would be necessary to carry out a short course of movement education with the appropriate presence.
All the necessary indications – a type of hose (without a rise in the heel), opening and position of the feet, respiratory rhythm and stability of the heart, the sensation of complete plantar support, lumbar support, the step of the knees, etc.,
Will create the basis for performing a squat as correctly as possible with the use of overload.
How do you make a back squat?
Recognition of the load in any squat is must – downhill and uphill – at the center of the foot, never on the broth, and never on the heel.
Knees will never give in to valgus and will not overshoot the toes forward excessively – the toes of the toes are significantly influenced in this respect.
Back squat is the best in the category.
It involves using an overload made of the barrel to be placed behind the shoulders (on the trapezius muscle).
About the spine, with the opening of the hands (the prone grip) approximately 25-30 cm exterior of the deltoid and forearms perpendicular to the floor.
The height of the balance over the shoulder is essential; The ideal would be as good as C7 but leaning on the spine.
Already at the height of the back deltoid, which still requires specific mobility of shoulders and shoulder blades.
The bust tends to lean forward (typical of powerlifting), loading more on the buttocks and lower on the quadriceps.
This should also reduce the load on the anterior cruciate ligament and patellofemoral compression.
When the gap in the bracket is detached from the power rack or dedicated brackets, the feet are joined.
Steps will then be taken backward, taking care to stay in the security area of the structure, reload them, and start execution.
Inhale deeply (holding then until the end of the thrust) expands the chest but significantly to lowers the diaphragm by keeping control of the abdominal belt.
Which allows you to stabilize the heart, necessary to the optimization of the movement.
Shoulders and shoulder blades are slightly absorbed (chest out).
The pelvis is rotating forward (by slightly elevating) to activate lumps and buttocks.
As the bust falls deeper, it may tend to lean a little forward to allow the lumbar and buttocks to contribute more to stress.
The relevance or otherwise of this attitude, if slight, is still a matter of debate.
The knees will not far forward from the tip of their feet, while their side projection exceeds the width of their shoulders.
3 types
Here, the squat can be classified into 3 types depending on how low it is:
- partial (above parallel)
- half (in parallel)
- complete (in the hole).
Once the famous “pit” – that is the most popular point – has been reached, without exploiting the ballistic rebound and without leaning on the joints, the climb-up begins.
The motion is the same as the descent but performed backward.
It is advisable to take great care not to exceed with lumbar and cervical hyperextension (a typical female error).
Not to give in to kyphosis (bend forward the upper back) and not to “hatch” – badly and excessively involve the lower back.
Bringing the behind up but leaving the back to the same height and then pulling it on once you have taken a less arduous joint angle for the quadriceps.
After the push is over, we remember never to extend the knees.
Suppose you have difficulty maintaining all of these things in a tight frame of mind.
In that case, there may be joint rigidities (typically male) or anatomical limitations.
Therefore, it is not a mistake to prevent any injury, interrupting the movement in parallel – the moment the femur lines up to the floor.
Forming the “hypothetical” 90th angle of the cox-femoral angle (which are not such) – instead of improving the ability to move.
The parallel is a critical moment of the squat’s gesture, and persevering could have the opposite effect, especially about the knees.
Beyond the parallel, there is a relaxation of the cross-ligaments.
To prevent these events by stabilizing the joint are the participation of the risk-corral, normally quadriceps antagonists.
On the other hand, the quadriceps reach a peak at a knee angle of 80-90 degrees, so if the squat intends to develop this, then a squat is more than enough.
We conclude by saying that there is no perfect and consistent execution for everyone.
Still, it is certainly helpful to consider all the suggestions above, to understand which may be the most correct movement.
To find out more:
Back Workout Dorsal Training
Other Types
We will only talk briefly about other types of squats because it would be useless to go into the details without proper illustration.
- Free squat: or squat free, it consists of motion without any overload. Your arms are usually stretched forward or with your hands behind your back. Compared to the back squat, it keeps your back straight;
- Front squat: the position from the previous one changes because the balance rests on the front shoulders and is supported by the arms. The back is more vertical, the less strained the quadriceps are more.
- Goblet squat: it is a squat performed with a kettlebell held in the chest with both hands;
- Sumo squat: The position of the legs is changed, with the increased opening of both feet and tips. Recruit more the target muscles;
- Bulgarian squat: it’s a single-podalic squat. The tip of the unworking foot rests on a box or on a bench in the back of the body. This allows the balance to be maintained by working with a single limb;
- Pistol squat: It is another single squat, which takes place with a free body or at most with a kettle. The unworking leg is extended forward. Equilibrium is precarious, and the knee stresses are elevated;
- Sissy squat: It is a particular type of squat performed with a free body. The arms are held forward, and the squad is located on the tip of his feet. The bust is straight but tilted to the back and flush with the thighs in the forward direction; the knees are way over the feet.
- Jump squat: It’s a squat ended by a small leap. It is not advisable to do this with high loads.
Fatigue
Fatigue in thighs and legs training
Those who practice bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting, weight lifting, and any sports require resistance training.
Know perfectly how challenging exercise can be – even in calisthenics.
To be honest, it’s a performance of management exercise.
Many readers are already wondering, “why?” The “veterans of the cast iron” already know what they are waiting for when it comes to their legs – which in reality is mainly about thighs and buttocks.
Many others, however, ignore what they will be waiting for when they begin “training seriously.”
Let’s be careful.
We’re not just talking.
The deliberately provocative tone of this paragraph stems from the fact that, statistically, only a few can sustain a workout for the legs performed at the same intensity as others:
- pectoral
- dorsal or back
- shoulders
- triceps
- biceps
- abdomen.
