Squatting – You’re Doing It Wrong!

Forthose that know me well, you know that I love some good squats.  In fact, I proclaimed my love for “the kingof lower body exercises” in my first blog post. Thus, I’m always saddened when I see someone squatting incorrectly, orwhen they claim that “squatting is bad for the knees.”

Sotoday, you’re in for a treat!  Below ismy first video on the exercise I love so much, as well as how to fix many ofthe problems that are often encountered.

Inthe video, I note how deep squatting is not bad for your knees, which I explain a littlefurther down in this post.  But for those that want towatch the video, please go ahead (I apologize for the black screen on both sides.  It's what happens when you want to look lean....or are new to the whole video thing!)

Ok,so I breezed through why squatting isn’t bad for your knees a bit, so now Iwant to back it up with science.  In thisstudy, knee forces were measured at three different angles in squats to see ifthey had any appreciable difference on the knee joint.  Measurements were taken when squatting aboveparallel, parallel, and below parallel.  Sowhat happened?  Well, it turns out thatwhen you squat correctly the knee protects itself.  There were hardly any differences betweendeep squats, illustrating that they were safe.

I’ll also go on to say that a full, deep squat is actually safer than any type ofpartial squat.  The reasoning is that atthe bottom of the squat, your hamstrings and quadriceps balance out the forceson your knees.  Partial squats, on theother hand, have more of a potential to hurt your knees as the forces are beingdirected primarily through your quads.

Anecdotally,I’ve coached several kids with Osgood-Schlatters who I’ve taught successfullyto squat without any pain.  Thecure?  Make sure they hinge, or sticktheir butt out, as they initiate the movement.  When they have a vertical shin, they are balancing the forces inside their legs, preventing any type ofshearing force in the joint.

Anyway, I hopeyou enjoyed this post, because I sure enjoyed writing/filming it.  But until then...