Wouldn't you love to buy a bit of kit that would help you improve your squat ten fold?
Sounds too good to be true doesn't it?
Well.... this cheat is lifting shoes!
How Do They Work?
Lifting shoes angle your foot so it is resting in a slight bit of plantarflexion (i.e movement of pushing your accelerator to the floor)
It does this by having a slight heel of around 2 to 2.5cm.
This slight heel increases plantarflexion by 3.5 degrees to 5 degrees, this then makes it feel like your dorsiflexion has increased. However it is more of an illusion as instead of your foot starting of flat it starts of slightly plantarflexed
Conclusion
So if you are too lazy too follow my previous blog posts on fixing your squat this is a perfect cheat to help you squat a lot better by just changing your shoes!
If you aren't happy 'cheating' and want to improve your squat without relying on some magic shoes book in with me today to help you get on track and fully fit... see below for one of the many clients I have helped
L. Brymner
Recreational Gym User
I had suffered a bad strain from the gym in my upper back trap area and was very immobile and causing me tension headaches. Rob managed to source the problem and relieve some of the soreness and get me on the road to recovery my back and neck were back too 100% within a couple of days and I was back in the gym, could not recommend rob more if you've got any pains or long lasting injuries I'd highly suggest you see Rob! Lewis
For more information on squatting shoes give the below a read!
Sato, K., Fortenbaugh, D., & Hydock, D. S. (2012). Kinematic changes using weightlifting shoes on barbell back squat. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 26(1), 28-33.
Continuing my theme on squatting, the squat is the main exercise that goes into most people’s mind when they think gym, even more so when you think leg day!
The back squat is a fundamental exercise prescribed for both athletes and non-athletes for developing lower body strength. When included in training programmes it has been found to improve athletic performance.
But what happens when you don't want to do the standard squat? Do you just not train legs for the rest of your life?! Actually there is another way that may even be superior!
Rear Leg Elevated Squat
Rear leg elevated squat, more commonly known as the 'Bulgarian Split Squat' is the alternative and it may actually be better for you!
This is because the exercise has been found to place less compressive force on the back, while placing more stress on the legs, hips and your stabilizer muscles. This means that this rear leg squat can be a great exercise if you are suffering from back pain and you are finding the normal back squat too much pain.
A key finding has been " that similar lower body muscle activity can be achieved using the RLESS with half the load of BS” Therefore bigger and more ‘manly’ weight is not always better!
In Conclusion
This means that for those clients who are UNCOMFORTABLE UNDER THE BARBELL–but still want good glute and quad results.
Another study going way back when to 2010 actually found more activation in gluteus medius muscle and biceps femoris activity than the back squat.
If you aren’t convinced yet, give the Bulgarian split squat a try!
If you'd like further advice on squatting and how to squat and also manage your back pain, feel free to shoot me a message and we can get to work!
Further reading:
McCurdy K, O’Kelley E, Kutz M, Langford G, Ernest J, Torres M. Comparison of Lower Extremity EMG Between the 2-Leg Squat and Modified Single-Leg Squat in Female Athletes J Sport Rehabil. 2010 Feb; 19(1):57-70
DeFOREST BA, CANTRELL GS, SCHILLING BK. Muscle Activity in Single- vs. Double-Leg Squats. International Journal of Exercise Science. 2014;7(4):302-310.
Following on from last weeks post and 6 top tips for your squat i'm going to be talking about the most important part of the squat... this being DORSI-FLEXION
Insert Image
What's DorsiFlexion?
Dorsiflexion is the movement of bringing the front of your foot towards your shin.
It's such a simple movement and is crucial for an array of things from walking and running, through to todays topic of squatting.
How Does This Apply To My Squat?
The most crucial movement in a squat is maintaining a neutral or slightly extended spine as you lower down.
Once your lower back rounds into flexion (think of a nice curvy C), your form breaks, and there is a very dangerous load on your lower back and muscles.
This obviously is the opposite of what you want, you are actually looking for your glutes to be loaded and firing. This doesn’t happen when you have your nice curvy C rounded back.
In an ideal squat, you are shifting your weight back just like you’re sitting back into a chair. This chair however is invisible!
So you’ve checked your form, and you sit back into your ‘invisible chair’ the posterior, and you lower down close to 90 degrees…and, you feel like you can’t get any lower! You try to maintain the form above and stop the curvy C but you just can’t keep your back straight and go lower!
You feel perfectly strong enough, but you just can’t get any lower and feel stuck.
This is you having limited or poor or however you want to describe it dorsiflexion
How to check for a lack or dorsiflexion
1. Squat normally, check the angle between your hips, knees, and ankles.
2. Slide some 1″ blocks, weight plates or even books under your heels. Squat again and re-check the angle.
I’m guessing it got easier?! And you could sit further back!
