With Jeremy M. Sheppard BA, CPT, CSCS, MES, SPN
Strength and Conditioning Coach/Performance Nutrition
Peak Health & Human Performance
Victoria, Canada

Squat with Confidence

In our attempt to be highly sport-specific, don't overlook the general physical qualities

Integral to the fitness-conditioning profession is individual specific program design. It is imperative to understand the needs of each participant in order to design an effective program and choose the appropriate exercises to help them accomplish their goals.

However, as a strength and conditioning professional, I've trained almost every client to perform the same exercise: the squat. This exercise has been the most common out of any other I have implemented. It is certainly not the only exercise to develop strength in the lower body. It is also not specific to every sport in its movement. However, because of its generality, it is a standard-and deservedly so.

As an example, an alpine skier's movements are not directly mimicked by the typical barbell squat. However, most would agree that the squat is an important aspect of the strength training of alpine skiers. Not necessarily all season, or exclusive to other exercises, but as a major component of developing knee and hip extensor strength.

The same can be said for any person. We all have to squat in our lives, no matter how we spend our time. And, unless there is an underlying medical conditioning the temporarily or permanently prevents them from squatting, each client should be trained to squat well.

It is true that as we progress towards competitive phases of our season, our training movements should more closely mimic the movement patterns of our sport. The squat, as well (compared to a movement like weighted jumps or the power snatch) has little power benefit. However, if we have not established our baseline general strength qualities, what is the point in applying the athletes' sub-optimal strength into power qualities? The result in the short and long term, is sub-optimal performance of the athlete.

It is now a dangerous movement?

Over the last few years, I've presented various seminars with colleagues at physical training facilities and colleges. Our audiences have predominantly been strength training instructors, therapists, & sport coaches. I was surprised to learn that the majority of these groups of professionals were not teaching the squat to any of their athletes! In polling the groups about this topic, most responded by stating that they felt it was "entirely too stressful on the knees", or that "most clients will squat too deeply and place too much stress on the patellar ligament."

What was even more surprising was that the trainers in attendance claiming they were teaching the squat were actually referring to some sort of modified movement wherein the athlete would un-rack the bar, dip their bum down a little, then return to their start position! I call that a quarter squat.

If the squat is too stressful on the knee, then we should all take a seat, and never get back up again! The squat is a functional movement of life, let alone most sports. The movement at the ankle, knee and hip regions (where the majority of squat movement occurs) are completely within our anatomical/biomechanical abilities. It is also a daily need for able-bodied individuals; when my nephew drops his toy on the ground, he has to pick it up somehow! When one of my volleyball clients performs a block jump, he or she has to squat down before exploding off of the floor or out of the sand.

…but…the knee is special

Where many individuals may get concerned with squat movements is the incidence of knee region injuries. In reality, there are a tremendous amount of knee pathologies. However, directly relating these injuries to the weight room is, in my opinion, a mistake. In fact, not functionally training the knee area through movements such as proper squatting may create certain knee pathologies.

The knee is inherently mobile, making it prone to instability and therefore injury when subjected to (a) continual stress or (b) when it goes beyond the limits of its range of motion due to an impact or dysfunction. When you consider this, the squat, done properly, does not create either of these two situations. It would be considered dysfunctional training to perform the squat for excessive repetitions-it is a strength exercise and should therefore be performed with the intent of quality over quantity. It would also be considered dysfunctional training to perform the squat with bad form. If neither of these conditions occur, then we do not create (a) continual stress, or (b) excessive range of motion.

While standing, the knee is able to flex (bringing your lower leg towards the back of your thigh) approximately 120 degrees when measured from 0 degrees or neutral. When your leg is flexed at the hip 90 degrees, your lower leg has the ability to flex at the knee to 140 degrees. When you grab your foot and force it towards your buttocks, you can create 160 degrees of flexion at the knee.

