FOR THE LOVE OF SQUATS
Five Superior Tips For A Stronger, More Athletic Physique
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You’ve got to love the squat. Squats are medicine for your body. Sure, heavy full squats will induce tears on occasion, but training them makes you better every single day.
Among the benefits of squat training are the fulfillment of both one’s strength and sporting potential. In addition, using squats to anchor regular workouts can help one attain a pleasing athletic physique.
The many reasons to squat don’t end with aesthetics. The incredible benefits of training squats include the following:
• They build the biggest, most important muscles in the body: glutes, quads, hamstrings, erector spinae, and abdominals
• They improve athletic performance, allowing you to run faster, jump higher, and change direction faster
• They increase your flexibility and allow you to move with ease
• They build power for greater explosive strength
• They improve overall health and delay aging—you’re never too old to squat!
We like to write about squats a lot because but that’s because you can never get bored with the squat—there are front squats, back squats, deep squats, half squats, bodyweight squats, dumbbell squats, barbell squats, split squats, single-leg squats, rear-foot elevated squats, overhead squats, pistol squats, and jump squats.
And there’s always illuminating new research coming out on the squat making them a worthwhile topic. This article will give you five reasons to love squats.
#1: The hierarchy of squats: Deep squats are your go-to squat, whether you’re a novice training split squats or an athlete training barbell squats.
Naturally, there is a hierarchy as to which type of squat you should design your program around:
• Training full, deep squats are a priority for all populations. Novice trainees tend to benefit from single-limb training through a full-range of motion to improve flexibility, coordination, and muscular balance.
For example, a recent study found that split squats and single-leg deadlifts are an effective way to balance the co-activation of the quadriceps and hamstrings during lower body training. A small co-activation ratio trains the posterior chain to allow for better movement patterns and the prevention of injury or pain in the knees and hips.
• Barbell front and back squats have many applications for athletes since they build speed, enhance vertical jumping ability and power.
For instance, a Norwegian study found that by training deep barbell back squats for 12 weeks, athletes increased vertical jump height by 13 percent compared to 7 percent in a group that did partial squats.
A second study from Germany showed that a 10-week deep back squat program led to an 8 percent increase in vertical jump compared to a quarter-squat training group that experienced no increase in jump height.
• Variations like eccentric squats, partial squats, single-leg squats, overhead squats, and so forth can be trained to overcome individual weaknesses for enhanced performance.
To identify how squat variations can be used in training, it’s necessary to understand which muscles are most active during the various phases of the squat motion.
For example, a recent study found that the rectus femoris of the quadriceps is more active than the biceps femoris during the eccentric phase of the squat, which suggests that other muscles of the posterior chain are making a significant contribution to the motion.
In addition, muscle activation varies based on depth of the squat, with the glutes and hamstrings making a greater contribution with a greater range-of-motion as you go lower.
The Bottom Line:
Everyone can benefit from training squats, and full squats are superior in almost every situation.
Everyone can benefit from training squats, and full squats are superior in almost every situation.
Does this mean that everyone must train deep squats on a regular basis? Of course not. There are no absolutes. But everyone should be able to train them.
#2: Do deep squats to build a stronger, more athletic body. Deep squats are the safest form of squats for the knees and lower back.
Not only will they give you better performance and body composition results, deep squats are safer for your knees and lower back than partial squats.
Here’s what we know:
The full, deep squat is performed when you go all the way down below parallel so that the hamstring covers the calf. A parallel squat occurs when the thigh is parallel to the ground. A half-squat occurs at a knee angle of 70 to 90 degrees and a quarter-squat is executed at an angle of 40 to 69 degrees.
Biomechanically, the highest compressive force on the knee is at a 90-degree knee flexion angle. As one squats lower, the contact between the back of the thigh and the calf reduces the knee-joint forces. In addition, the quadriceps tendon and the intercondylar notch causes a “wrapping effect” that allows for enhanced distribution of the load.
This means that with full squats, you’ll experience less stress on the knee joint and have less risk of injury than with partial or quarter-squats. That doesn’t mean you should never train partials, just that full squats are your go-to lift to train your body to handle heavy weights over the full motion, while improving knee stability. Advanced trainees can “supplement” with partials to get stronger, bigger, or faster.
Studies support the recommendation to favor deep squat training:
• Of 27 elite weight lifters training at the US. Olympic training center, there were 3.3 injuries per 1,000 training hours over a 6-year period. The majority of injuries were related to tendinitis or muscle strains, with 95 percent of missed training time due to knee problems that lasted 1 day or less. All the remaining injuries lasted less than 1 week, indicating their lack of severity.