This is because, in the fundamental exercises of the “lower part”, which are multi-joint, we intervene at the same time:
- Hip and hip drafts;
- females inducers and abductors;
- Flushers and leg extenders;
- trunk flexors and extenders – not just as stabilizers.
So what? And so, for those who never considered it, even though you usually differentiate local or muscle fatigue from central and metabolic fatigue, the second is a simple consequence of the first.
Repeated intense muscle contraction requires a more excellent blood supply.
It soon results in the production of lactic acid, which spills into the blood and – before transporting it to the liver – tends to lower the pH by activating the buffer system.
This is due to increased cardiovascular activity, pulmonary ventilation, and the accumulation of other catabolic residues in circulation.
Depending on the size of this mechanism, fatigue affects, more or less sustainably, the capacity to concentrate as well as the global “lucidity.”
Treshhold
Have you ever thought about what it might be the capital of Poland when you run over an anaerobic threshold or when you have a superset in the gym? Try it out (as long as you know it).
By assuming a known intensity threshold, it will be logical that training a more significant amount of muscle fibers.
While having the same local stress level will increase metabolic and central fatigue.
Because of this, forced to do so for sustainability reasons, many prefer to maintain intensity but decrease the working density, increasing the recovery time in training thighs and buttocks compared to the rest of the body.
The decision, although obligatory, is questionable.
The tests for hypertrophy training remain the same regardless of central fatigue.
In practice, your muscles don’t care how much flutter your heart; to grow, they need very precise conditions, including a high level of lactic acid – stimulating the somatotropic hormone (GH).
Let us not forget, then, that fatigue tolerance is a perfectly workable psychological characteristic.
Is That Dangerous?
Is squat dangerous?
This is a very delicate exercise, which “does not necessarily mean dangerous.”
Still, it does not even mean that “it cannot be.”
Semantic? Rhetoric? No. Having the essential requirements to do so, the squat must be done.
However, this requires absolute concentration and no haste in the technical progression and loads.
But let’s face it.
People who “squat” all their life with significant loads without having problems beyond ordinary and others who “break” – or believe they have broken – raise the only balance.
Note: let’s remember that soreness and infirmity happen in any sport if practiced at subjectively considerable levels of engagement.
Facilitator responsibility
Often no one is to blame.
The instructor undoubtedly plays an important role, especially for the younger generation. But one big truth is that: “only we have the power to listen to our bodies.”
This means that if the instructor:
- did not follow the athlete
- ignored complaints about pain
- strange tingling
- paresthesias
- difficulty performing
- feeling overloaded not on the legs but on the back,
He would undoubtedly be in error.
However, instructors can be wrong, too, because certain variables are entirely unpredictable.
The importance of subjectivity in execution
On the other hand, “not everyone can do everything” – also applies to other sports and disciplines.
We now know that many variables indirectly affect injury but directly affect the ability to move and perform squat — and other exercises of force, of course.
Joint Mobility
Mobility and accident risk
In this case, coxofemoral and ankle, is perhaps the most essential component.
The knee does not typically have this mobility problem.
But, on the other hand, it has mechanical stress of compression (especially for the meniscus and cartilages) and slippage (which mainly affect the cross ligaments) – due to the so-called shear forces.
Some subjective conditions can lead to instability, a detail that must be taken into account.
There is a lot of work on joint mobility, even with good results.
Still, there are precise joint conditions – perfectly physiological – that impose a specific limit. Large-scale studies show extreme variability.
The coxofemoral of the various ethnic strains, for example, seems to differ, to say the least essential.
We said it above. Many people consider the squat a kind of “curse” for their back…but what do the joints of the lower limbs have to do with their back? Well, a lot.
Reducing the excursion in the movement of the hip, forcing the spine to flex, losing the support of the posture.
In addition to the parallel, excessive rigidity of the tibo-tarsio joint does not allow flushing the ankle “reaching with the bottom.”
This results in a more incredible difficulty of balance – or rather poorly compensated by the back – and a considerable limit even for aesthetic rings.
Because it is in the depth that the great gluteal works more.
Most frequent injuries on the squat
Paradoxically, however, the death injury due to squat is mainly on the back and not too severe.
We are talking about fatigue and contractures (especially deep muscles), which are manifested above all by “crashing” or losing the support of the upper part.
As we have seen above, in fact, most of the joint limits and a load that is impossible to lift properly affect the position of the spine.
Herniated disks can indeed become worse following a misexecution of the squat.
But usually, any complications of this lesion exacerbate already with moderate loads.
We are talking about worsening and not onset because the herniation of the cartilaginous cord of the intervertebral disks has.
In fact, a very high incidence on the general population – although most cases remain undiagnosed or are accidentally discovered following an unrelated low back.
To make a long story short, it is very likely that an existing direct protrusion towards the nervous – but asymptomatic – segments will worsen with the wrong execution of squat.
Sometimes, even with proper execution, luck is blind, but lousy luck looks great.
Another group of injuries that are quite frequent is that related to the knees.
Compression and shear forces can be annoying for meniscus, cartilage, cross-ligaments, and even the rolling tendon.
These structures, in most cases, are inflamed, making it impossible to perform squat.
The detachment of the feet, their angle at the opening, and the position of the knees against the feet at the time of descent heavily affect this kind of complication.
But let’s talk about advanced subjects training the squat in force several times a week.
Of course, maternal errors or subjective defects can lead to serious acute injury (rupture or crushing), but this is rare.
The most common mistake of inducing knee injury is probably a deep ballistic rebound.
For contractures, stretching and tearing of quadriceps, glutens, flexors, adducers, and other manufacturers, good general and specific heating, associated with good activation, can reasonably prevent any infamous event.