Healthy. Lean. Strong. — · Healthy. Lean. Strong. by Poliq uin Group™ Editorial Staff • 5 min read • original ... To day we know that deep squats should be a primary lift

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Healthy. Lean. Strong.by Poliquin Group™ Editorial Staff • 5 min read • original

Do squat all the way down.

Used to be that the deep squat was feared by everyone but the mosthardcore lifters. People mistakenly thought they damaged the knees andlower back.

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Today we know that deep squats should be a primary lift of a proper trainingprogram because they improve knee and lower back function by optimallytraining the entire lower body musculature.

Don’t let lack of flexibility keep you from squatting. Modify yoursquats.Little kids are some of the best squatters. Imagine a 3-year-old bendingdown to look at a bug. A kid won’t hinge at the hip keeping their kneesstraight. They go all the way down into a full squat with their torso uprightand rear down near their socks.

How do they do it?

They’re flexible. Lack of flexibility in the hips and ankles is a primary causeof dangerous squat form. A simple solution is to elevate the heels,increasing the range-of-motion at the ankle. Do this by squatting with yourheels on weight plates or on a wedge board with the slant facing away fromyou in order to plantarflex the ankle.

Do train full-range split squats for healthier knees.Chances are, if you’re new to squatting, you should start with single-legsplit squats in order to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee. Thisbuilds flexibility and you’ll learn to move properly after years of sitting andpoor movement patterns.

Start with split squats with the front foot elevated 8 to 16 inches on a box.Keep the knees in line over the toes and go all the way down to the pointwhere the knee comes forward over the toes.

Don’t restrict knee motion.A common misconception with squat training is that the knees should notcome forward over the toes.

In fact, many motions of daily life are best performed when the knee travelsforward over the toes: It happens every time you walk up and down thestairs or go into a deep knee bend to pick something up off the ground.

Deep squats with the knees coming forward can improve knee function and


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passive tissue strength for healthy knees. On the other hand, keeping theknees from passing the toes is actually the reason many people find thatthey develop knee pain and lower back aches.

Restricting the knee motion changes your center of mass and leads togreater forward lean of the upper body. This puts greater stress on thespinal discs and ligaments.

Do overhead squats to warm-up for heavy squats.The overhead squat moves your body though a large range of motion,serving to dynamically stretch key muscles used in the squat. Simply do afew sets of five reps, starting with just the empty bar. Then move on to yourworkout.

Don’t warm-up by jogging on the treadmill or any other unspecificexercise.The purpose of warming up is to increase blood flow to muscles, raise coretemperature, and activate the central nervous system. You want to directlytarget the muscle groups you will be training with similar movements thatyou intend to work.

Jogging on the treadmill or any other “cardio” warm-up is useless. Overheadsquats with an empty bar followed by a pyramid scheme in which youprogressively increase your weights is a superior method of warming up tosquat.

Do eccentric-enhanced squats.The eccentric phase of a squat is the down motion and the concentric phaseis the up motion. The simplest way to do eccentric-enhanced squats is bycontrolling the down motion and taking a longer time to go into the squatthan to come back up. An example is a 4-second down motion (calledtempo) followed by a 1-second up motion.

Eccentric-enhanced squats increase strength and muscle rapidly. Novicesshould try a 6 to 8-second eccentric tempo and a 1-second concentrictempo. Advanced trainees can use heavy eccentrics in which they train asupramaximal load for the down motion by using eccentric hooks or apower rack.


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Don’t do heavy speed squats unless you are an advanced lifter.Heavy speed squats are useful for advanced trainees because they causemore muscle damage, stimulating greater protein synthesis than slower,controlled squats. Ballistic movements activate gene signaling and recruitdistinct muscle fibers (more type II fibers) than slower lifts.

However, the high speed during the decent phase increases the compressiveforce in the squat. Advanced lifters such as Olympic weightlifters who trainthe motion frequently will strengthen the cartilage and tissue around theknee, allowing them to tolerate this stress and avoid degeneration of theknee joint.

But for trainees just trying to get ripped and most athletes, training fullsquats in a controlled manner with a controlled eccentric tempo isrecommended.

Do train squats for a better physique and leaner waist.Squats require a lot of effort, working the entire musculature of the coreand lower body. They are the perfect lift to include in a fat loss trainingprogram for slimmer hips and a better physique.

Don’t believe that squats will widen your hips or make you bulky—ladies, this means you.

Contrary to popular belief, squats will not widen the hips. In fact, the squatworks the gluteus maximus, which grows back, not out when it developsbecause neither the insertion nor origin of this muscle attaches at the hips. Wide hips? No. A firm rounded booty? Yes.

Do train partial squats once you’re STRONG.Once you’ve achieved basic strength and mobility in the lower body,training partial-range lifts is a useful tool because it allows you to handleheavier loads than you could over the full range. They also target stickingpoints, which is the part of the lift where you’re weakest.

For example, the sticking point in the deep squat is typically right aroundmidpoint, although, the entire bottom segment (bottom to parallel in the


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squat) can give lifters trouble.

A recent study found that a combination of full and partial squat trainingled trainees to increase their full squat max by 3 percent more than justdoing full squats.

Don’t train partials without also doing full-range reps.When performing partial-range-of-motion training, always incorporatefull-range-of-motion sets within the workout. Many people make themistake of only doing partials.

This leads to diminished returns and less muscle development. It alsocauses altered length-tension relationships within the lower bodymusculature that can increase injury in the knees, hips, and lower back.

Do squats before deadlifts when training both in the same workout.It’s best to do squats and deadlifts in separate workouts.

But, if this is not possible and you’re training both squats and deads, dosquats first when the lower back is fresh because squats require greateractivity of the lower lumbar region of the spine than deadlifts. This will alsowarm the lower back up for pulling heavy loads off the floor.

We know this from a study that found that when a heavy squat (80 percentof maximal load) was compared to a heavy deadlift, the squat required about34 percent greater activity of the lower lumbar region than the deadlifts.Deadlifts produced greater activation of the upper region of the lower back.

Don’t do squats late in your workout and never after lifts that hit thelower back hard.This should be common sense, but a glance at sample workouts in populartraining magazines shows that it’s not. Protecting the spine is a top priority.Never put your lower back at risk.

Do one-and-a-quarter squats and use bottom position pauses.One-and-a-quarter contractions are a highly efficient strategy forincreasing strength and targeting weak links in the lower body. Do them bygoing all the way down, come up 20 to 30 degrees, pause for a second,


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descend back to the bottom and come up quickly.

Another plateau buster is to use bottom position pauses because thiseliminates the stretch reflex that provides momentum. Try pausing for 3 to4 seconds in the bottom position and then come up explosively.

Don’t always train the same tempo.Many trainees don’t even know what tempo is (see above under the tip to doeccentric-enhanced squats for a definition if you missed it). They grabweights and haphazardly raise and lower them without paying any attentionto the speed of contraction. They rarely get stronger, bigger, or leaner.

These people are wasting their time.

You should always count tempo, and you should vary your tempos just asyou do your set and rep schemes. For example, longer tempos are great forbuilding strength and the priority for novice lifters. Fast tempos are usefulfor building power and should be used by more advanced trainees.

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Healthy. Lean. Strong. — · Healthy. Lean. Strong. by Poliq uin Group™ Editorial Staff • 5 min read • original ... To day we know that deep squats should be a primary lift