• A survey of young weightlifters 13 to 16 years old showed that injury rates were 0.0017 per 100 hours of training, whereas in U.S. basketball players it was 0.03, in track athletes 0.57 and in football players it was 0.10.
The Bottom Line:
Due to the “wrapping effect,” deep squat training leads to lower forces on the knee joint than partial squats. Deep squats also increase muscular strength and functional adaptations of passive knee tissue for greater knee stability.
Due to the “wrapping effect,” deep squat training leads to lower forces on the knee joint than partial squats. Deep squats also increase muscular strength and functional adaptations of passive knee tissue for greater knee stability.
#3: Don’t restrict knee motion in the squat: It’s okay for the knees to move forward over the toes.
A common misconception with squat training is that the knees should not come forward over the toes. This is one reason that some coaches favor parallel or partial-range squats. This is not good advice.
Here’s what we know:
Restricting the knee motion in the squat causes poor movement patterns. On the other hand, allowing the knee to move freely during a deep squat motion builds passive (tendon and ligament) and active (muscle) tissue strength.
Restricting the knee motion in the squat causes poor movement patterns. On the other hand, allowing the knee to move freely during a deep squat motion builds passive (tendon and ligament) and active (muscle) tissue strength.
In fact, many motions of daily life are best performed when the knee travels forward over the toes: It happens every time you walk up and down the stairs and any time you go into a deep knee bend to pick something heavy up off the ground. Therefore, deep squat training is extremely beneficial for preventing knee pain and allowing you to perform both athletic skills and daily life activities with ease.
Another misconception is that deep squats cause knee ligament instability. Surprise! This is not true!
Training with overload, as occurs with strength training, leads to advantageous adaptations to the ligaments for increased tensile strength, and enhanced stiffness elasticity. Together these changes will allow for lower injury risk and better athletic performance.
In fact, measurements of knee stability are higher in weightlifters and powerlifters than a control group with no training experience. Following parallel back squat training with 1.6-fold body weight, trainees showed no change in knee stability. In comparison, runners had a small decrease in stability after a 10K race, as did basketball players after a practice.
The Bottom Line:
Having the knees pass over the toes is a normal motion in everyday life. Deep squats can improve knee function and passive tissue strength for healthy knees.
Having the knees pass over the toes is a normal motion in everyday life. Deep squats can improve knee function and passive tissue strength for healthy knees.
Degenerative changes to the knee joint that are associated with a high risk of chondromalacia, osteoarthritis, and knee pain from deep squats are completely unfounded.
#4: Loading the spine with barbell squats will increase bone mineral density and strengthen the lower back muscles. Use caution with partials.
A common misconception is that loading the spine with barbell squats is unsafe. This is not true, however, technique is critical to keep the spine safe and proper progressions must the followed.
In #3, you saw benefits of allowing the knees to travel forward over the toes during deep squats. Another reason not to restrict the forward motion of the knee is that doing so leads to greater forward lean of the upper body. This places higher compressive forces on spinal discs and ligaments. This is not something you want to do.
Simply squatting with a barbell on the back creates a large amount of force on the spine. The issue of partial versus deep squats is relevant here. You can lift as much as 4 to 5 times more weight with a quarter-squat than with a deep squat.
For example, minimally trained physical education students were able to lift a quarter-back squat load that was 4-fold that of a deep back squat and 4.38-fold that of a deep front squat. Well-trained athletes are capable of lifting much greater weights than the P.E. students.
However, such high loads put unnecessary compressive force on the spine that are unlikely to be stabilized by the back musculature, making the back, not the legs, the performance-limiting factor. Deep squats, which require lighter loads are safer and have been found to beneficially increase bone mineral density of the spinal vertebra.
Of note, there are gender differences in spine strength with female athletes possessing significantly lower vertebrae strength than males. Training will significantly increase bone mineral density in the spine in both genders.
In addition, women have greater hamstring flexibility than men. They also have less stiffness and a greater range of motion of the lumbar spine than men, suggesting they are capable of developing more muscular stabilization of the lumbar region.
These difference lead women to tend to lean forward more than men during squats, particularly during fatiguing lifting conditions with a high volume. Scientists highlight the importance of training females to maintain the lordotic posture (natural arch in the lower back) as they reach the bottom and reverse out of the deep squat.
