Although squat is good, the details of its movements are still the focus of debate among fitness teachers and even fitness schools. In fact, my teacher thinks there is nothing to argue about. Everyone's body structure is specific. No two identical people can have two identical squat postures. Therefore, the requirements of the same squat details may not be suitable for everyone.
So how do we choose the posture of squatting? This is very simple. Under the guidance of professionals, fully trust your feelings and come as comfortably as possible within the basic principles.
Squat, as a basic exercise mode, has many training methods. For example, we are familiar with barbell squat, front squat and goblet squat with dumbbells. Of course, you can also practice squats with Hu Ling and sandbags. Basically, lower limb strength exercises involving squatting with both feet on the ground are all done through different methods.
However, Wan Jian's return to the Sect, the return of all these fancy variants is essentially an action-squat with bare hands. Master this action, and you can enjoy yourself in the squat series ~
Analysis of unarmed squat technique
A the torso is straight, and the spine can be arranged in a normal standing position without overstretching; Squat posture, the body leans forward slightly, not perpendicular to the ground;
B the depth of squat requires that the upper surface of thigh is parallel or slightly lower than the horizontal plane;
C the knee joint can slightly exceed the toe, so it is not necessary to adhere to the century-old myth that "the knee joint is just a toe";
D hips stretch backwards, like sitting in a chair behind you;
Her eyes are straight.
Also add some details that are not shown in the figure:
1. Feet are slightly wider than shoulders or shoulders. Note that my teacher refers to the distance between two heels;
2. The two toes are naturally separated by about 30, and everyone's body structure is different, so how comfortable it is;
3. When squatting, the trajectory of the knee joint is consistent with the toe direction. To put it bluntly, where the toes point, the knee joint will top;
4. The center of gravity falls in the middle of the heel or foot (wearing high heels, the center of gravity falls on the heel; Wear flat shoes or barefoot, and the center of gravity falls on the feet);
5. Starting from the upright position, first extend the hips slightly backward, and unlock the knee joint at the same time, then bend the hips greatly and kneel down, and the trunk is accompanied by rhythmic forward leaning;
6. The whole process of squatting and standing up should be as smooth as running water, and there should be no pause, jam, local acceleration, back and forth swing and so on.
First of all! Low lever position:
Low! As the name implies, the barbell is placed a little lower than our usual high bar squat. The high bar squat is to put the barbell on the trapezius muscle, just like carrying it on your shoulder. The low bar position is to put the barbell near the scapular ridge, some on the scapular ridge, and some on the lower edge of the scapular ridge, but in short, it must be stuck in the position of the posterior bundle of deltoid muscle, just like carrying it on your back.
Second, the posture of chest, shoulders and hands:
For the chest, like other squat postures, you should fully hold your chest out, which means "show your bubby" in a foreign language. Shoulder blades should be tightened, especially in the low bar position, because if you can't squeeze your shoulder blades and the pile of meat behind you into a supporting surface, you will be defeated by pain before being defeated by fatigue when squatting.
In the low bar squat, the barbell looks less stable than the high bar, so the role of the arm here is very important. However, even though it is very important, the arm still only plays the role of fixing the barbell, without bearing the weight and helping to lift the barbell (I'm afraid only the Hulk can do it …). So our hands need to buckle the barbell with a half-ring grip. In the case of fully holding out the chest and tightening the scapula, our hands should be as close to the body as possible, that is, the grip distance should be as narrow as possible, so that the fixation is the strongest. In addition, the wrist is straight or even slightly buckled, so it must not be everted, which will turn into a hulk. ...
Third, the trunk
Still the same, the lumbar spine is straight, and you can't bend forward or overstretch. Keep normal physiological curvature when standing upright. In fact, this sentence is aimed at the majority of female compatriots, because male compatriots rarely overstretch. (This is the basic requirement of almost all standing strength training techniques, and it is also a common standard. )
For the low bar squat, because we are carrying barbells, we need to lean forward a little bit in order not to let the barbells fall. This angle is about 5~ 15 degrees in standing posture, but it is much larger than the high bar position in squatting posture. But because of this extra angle, the horizontal torque of hip joint is greatly increased, and gluteus maximus, hamstring and other hip extensors can become the main driving muscles in this squat technique.
In addition, many people think that a lower bar position and a larger forward angle will cause more pressure on the lumbar spine and make it easy to get injured. But my teacher thinks you don't have to worry about this problem. Core stability is maintained by three systems. One is a passive structural stability system composed of lumbar vertebrae, intervertebral discs and peripheral ligaments, which is very fragile. The second is the active functional stability system provided by peripheral muscles, which is the main function; The third is the nervous system. In the low bar squat, due to the increase of the anteversion angle of the spine, the moment of erector spinae and other peripheral muscle groups increases, which makes it easier to participate in the stress and only directly acts on the resistance direction, so the axial pressure of the spine actually decreases, that is to say, in the low bar squat, the share of structural stability system that maintains the core stability decreases and the share of functional stability system increases. Tired is the muscle, but it doesn't hurt the bones, unless you work hard and work hard to break your heart!
I forgot to mention that we should actively tighten our abdominal muscles, fix the relative position of pelvis and trunk, and increase abdominal pressure to stabilize the spine while trying our best to hold our chest out. This is also one of the key points to avoid blinking your hips.