The first two measures are active movements of the leg at the knee; the last measure of 160 degrees is a passive measure. The important difference here is that in the active movements, your own muscle power is able to create the movement, whereas in passive movements, you require an external force (your hand, a partner, upper body weight etc.) to achieve the range. Knowing that we can actively achieve a range of 140 degrees at the knee, it is important to question how it could be dangerous to perform these movements with our feet on the floor-as in the squat?

Doing it wrong, and doing it right.

The truth is, people can create injuries with the squat. However this is not because it is a dangerous exercise. I feel the most common faults are:

• excessive eccentric tempo
  
• improper load/volume progression and poor periodization
  
• improper form (too little range of motion in the knee & too great range of motion in the torso, as well as other form faults)

Excessive Eccentric (muscle lengthening) Tempo

How many times have you seen an athlete (or yourself?) un-rack the barbell, set into squat stance, and drop down to the floor in a split second? Then, after a "bounce" off the bottom, return to neutral, moving a weight that takes them 4 or 5 seconds to return? This is excessive eccentric tempo. If the athlete cannot control the weight eccentrically (in this case lowering the weight), there is too much load on the bar! By lowering the weight radically, without control, there is an opportunity for excessive range of motion (perhaps taking the knee passively to 160 degrees of flexion, or more), leading to injury of supporting tissues.

Another risk is the altering of the centre of rotation of the movement. When we squat down, the centre of rotation is within the knee. When an athlete squats down without control (and potentially too deeply) the hamstring muscles and calf muscles of the athlete will become the new centre of rotation. When the muscles compress significantly, the centre of rotation will shift from the knee back to the area of compression, thereby creating a dislocating effect at the knee. This is squatting too deeply. Any position of the knee prior to this position does not increase knee injury incidence. The paradigms of "parallel femur" position or "90 degrees at the knee" are far too conservative.

To avoid this, ensure that the athlete performs the exercise with enough control so as to recognize a point just prior to their calf and hamstring muscles compressing. This, of course, can be taught. Another important point in preventing excessive eccentric speed and to control knee angle, is to properly train the athlete for eccentric strength of the knee and hip extensors. (Often an imbalance can occur between eccentric and concentric strength of hip and knee extensors, as most sport movements are focussed on powerful extension)

Improper Load and Volume Progression/Improper Form

Loading the squat takes time. I often encourage coaches and athletes to first learn the movement perfectly, then, load the movement. I often use the analogy of a baseball pitcher: a coach wouldn't ask a young pitcher to throw a 100 mph fastball until the athlete has learned exceptional technique. Otherwise, the pitcher won't truly reach their potential, because technique has been sacrificed-so to will performance.

Major occurrences in athletes who load the squat too quickly are back problems. The spine should not have any active extension through the upward phase! Don't get it involved. Keep the back stable.

The squat is a lower body exercise. However, the core musculature needs to be trained to stabilize the torso. Do not wear a belt to make up for core instability. When wearing a belt, you press outwards with the abdomen to create intra-abdominal pressure. This disengages the important deep abdominal musculature. It is these muscles, such as the transverse abdominis that need to be engaged to stabilize the torso.

The transverse abdominis draws the navel inwards. Intentionally pushing outwards (like with a belt) with muscles like the rectus abdominis is dysfunctional training, as this muscle is not an ideal stabilizer until you've reached near maximal levels. Before descending into your bottom position, take a comfortable diaphragmatic breath. Hold this breath while drawing the navel in towards your spine. Lower into your bottom position like this, not breathing out until you have begun to move through the most challenging position of the upward phase.

Note: Obviously, on heavier lifts, the exerciser will reach a "threshold", where the abdominal musculature will push outward. This is normal, as at a higher point, recruitment of all the abdominal muscles will be needed to aid in stabilization. The point is, if you are pushing outward on a lift that is half of your maximum, there are problems with your core activation!

