Do you know squat?

Children do it all the time as well as adults in many other cultures.  So what happened?  We became "civilized" and began sitting for hours in chairs.  Our bodies were never designed to stay in one position for as long as we often spend seated in chairs.  Squatting opens up the hip and the groin area and maintains good hip flexion which in turn helps prevent injury. This is particularly useful for runners who often complain of tightness in the hip area. Squatting is also good for your back, decompressing and opening the lumbar spine and squatting maintains good range of motion in the knees, ankles and feet. The trouble is if we don’t use it, we lose it. Kids will instinctively, easily squat but as we get older (and have clocked up the hours in chairs) it can become increasingly difficult.

Last week's "squat with a bicep curl at the bottom" exercise generated numerous questions.  Actually, I have to admit that Katie was the target of most of the questions because she can out-squat me any day.  Many of you asked, "Doesn't it hurt your knees to go that low?"  We also heard comments such as, "I thought you weren't supposed to let your knees go past your toes", or "I thought you weren't supposed to bend beyond 90 degrees".  We love that you are asking questions, and we have addressed those questions in training, but we know that a few of you missed a training this week and that sometimes when you are giving 100 percent it is hard to take in all the information. 

This week's blog will address your questions and we will try to debunk one of those fitness myths that has been perpetuated for years.  Most Personal Trainers and Fitness Instructors were taught that the knees should never flex beyond 90 degrees in a squat.  This myth can be traced back to a single study published in 1961 by Dr. Karl Klein at the University of Texas. Dr. Klein showed that a group of competitive weightlifters displayed greater laxity at the knee-joint than a group of non-lifters, and this prompted the entire argument for never squatting below parallel. The study itself was not particularly sound, as Dr. Klein was seeking to validate his own personal bias against squatting below parallel.  Furthermore, more recent studies have shown that those who squat double their body weight to depths of 130 degrees of knee flexion actually have more stable knee joints than individuals who do not squat. Other studies have shown that the knees of those who regularly squat deep are more stable than distance runners and basketball players as well.

So, just how low can you go?  The answer, as always, is as low as is safe for YOU.  We recognize that some of you have limitations in the knee, hip, and/or back due to surgeries, injuries, etc.  If that is the case for you, we will continue to keep you in a range of motion that is SAFE and will continue to give you modifications or alternate exercises.  But for the rest of you the challenge is on to squat low. 

Squatting low is not as simple as just going lower.  As with all exercises, proper form must be maintained.  If you experience pain at any point or you begin rounding your back, you have reached your stopping point.  Developing a deeper squat takes time and involves building strength and gradually increasing flexibility in the hip, knee, and ankle joints.  With continued practice and effort your squats will improve and you will realize greater benefits.

If you are doing partial squats you are getting partial benefits.  Squatting below parallel has the additional benefit of significantly increased activation of the gluteal muscles. The deeper you squat, the greater the glute activation. The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in our bodies and the more we challenge and strengthen it, the more calories and fat we burn during our workouts and the more functional we become.