Fourth, the station:
Shoulder width is a reference standard. People with long legs can be wider than their shoulders (ordinary people), and people with short legs may be slightly narrower (Snow White Seven Guards), but in short, we should find the most comfortable standing posture according to this standard and our physical characteristics.
Toes need to be slightly abduction, about 30 degrees, which is also a reference value. But in any case, unless you have congenital knee deformity, that is, serious dislocation, XYZ-shaped legs and the like, you can't put your toes forward at shoulder width ... but in that case, my teacher doesn't recommend you to practice weight-bearing squats, just look around.
Fifth, the center of gravity:
Please focus on your feet! The highest point of the arch. Not on the heels or toes. Putting it on the heel is the idea of rehabilitation, which effectively reduces the pressure on the knee joint, but sacrifices the depth and bearing capacity of squatting; Putting it on your toes will make it easier for you to lose your center of gravity and lean forward. If you try to save it, it will excessively increase the pressure on the knee joint and sacrifice the torque of the hip joint. Putting it on your feet is the most stable, reasonable and instinctive, and you don't need to spend extra energy to maintain it.
In front of me, I squatted on my heel, and then I began to force myself to move my center of gravity up to the middle of my foot. At first, it was awkward. After moving over, everything is different, and I feel that the muscles of the lower limbs are more uniform in an instant. From a mechanical point of view, if the center of gravity is on the heel, then the ankle muscles lose torque and cannot participate in maintaining the stability of the body, especially the plantar muscles and soleus muscles. If the middle of the foot is the most stable and reasonable position, the greater the load, the more naturally the center of gravity will shift to this position, and then your hamstring muscle will be stretched unnaturally. Give it a try! Take your time! Don't get hurt ...)
Practice has found that the shoes worn are highly related to the center of gravity! If you wear high-heeled "high-heeled shoes" or weightlifting shoes, the center of gravity usually falls on the heel and it is difficult to put your feet in, so this time is the most reasonable; When wearing flat shoes, barefoot or strength-enhancing shoes, the center of gravity is easily placed in the middle of the foot, and it is easy to feel the feeling of exerting force on the whole lower limb from the toe. So what shoes to wear and what actions to use are up to you!
Sixth, the knee joint:
When it comes to squats, people immediately think of two things: 1. Knee joints can't pass toes; 2. The depth of the squat.
The problem that the knee joint can't cross the toes is really meaningless in front of the standard squat posture, unless the proposer has never done a squat, especially a squat with weight. In the standard low bar squat, if all the links are perfect, the knee joint will definitely exceed the toe (but it will only exceed the distance of 1~2cm). Unless you are more than one meter tall and wear 46 shoes, you will never exceed your toes in your life ... and in the low bar squat, the fact that your knees exceed your toes does not mean that you will bear much more pressure, because the hip joint plays a major role in bearing and exerting force. In addition, the correct squat is actually a kind of maintenance for the knee joint, because it teaches it what to do while developing its strength!
There is another problem about the posture of the knee joint, that is, the direction or direction of the knee joint should be consistent with the toes. In other words, the more your toes spread, the more your legs should spread apart.
Seventh, buttocks.
In the low bar power lift squat, because the hips are the main force, the horizontal torque from the hips to the center of gravity should be increased, so the hips should be pursed from the standing position, and then a trend of backward extension should be maintained. Say one thing, although we emphasize the importance of hip strength, but don't think too much about it. After all, lower limb exercise is not just a fart matter. Moreover, our goal is to improve sports performance or squat down to gain more weight, rather than "man can conquer nature." Therefore, when we are skilled in technical movements, we can concentrate our thoughts on the buttocks, but when we are seriously training, we should still follow the principle of average and optimization, as long as we want to stand up. Because paying too much attention to the strength of gluteal muscles will make the movements out of balance and the trunk lean forward excessively, especially when it is heavy.
Eighth, the head and eyes
Because we use the low bar position, we can't look up like the high bar position, because then we will lift our trunk reflexively, and it is easy to say that the torque of our hips will become smaller. Most importantly, you may let your barbell slide down from behind. So we should keep our head neutral and tighten our chin slightly, just like you put a tennis ball between your neck and chin. Then, of course, you can't look up, and you can't look around the big breasts and fat hips that have passed in the gym. You should stare at a sign on the floor 5~ 10 steps ahead of you.
Ninth, squat
Well, if you can do the above 8 points perfectly, all you have to do now is carry a barbell, squat down and stand up again.
Because we are hip-driven, in the initial stage of squat, we need to give priority to pulling back the hips that have been pursed, unlock the knee joints at the same time, then bend our knees and bend our hips greatly. In the process of squatting, as the trunk leans forward in a controlled way, the whole process is smooth and natural, without jamming or acceleration!
So how deep is it? Don't deliberately control the depth of your squat to stay at a certain point during the whole squat process, and reach the range of your functional limit without deviating from the center of gravity and tightening the core area. Generally speaking, the depth of the hip joint below the knee joint is almost the height of the upper thigh surface slightly lower than the horizontal plane or the person with thick legs is parallel to the horizontal plane.
Tenth, breathe.
Breathing is very important! In the past, in strength training, we asked for natural breathing to avoid holding our breath, and usually used physiological breathing and biomechanical breathing. But no matter which one, one day you will find that it is the same. Why? Because strength exercises will inevitably hold your breath, especially in front of heavy objects, especially squats.