The Bottom Line:
Squatting with a barbell brings with it compressive forces on the spine. Both genders should focus on perfect technique when doing squats because this will increase the strength of the spine, while training the body to handle heavy loads safely.
Squatting with a barbell brings with it compressive forces on the spine. Both genders should focus on perfect technique when doing squats because this will increase the strength of the spine, while training the body to handle heavy loads safely.
#5: Tips to use advanced squatting techniques: Speed squats and PAP.
New research on advanced squatting techniques reveals the following points:
• Use caution with speed squats:
The acceleration achieved during the squat determines the compressive forces on the knee more than the weight load. The higher the speed in the descent phase, the higher the compressive force in the squat.
The acceleration achieved during the squat determines the compressive forces on the knee more than the weight load. The higher the speed in the descent phase, the higher the compressive force in the squat.
In addition, the highest dynamic peak force at the knee joint occurs after the change into concentric muscle action (as one comes up). Therefore, the half-squat isn’t recommended if high loads and high speeds are trained.
Studies of weightlifters show they are able to develop stronger soft tissue adaptations in the cartilage so that they are able to tolerate increased stress and avoid degeneration of the joint.
This is due to the high volume of specified training over a long period and generally won’t occur for sport athletes who are lifting to support athletic performance. Therefore, for the deep squat, athletes will generally benefit from a controlled eccentric phase with a 3- or 4-second tempo to reduce force on the knee.
• Post-activation potentiation varies based on strength levels.
Post-activation potentiation occurs when you “prime” the muscles used in a power exercise, such as vertical jump or sprint, by doing a heavy resistance exercise that uses the same muscle as in the power exercise.
Post-activation potentiation occurs when you “prime” the muscles used in a power exercise, such as vertical jump or sprint, by doing a heavy resistance exercise that uses the same muscle as in the power exercise.
Recent evidence shows that in athletes with a 1RM back squat that was at least two times greater than body weight, they got the greatest performance boost in a squat jump after 6 minutes (they did a 90 percent of the 1RM back squat, waited 6 minutes, and then did a squat jump).
Weaker athletes whose 1RM back squat was less than two times body weight got the greatest performance boost after 9 minutes. Regardless of rest interval between the heavy squat and the squat jump, the stronger athletes had a much greater PAP response than the weaker athletes.
The Bottom Line:
If you’re a weightlifter or need to be able to handle high loads and speeds with deep knee flexion, train accordingly. Use heavy loads and speeds over the full-range in order to elicit functional adaptations of the knee cartilage and meniscal tissue.
If you’re a weightlifter or need to be able to handle high loads and speeds with deep knee flexion, train accordingly. Use heavy loads and speeds over the full-range in order to elicit functional adaptations of the knee cartilage and meniscal tissue.
For most other athletes, training full squats in a controlled manner with a 4-second eccentric tempo is recommended.
It’s worth the effort and time to increase maximal strength if you’re a power athletes. Being strong is correlated with power, and to get PAP benefits in the lower body, a 6-minute rest interval is indicated for stronger athletes. A longer rest interval is indicated for weaker athletes.
Seitz, L., et al. The Temporal Profile of Post-Activation Potentiation is Related to Strength Level. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2013. Published Ahead of Print.
Lorenzetti, S., Bulay, T., et al. Comparison of the Angles and Corresponding Moment in the Knee and Hip during Restricted and Unrestricted Squats. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012. Published Ahead of Print.
Drinkwater, E., Moore, N., et al. Effects of Changing from Full Range of Motion to Partial Range of Motion on Squat Kinetics. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012. 26(4), 890-896.
Drinkwater, E., Moore, N., et al. Effects of Changing from Full Range of Motion to Partial Range of Motion on Squat Kinetics. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012. 26(4), 890-896.
Hartmann, H., Wirth, K., Klusemann, M., Dalic, J., Matuschek, C., Schmidtbleicher, D. Influence of Squatting Depth on Jumping Performance. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012. 26 (12), 3243-61.
Bloomquist, K., et al. Effect of Range-of-Motion in Heavy Load Squatting on Muscle and Tendon Adaptations. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2013. Published Ahead of Print.
Hartmann, H., et al. Analysis of the Load on the Knee Joint and Vertebral Column with Changes in Squatting Depth and weight Load. Sports Medicine. 2013. Published Ahead of Print.
Hartmann, H., et al. Analysis of the Load on the Knee Joint and Vertebral Column with Changes in Squatting Depth and weight Load. Sports Medicine. 2013. Published Ahead of Print.
Source: http://www.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1074/For_The_Love_of_Squats.aspx
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