The Squat Is Often Called The King Of Exercises Why?

In the year September the 4th 2006 an ultimate powerlifter called Mike “Mule” Miller squatted a huge amount of 1200 pounds (That is 545.45Kg) in 1RM! That is an incredible attempt and could only be achieved using one of the most popular strengthening exercises the Squat.

The Squat is the single best exercise for leg strength and development. Squatting strengthens the muscles responsible for knee and hip extension: quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, as well stabilizing the smaller muscles in the lower back.. The squatting motion and position is also the foundation for other exercises such as the Deadlift, Olympic lifts, and every day given tasks. It has benefits such as development of strength, balance, confidence, cardiovascular capacity, and active flexibility. The Squat is often called “the King of exercises” by those who believe it capable of inducing more and faster muscle growth than any other exercise. (Sidney, D: “Squat today, grow every day: do this king of all exercises and sprout muscle even in your upper body-Body shop”. Men’s Fitness, April 2005.

Movement

The squat is performed by standing straight then bending at the knees and hips, you lower your torso between the legs, then reversing direction to stand up straight again. The torso remains relatively straight throughout the movement as this is a supporting structure throughout the squat. Proper technique is critical for performance of the squat as serious injury or gradual injury over a period of time can occur. The back must keep its natural curvature and ‘not’ round out (excessive thoracic kyphosis), otherwise excess strain can be placed on the spine and cause serious injury.

Let’s look at the safety aspect

The feet should be flat on the floor, with an even distribution of weight between the heel and the ball of the foot during eccentric muscle action (the lowering phase). A full squat is to be able to move down beyond parallel and individuals without sufficient ankle flexibility should use a wedge shaped board allowing the entire foot to remain in contact with a single surface, improving stability over the first technique. This method is a short-term fix and requires regular stretching and full range of motion to be employed to maintain and increase flexibility to the desired levels with the ultimate aim that the boards use be eliminated. But some experts discourage the use of a board, however, it may lead to a breakdown of proper form if not used (The Insider’s Tell-All Handbook on Weight Lifting Technique, Stuart McRobert, CS Publishing ;2nd edition, September 1999). With any squat even one that is being performed without these depth increasing aids, the lifter should take care to exert the force with the heel of the foot and not from the toes during concentric muscle contraction (rising up) in order to maintain balance and keep focus on the muscles of the thigh.

When squatting to avoid the chance of getting stuck underneath the bar, when performing heavy Barbell Squats they are best performed either inside a power cage or in the presence of one or more spotters, who then can help safely return the barbell to the squat rack at the end of the set if the lifter is unable to do so.

Looking deeper to what muscles are used

The main extensors of the squat are the ankle, the knee, and the hip joint. The ankle gets extended by the calf gastronemius and soleus muscle. The knee is extended by the powerful quadricep muscles, and assisting the hip joint is the gluteus maximus muscle. Also to keep the back tight and upright the erector spinae muscle is used to pull the body as well.

Variations of the Squat

 BB Back Squat: Barbell is held across the upper back.
 BB Front Squat: Barbell (usually) is held in front of body across the clavicles and deltoids in either an Olympic grip, as used in weight lifting, or with the arms crossed and hands placed on top of the barbell.
 Overhead squat: Barbell is held overhead at full extension in a wide-arm snatch grip.
 Dumbbell squat: the weight may be held hanging from side (suitcase position), vertically at chest (goblet position), or above head with the arms extended (waiter position).
 Dumbbell front squat: the weights are held resting on the shoulders
 Box squat: the lifter sits onto a short box, momentarily relaxing the hip flexors, before contracting them and rising off the box(‘Louie Simmons’ of Westside barbell, Description), the use of the box sets a consistent depth and increases emphasis on the muscles in the posterior chain.
 Zercher squat: the weight is held in the crook of the elbows against the chest
 Hack squat: a barbell is held in the hands just behind the legs; invented by early 1900s professional wrestler George Hackenschmidt..
 Sissy squat: a dumbbell is held behind the legs while the heels are lifted off the ground and the torso remains flat while the lifter leans backwards; sometimes done with a plate held on the chest and one arm holding onto a chair or beam for support.
 Pistol squat: a freestanding one-legged squat where the non-lifting leg is rested on the ground a few “steps” behind the lifter, as if it where a static lunge
 Bulgarian squat: is a squat performed much like a split squat, but the foot of the non-lifting leg is rested on a knee-high platform behind the lifter.
 Hindu squat: is a squat done without weight where the heels are raised and the weight is placed on toes: the knees track far past the toes.
 Jump squat: a plyometric exercise where the squatter jumps off the floor at the top of the lift.
 Air squat: squat done with no weight or barbell, often at higher repetitions than other variants.
 Sumo squat: done with the legs further apart than usual

