It is considered one of the most popular fitness exercises for strengthening the muscles of the lower body, and millions of exercisers around the world practice it every day. But many do not do it correctly. Don’t worry, that’s exactly what we’re here for
There is no one who comes to the gym and does not hear the word “squat” at one point or another, and rightly so. This is one of the most common exercises, and everyone loves to talk about it and do it. In fact, it is a common and effective resistance exercise for strengthening the lower body that activates the ankle, knee and hip joints, and has a tremendous effect, if done correctly of course.
Countless posts and videos on the web demonstrate how to do squats. But first it is important to say – squatting is an important exercise due to being one of the most basic human movement patterns: we use the squatting movement to pick up an object from the floor, sit down or stand back up, when we are preparing to perform a jump and more.
But how do we know that we are performing the exercise correctly? Here are some important rules of thumb.
First of all, it is important to know that there is a difference in the architecture of the pelvis, in the shape and depth of the hip joint, in the angle of the femoral neck, in the relationship between the hip and the shin and in the structure of the spine, and of course in the flexibility and movement strategy. Therefore, each person will squat slightly differently to some extent.
Movement restrictions in the hip, back, knee and ankle joints and the soft tissues around them can limit our ability and comfort to perform a deep squat. Therefore, it must be remembered that there are factors that are difficult to influence that can limit the deep squat – among them basic flexibility, the shape of the pelvic, hip or ankle joints. However, even if you weren’t born with the anatomy “optimized” for deep squatting, this exercise can improve your flexibility significantly.
Can incorrect execution increase the risk of injuries?
The good news is that studies of recent years have found that the degree of variation in performing the squat exercise did not predict injuries in exercisers over time.
In conclusion, the squat is an important exercise and above all it is a wonderful way to strengthen a large number of muscle groups, improve daily function and more. And in fact, the correct exercise, as already said, is simply to be attentive to your body and your level of flexibility.
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