If the answer to the above was “yes”, you have reduced dorsiflexion.
It’s a questionable strategy to squat with the blocks under your heels, but it may train you into a better motor pattern until you resolve your dorsiflexion problem.
Research that backs this up...
Now onto the nitty gritty that backs up all of the above!
Ankle dorsiflexion with flexed and extended knee has been found correlate significantly with squat depth, accounting for 38.8 and 23.7% of the variance in male and female subjects, respectively (p<0.05).
Hemmerich et al. (2006) reported that the average ankle dorsiflexion angle required was 38.5 ±5.9° during a squat. This is because the ankle is an important part of the closed-chain movement during deep squatting activities, limited mobility and stability of the ankle joint could inhibit performance of the proximal joints.
Boys Vs Girls
An important part to also mention is the slight variation that has been found between genders. The ROM of the ankle dorsiflexion is a major factor affecting squat depth in both genders, followed by the hip flexion ROM in male and actually ankle dorsiflexor strength in females.
For Further reading
Kim, S. H., Kwon, O. Y., Park, K. N., Jeon, I. C., & Weon, J. H. (2015). Lower extremity strength and the range of motion in relation to squat depth. Journal of human kinetics, 45(1), 59-69.
Hemmerich A, Brown H, Smith S, Marthandam SS, Wyss UP. Hip, knee, and anklekinematics of high range of motion activities of daily living. J Orthop Res, 2006; 24: 770-781 Equipment for squatting
What to do if my dorsiflexion is lacking?
You can book a session in with me, where I can tailor a plan not just to help your dorislfexion but help with all the other movements and joints that help form a perfect squat.
Alternatively wait till next week where I give some advice on improving your dorsiflexion
Lastly in the near future i'll be starting skype sessions to go 1v1 anywhere in the world to help tailor a plan to you, subscribe below to find out when this will be launching!
If you’ve got an existing injury or previous reconstruction of the PCL, it is best to restrict flexion (bending your knee) to 50°to 60°so that posterior shear force is minimized as much as possible.
If you are wanting to work your quads their development is maximized by squatting to parallel, with no additional activity seen at when you go deeper into the squat.
However hip extensor movements increase with increasing squat depth, so full squats may be beneficial for those seeking to maximize strength of the hip musculature i.e. glutes.
2
How fast should I squat?
The speed of the movement should be based on goal-oriented
Specificity to the force-velocity curve. However, given
that speed of movement has been shown to significantly
increase both compression and shear forces (You want to minimise this as much as possible) , there is a trade off between optimal transfer of performance and
risk of injury. This is especially true on the eccentric aspect (going down into the squat)
of the squat where rapid deceleration generates exceedingly high joint forces at the knee.
3
Failure to control this descent can result in the ballistic contact between the hamstrings and calf muscles,
which can cause a dislocating
effect on the knee ligaments. Therefore, unless
your goals specifically dictate otherwise, squat descent
should always be executed in a controlled fashion, with
a 2 to 3 second eccentric tempo is a good rule of thumb.
4
Additional muscles you can target when squatting-
A wider stance squat is preferable for those seeking optimal
development of the hip adductors and hip extensors.
Where as a closer stance is more appropriate for targeting
development of the gastrocnemius.
Stance can also be varied to alter joint-related forces: a narrow stance helps to
minimize patellofemoral and tibiofemoral compression
while a wider stance results in less forward knee
translation and thus reduces shear force.
5
Low bar or high bar?
Low bar back squats tend to produce greater hip extensor
torque and a decrease in knee extensor torque compared with high
bar back squats. However, the magnitude of forces for both
movements are well tolerated by the associated joint
structures.
This means it is down to personal preference where you decide to have the bar
The front squat produces significantly lower
knee compression and lumbar stress in comparison with
back squats, making it a viable alternative for those
suffering from various knee and back pains.
5
Low bar or high bar?
Low bar back squats tend to produce greater hip extensor
torque and a decrease in knee extensor torque compared with high
bar back squats. However, the magnitude of forces for both
movements are well tolerated by the associated joint
structures.
This means it is down to personal preference where you decide to have the bar
The front squat produces significantly lower
knee compression and lumbar stress in comparison with
back squats, making it a viable alternative for those
suffering from various knee and back pains.
6
Fatigue can have a detrimental effect on squatting
technique, potentially leading to knee instability and
increased lumbar shear force. Therefore you may want to think twice about one last rep.
So there you have 6 tips you can utilise next time it's leg day to help you get where you want to be. If you would like more help with your squat click below to book in with a session... for further reading the paper I used is
Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010). Squatting kinematics and kinetics and their application to exercise performance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(12), 3497-3506.
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