Working to improve squat form
Working on exercises to improve squat form
Working on some exercises to improve barbell back squat form and depth and to correct some knee valgus (knees caving in during multi joint leg exercises like squats, leg presses, etc). Knee valgus tends to be more common in women then men because of women having wider hips then men. This increases their Q angle (the angle from the hips to the knees) and can create more on the knee joint. This is one of the reasons women tend to have more knee injuries then men. It is important to identify and correct this because left uncorrected and continuing to let someone continue to train with this will only exacerbate the condition and could potentially lead to or an injury.
What I’m doing here is working to first identify what is causing the knee valgus and excessive forward lean in barbell back squats. It could be tightness or lack of mobility in certain muscles like the ankles or hip flexors, weak or undeveloped muscles like the glutes, lower back and vastus medialis (tear drop shaped quad muscle) or it can be just an issue of learning to perform the exercises in better form and the right muscles or a combination of things.
I perform a series of tests (Thomas test, overhead squat, glutes and lower back strength test, etc) to try to identify the issue. After seeing that the issue looks to be needing to improve the strength in the hip extensors. In particular the glutes and lower back and work on the proper form and technique to learn to engage and recruit the right muscles in the right pattern.
In these pics I’m working on squats holding a pole for stability and focusing on engaging the glutes and lower back, in particular at the bottom of the squat. I’m adding static holds and partial reps in the bottom position to help with hip stability and strength. With the goblet squats I’m working on keeping the body more upright to improve the forward lean in the squats and in the bottom position holding it and driving the hips side to side to stretch the ankles and open up stretch the hips. I’ve also included other movements like Romainan dead lifts, back extensions and the glute ham machine to strengthen the glutes and lower back. #thomastest #glutes #fitnessassessment#muscleimbalances #hipflexorstretch #hipflexors #posteriorchain #erectorspinae#lowerbackworkout #kneevalgus #kneejoint #vastusmedialis #barbellbacksquat#squats #gobletsquats #mobility #flexibility #properform #lasvegas #deadlifts