Injury prevention tip… Several complaints have been coming in about knee/hip pain with squats/lunges. I figure we are probably due for a leg day soon so a few pointers to remember when doing a proper squat. Make sure to keep good hip/knee/calf mobility (stretch often!) 1) Remember to HINGE at your hips: A common mistake is trying to squat with your butt tucked under you and a rounded back. The way I typically describe a good squat posture is to pretend you’re hovering over a gas station toilet (You DON’T want to touch that thing). Activity time: Everyone stand up and try to sit down on the couch/chair with your butt tucked and back rounded. How bad does that kill your knees and where do you feel the weight? Most of us when doing a poor squat will feel pressure on your toes. Now, try to keep your back in good posture with a slight curve in your low back and reach your butt back to hover over the couch. Notice where your weight is --- in your heels. Note how your knees feel and where you actually feel the squat. Make sure to put the pressure through your heels (you should be able to wiggle your toes), knees should track over your 2nd toes, and you should always be able to see your toes. If you put too much pressure on your toes, a domino effect will happen. You will not be able to get weight back limiting your squat depth, your knees will go over your toes causing increased stress to the knee joint, and you’re going to have less balance. 2) Straight Head Position/ Chest Out/Shoulders Back: Again, you cannot focus on posture enough. Keep your head up and your eyes on the ceiling. This will help keep your weight centered and not throw off your balance. Low back positioning is crucial with squats. If you lose your low back curve, then the squat can go south quick. Remember to keep your shoulder blades pinched/down and this will help you keep the curve in your low back. 3) Athletic Stance, Toes Pointed Out – your feet position can make all the difference in where you feel the squat. A narrow stance will make you feel it a little more in your quads (front of the thigh) and a wider stance will make your glutes/hamstrings work more (back of legs). Slightly rotate the feet out to gain more stability. A common mistake is letting the knees fall in towards each other. Make sure your point of reference is the 2nd toe --- knees follow the 2nd toe. 4) How low can you go? Depth of the Squat: Flexibility plays a huge roll in depth of squat. If your hips are flexible then you might be able to get lower than parallel – however if your hips are tighter than you might be above parallel. The bottom line comes down to QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. If you cannot do the squat without increased knee/hip/low back pain then modify to a technique you can tolerate. You can always increase the flexibility and increase your squat depth. For those of you that know me, I’m a visual person (with really poor art skills) so for me to put this into words is interesting at best. We have a lot of trainers more than willing to take a look at your form. Ask them. Don’t let the pain get the best of you. If you’re feeling squats in your knees and not your thighs/booty then there is an issue with form. Also, if there are any ideas for injury prevention that you guys want – please leave a message/post and I’m happy to address it. Strive for good technique.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:07:05 +0000
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