GETTING MORE OUT OF SQUATS AS AN EXERCISE

In my last article on the pitfalls of the back squat, I laid the foundation for the reality that some of the “best” and most recommended exercises for strength and fitness can, in fact, create long term breakdown and disability of the body.

If you look down the very long list of traditional strength exercises, even those created or adapted for boot camp classes, there is a much more narrow focus than a global focus. There is an intention for development of one area of the body without much consideration for the rest of it.

The performance of the back, or barbell, squat is primarily intended to improve the strength and power of the legs. While many other side benefits are promoted, this is what the squat is known for. Within the region of the “legs,” strength and power of the gluts, hamstrings, and quads are the real targets.

As discussed in my last article, this narrow focus often comes with a severe penalty over time: significant losses in three dimensional ship mobility and pathologic spinal rigidity. A penalty that insidiously robs you of precious and pain free life, calling in to question the use of the back squat as a foundational exercise.

The insidious part here is these negative results are part of the training. You are literally teaching your body to develop this way. For a slightly more in depth understanding of how this happens in the body, read this short article.

Before you start to label me as anti-squat, let’s take a bigger look at what we need "squatability" for in order to be more successful in life.  

The normal biomechanics that take place at the foot, ankle, knee, and hip in squatting motions are the same as for walking, picking something up from the floor, lifting something heavy from the ground or table, sitting down and standing up, running, playing tennis, basketball, etc. You will notice many of these instances of squatting to some degree do not use the feet in an equal and symmetrical position.

The narrow focus of the back squat is pushing a weight resting across your shoulders in a vertical direction. As I asked in my previous article, stop and really think in your life when you EVER have to do that, or want to do that.

I bet you can’t come up with more than two instances that happen once every other year. It is VERY rare.

Oh…wait…you play football, and specifically you are a lineman tasked with exploding with your legs into another player at the snap of the ball. I get this challenge all the time. Look closely at the picture below, which is the most common and often repeated position of a lineman before the snap of the ball.

 If he explodes straight up and then forward, he will miss his assignment. Note the position of his feet also. So…no…the back squat is not specifically applicable to this guy either.

In another article I talked about the foundational benefits of three dimensional mobility to successful aging. Successful aging is viewed differently for everybody, except those who aren’t experiencing it. I don’t care how focused you are on a specific achievement, if that achievement creates an environment for degeneration in your body, you will degenerate, and it will hurt eventually. It will make your final decades on this earth a whole lot less fun.

Given the fact that we perform the biomechanics of squatting in so many of our everyday and recreational activities, how do you come up with a way to do squatting activity that looks like the function we need it for and create greater three dimensional motion at the same time?

The Gray Institute for Functional Transformation is the world leader in the application of three dimensional assessment, rehabilitation and training to the human body. They have proposed a simple “tweak” to the squat position that will build rather than restriction foot, ankle, knee, and hip mobility.

From a normal stance you might make with your feet shoulder width apart. You can make your stance more narrow or wide…you can ;put your right or your left foot slightly more forward or back…you can turn your toes slightly in or slightly out.

Which would you choose? Well that depends on what you are training for, and how your uniquely God given body has learned how to compensate over the years. For that, an authentic functional assessment is needed, followed by simple guidance from a functional movement specialist.

Where is the weight you ask? Well the weight is wherever your hands are required to go, or required to do, in the thing you want to be better at.  

Want to be better at the tennis backhand? Besides an off-set position with your feet, your squat is going to involve your racket hand, with or without the racket, reaching out away from your body to the optimal spot you want to contact the ball, and/or rotating your arms to one side or the other.

Want to walk with more grace and fluidity of motion? Well your feet are never going to be side by side, and you arms and trunk better be rotating toward your forward leg, and maybe even side bending to that side also.

These are just a couple of thousands of examples that could be applied depending on what you need and want your body to be effective at. Please don’t train for training’s sake. I will address why this is a problem in my next article. If you want a superior functional outcome from your training, you must answer the question of what you are training for, and approach it three dimensionally. Full stop.

If you want to train your body into an optimal three dimensional motion machine, be able to apply force, or strength, at the end of all of those movement spectrums, and be able to do that for the rest of your life, you need help. There is no way around that. I have dedicated my life to helping people just like you achieve all of those things and keep themselves out of the doctor’s or PT’s office, truly enjoying the gift of pain free living.

If you think that is you, please schedule a call. Don’t waste the time you have left…