Look out, here comes trouble…

It is important to have good coaching. The well-intended "guy at the gym" who is willing to teach you in between sets of his own workout is not the solution. You get what you pay for, and in this case, you are not getting a professional. I suggest finding a strength and conditioning or physical preparation coach. A sport-conditioning coach is more likely to have the experience necessary to teach this movement.

I also suggest videotaping your practise sessions. This can provide you with a great source of feedback. Not only can you view your form between sets and make corrections, but also at the conclusion of the session, where you can make notes in your training diary.

For videotaping, use three angles; from the side, from the rear, and from the front. This allows you to view relationships in all joint angles from various planes. For example, viewing it solely from the side, the videotape may not reveal that the athlete is looking up too high-the actual cause of a joint angle problem you noticed from the side. (Remember, everything works into the kinetic chain in this exercise: when you alter one part of the spine or one segment of the body, the rest of the body has to adapt to accommodate this change)

As far as progression, remember a few simple concepts:

1. Muscles will generally adapt quicker than other structures (tendons, ligaments, etc). So, your muscles may be able to move greater loads than the other anatomical structure can handle. Injury may occur if you do not have an effectively periodized program-one that takes anatomical adaptation into consideration. There is more to training than just the muscular system. The nervous system (form and neurological adaptations) and so-called passive structures (ligaments, tendons, etc) have to be trained.
   
   
2. Don't perform controlled cheating in the squat, as is sometimes done with other movements. When you perform a movement, you are teaching the nervous system how you want your body to move. If you teach the body inefficient postures and movements-you'll perform in the sport with inefficient postures and movements.
   
   
3. Periodize. (This is why you've consulted a qualified coach) The body needs to be loaded, but also unloaded and rested properly in order to maximize progression and avoid injury. The old paradigm of just keep increasing the volume is probably the slowest way to increase your performance in strength training. Proper periodization will ensure that you stimulate muscle growth efficiently, and maximize your anabolic qualities through effective recovery. Also, a qualified coach can utilize effective supplemental exercises to maximize your training effect.
   
   
4. Supplement your major movement exercises like the squat with exercises that challenge stability. The stability of the low-back and hip are essential to proper control of squatting posture. (The majority of athletes that I assess are deficient in core stability!)
   
   
5. Squats focus on extension of the lower leg at the knee, and extension of the upper leg at the hip (concentrically). Balance your squat training volume with exercises that concentrically focus on flexion of the lower leg at the knee, and flexion of the upper leg at the hip to reduce the likelihood of muscle imbalance. A good rule of thumb is to train with equal sets in knee extension dominant exercises (squats and presses), and in knee flexion dominant exercises (curls and torso raises from the floor).

Going around the front or around the back?

The majority of people performing the squat are placing the bar over their upper back. Personally, I prefer to teach the squat with the bar loaded on the front of the body first, then I teach the back squat.

I especially prefer the front squat for athletes who are new to barbell movements. I use barbell plates that are rubberized, and so, if the athlete is failing in form, they can simply drop the bar forward onto the platform.

In the back squat, if form is poor, it can get real ugly-either the athlete tries to muscle it through with bad form, or drops it back over their tailbone! Teaching the front squat first will allow the exerciser to learn a tremendous amount of muscle awareness and coordination of the movement.

Once proper form is established with the front squat, the athlete will very quickly learn the posture and movements of the back squat.

Whether you choose the front squat, back squat, or train both, it should depend on your needs. If you need to compare to standard data, as an NCAA football player does-then you should train the back squat primarily. However, there are many sports where the back squat is the norm for training, but shouldn't be. The front squat may load the body in a more appropriate way for some sports-because of the more erect torso position. For example, in volleyball, the front squat may more closely mimic block jumping.

The key concept to keep in mind when designing exercise programs is that everybody needs to squat in life and sport. If your client cannot squat well now, then you need to progress them to a higher level in this lift. (We cannot substitute "easier" leg exercises on machines and expect to get the same benefit)