How to reasonably squat
First, warm up properly.
The importance of warming up is self-evident. For all strength training, a good warm-up condition can reduce sports injuries by half. If you want to minimize the pressure on your knees, obviously one or two quick warm-up exercises (such as running, skipping rope or elliptical machine) are not enough. Adequate warm-up can lubricate the synovial fluid of the knee joint, improve its fluidity, activate your central nervous system, thus having a faster reaction time and fully activating muscles.
Although the whole warm-up seems a bit long, it includes self-fascia relaxation exercises and some dynamic stretching exercises. And some people who are familiar with this can warm up with empty squats. "Squat is the best way to warm up."
Second, don't "genu valgus"
Many people who practice squats have a small problem, that is, their knees bend inward, which is called "genu valgus", which is a common cause of knee pain when squatting.
Genu valgus increases that tension of the knee joint and put great pressure on the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which may lead to patellofemoral joint pain syndrome and even ligament tear. The correct method is shown in the figure below.
Third, reduce the strength of toes.
What is it like to squat on your toes? When we do squats (or the rest of quadriceps training), once our toes struggle to "grab the ground" and lose the dominant position of quadriceps, it is easy to increase the pressure on our knees.
So, when we do squats, try to distribute the weight evenly on the whole foot. That's why many people say that when practicing squat, the risk of knee injury can be reduced if the knee does not exceed the toe.
When squatting, don't push your hips up too much, because this will make your hip joint flex and stretch more, which will cause more pressure on your lower back. Therefore, even when doing box squats, try to keep the trunk neutral, don't stand forward, and don't bow back, which can greatly reduce the chances of knee and lower back injuries.
Fourth, relax the iliotibial tract
We know that iliotibial tract can help hip muscles abduct and rotate, which plays an important role in the stability of knee joint.
However, frequent running and squatting will make the iliotibial tract too tense, and then the knee joint will become tense, so relax.
Extended data:
iliotibial tract
The iliotibial tract is the lateral thickening part of fascia lata, which is the deep fascia around the thigh. Starting from the lateral edge of the anterior iliac crest, it is divided into two layers, which wrap the tensor fascia lata and closely combine with it, and should not be separated. The longitudinal fibers in the lower part were obviously thickened and flattened, which was the result of the continuation of gluteus maximus tendon later. The lower end of iliotibial tract is attached to the lateral condyle of tibia, fibular head and knee joint capsule.
The iliotibial tract is the thickest fascia in the whole body, starting from the iliac crest and ending at the lateral condyle of tibia. The upper 1/3 points are divided into two layers, with tensor fascia lata sandwiched between them. The broad, tough and dense part of the thigh is called fascia lata, and the longitudinal fibers of the anterior branch of iliac crest of fascia lata are particularly developed and thickened in a band, which is called iliotibial tract.
Self-fascial relaxation technique (SMR) can "relax" those tense muscle tissues, including iliotibial tract.
You can use a foam shaft to relax your fascia. The method is simple. Just put a foam shaft under the muscles you need to relax, and then roll back and forth under your own weight.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Squat (classification, action flow, precautions, etc. )