The squat is one of the most functional exercises you can do. You use every time you sit in a chair. If you want to use the toilet, you squat. If you get into your vehicle you squat.
With all of the squatting you do on a regular basis here are some of the things you can focus on to make it better.
Anatomical Differences for the Squat Movement
There are so many things you can work on to make your squat better. The truth of the matter is that most of you will squat differently than I do, or differently than your spouse, child, or friends will.
Not everyone's squat should look the same. We are all built differently. I have long legs, my wife has short legs. We will squat different.
You may have long thigh bones or short ones. You may have a wide pelvis or a narrow one. You may have long, skinny feet or short, wide ones.
You get the point. Since your anatomy is different than anyone else's, your squat will be different than anyone else's.
Points of Performance for Squats
There are a few things that are relatively universal for squats. These are the things that you can focus on to get better at squatting. This means getting deeper into a squat, lifting more weight, sitting without pain, or even playing with your children or grandchildren!
Your Heels should be somewhere between you hips and your shoulders.
If your heels are touching, you may be able to squat, but you will be more stable having your heels at least as wide as your hips. To check this, stand with a broom handle next to your leg and your foot and hip should both touch it. The broom should stand straight or lean in to you.
Keep Your Weight in Your Heels.
When you squat down, keep your weight in your heels, not your toes. As you go deeper, this will take more practice. For now, just work on getting as deep as you can and wiggling your toes. If you go up onto your toes, you are going too deep (for now).
Sit Back, Not Down.
When you sit in a chair, you need to move your booty backwards so it goes onto the chair. If you drop your booty to your ankles, you will miss the chair and fall down.
Keep Your Head and Chest Up.
To aid in this, try to look across the room or at a wall. Keeping your head and chest upward, or neutral, will help you keep your low back safe.
Your Knees Can Go Over Your Toes.
In order to go all the way down into a full squat, your knees will go past your toes! That is totally okay. It has even been shown to increase the health of your knees! If you don't believe this is an okay position, go to YouTube and look how deep Olympic Weight Lifters go on their squats. They have great knees.
Work On Your Control.
If you can't control your squat, you are at a higher risk of falling and/or injury. This doesn't mean you have to go slow. It means you should be able to stop at any point in your squat (bottom, top, part way down, part way up, knees at 90 degree, etc.) and hold there without losing your balance!
Work On Mobility.
Many joints need to move freely for you to have the most beneficial squat for your overall health. Not only does the squat require your knees to move, but also your hips, ankles, and low back need to move too!
Practice.
Don't make the squats a once a week or once a month thing. Since we do squats in every day life, we should train them 3 to 4 times per week. Sometimes it may be heavy and other times it can be light or just bodyweight. Practicing squats will help you own all the different positions of the squat.
If you are having trouble with your squats we can help you perform your best squat and set new PRs. When you want help, give us a call 425-203-5687.
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