The squat also has a number of specified depths:

 Quarter squat: descends about half of the way down towards a half squat.
 Hams-parallel: squat descends until the bottom of the thighs, the hamstrings, reaches an imaginary line drawn parallel to the floor.
 The quads parallel or Powerlifting legal: squat descends until the crease of the top of the thighs at the hips are at the same level as the top of the knees.
 The half squat: descends to a depth that is between hams-parallel and quads-parallel.
 Full or ass to the ground(ATG): squat descends past quads-parallel to the maximum that a lifter’s flexibility allows.

Lets tell the truth about the squat!

Not true 1: squatting must not be done with a full range of motion or it will hurt your knees

Worst story of them all, it is one of these well known facts in the fitness industry but mysteriously it is unsupported by any real evidence. According to these myths full squats (a squat in which the knee joint is taken through a full range of motion, so that the bottom of the hamstring makes contact with the calf) is inherently dangerous, particularly to the knee joint.

Biomechanical research tells us that that it supports the fact that forces on the connective tissues of the knee increases with this angle, particularly on the posterior cruciate ligament, but there is no evidence that these increasing forces actually lead to knee injury. There is no direct evidence that full squatting causes or even exacerbates knee pain or damage. I myself have never heard of any such case where full squatting has led to knee injury. Not one! Studies of Olympic lifters and powerlifters, both whom squat with heavy loads, show no increased risk or damage in either population.

Not true 2: squats really do hurt my back

I guarantee this story grew with someone who jumped into squats to quickly, they put on to much weight, rounded during the movement, and guess what they had a problem. In general terms squats are excellent for strengthening the lower back and rest of the abdominal musculature. Standing straight with the bar is an excellent challenge for some individuals. In most people the lower back will be a weak link in the chain, but here are some simple tips: first squat initially then progressing with weight until you can handle it; second use good technique at all times, which do include neutral spine; and third, include some additional lower back strengthening exercises. I will discuss that in a future article.

Squatting will be indeed contraindicated for some people with particular types of spinal injuries, it is an area for you to find out where your limits are.

Not true 3: squatting is hard to learn, and should leave to the professionals

Rubbish! I have been in the fitness business for 5 years and I have taught everyone from a 72 year old adult to a teenager to squat. Babies already know how to but during life people forget. It is a very natural movement. If you follow simple steps anyone can squat.

not true 4: squatting makes me big in my legs and gluts

Hopefully with what has been said so far it tells you that that is rubbish, if you do not like bulk on your lower body start to lay off the chocolate not the squats.

I have just written a few told myths that is said in gymnasiums about the squat, this is no doubt an exercise you should include somewhere in your lower body program as it will help you to achieve some fantastic physical results, hope you have enjoyed reading about the squat and next week it is going to be about the Dead lift and how this is used to achieve fat loss and muscle gain.

My name is Glenn Parker i coach and train athletes and clients in the City of London. I have taught trainers from various health clubs around the country and coached Football teams and rugby clubs in sport-specific strength training. My aim is to enable people to participate in strength training as they have a small amount of knowledge in the field of resistance training.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Share This

Related Posts

March 17, 2008 | Filed Under Health and Fitness 

Comments

Got something to say?





Close
E-mail It