The squat is rightly called the king of core exercises. While learning the right technique takes practice, it is worth the effort. When performed regularly, the squat is ideal for weight training and power gain.
For powerful thighs and toned buttocks, make squats your new philosophy. This complex, basic exercise works all the muscles in the lower body. The focus is on the thighs, buttocks, back extensors, and calves.
Principle Of Squats
The squat is rightly called the king of core exercises. While learning the right technique takes practice, it is worth the effort. When performed regularly, the squat is ideal for weight training and power gain.
Overview of the fundamentals of the squat:
- Strength exercise for powerful legs
- Given the complex execution of the exercise, follow the motto: technique takes precedence overweight. This limits the risk of injury.
- Variations such as front squats or changes in grip position or posture are possible (change in the target of the stimulus)
Good Execution Of Squats
- In the starting position, the bar rests on a structure called a squat rack. First, you position yourself under the bar, lift it from the rack and you press it on your trapezius (and not directly on the neck – risk of injury!).
- Throughout the exercise, you should look straight ahead. You take one or two steps back and position your feet parallel and shoulder-width apart. Now you perform the squat by pushing the pelvis back and bringing the weight down in a controlled manner.
- During this time, the bust remains straight to prevent the chest from leaning forward. It is essential to control the descent well to avoid overloading and possible injuries to the spine. The back always remains straight.
- At the lowest point of the flexion (the knees should be just below the height of the hips) we then start the ascent by making an explosive movement of the thighs. To return to the starting position, it is important to always keep your back straight. To do this, tuck your navel in towards the spine and lift your pelvis slightly forward.
Also Read: Buttocks – How To Train Them?
Common Mistake In Squats
- Poor back position: During exercise, the back hunched over, putting it under enormous stress and could lead to injury. Always keep your back contracted and straight.
- Incorrect position of the feet: During the exercise, the knees should not go beyond the tips of the feet, otherwise the ligaments of the knees will be subjected to too great a load. The tips of the feet should always look slightly outward (30 °) to prevent the knees from coming together on the way down.
- Poor position of the feet: Most of the time, squats are performed with too narrow a range of motion. For the depth of the squats, it is optimal to bring the thigh to a minimum in a position parallel to the ground, or even more. Maintaining this position minimizes the load on the knee. By gaining more confidence in the flow of movement and mobility, it is possible to perform deeper squats.
Variants Of Squats
- Squats adapt easily to any type of body by making precise technical modifications. Although the thighs, buttocks, and back extensors are the target, the exact stimulus changes with the variations. This is the reason why it makes sense to vary the forms of squats when adapting a training program. In terms of classic squats, we differentiate between the “high bar” and “low bar” variants, not to mention the front squat.
- For the front squat, place the dumbbell on the front of the shoulder and stabilize it with the fingers (palms look forward) or arms crossed. Performing this exercise primarily focuses on the quadriceps and the front thigh muscles.
- Squats require good flexibility of the hips – the variants allow you to respect the mobility of each.
- The difference between the high bar and low bar variants is in the support position of the dumbbell in the neck area. In the low bar variant, the dumbbell is placed much lower (approximately at shoulder blade height). One of the consequences is the protection of the entire bust. On the other hand, this variant makes it possible to lift more weight.
- In the high bar variant, the dumbbell rests on the musculature of the neck and is carried closer. Thus the bust is kept straighter throughout the exercise. The technical execution is a bit more complex and requires more flexibility in the hip flexors to achieve the correct depth of squats.
Tips For Squats
- Important for Women: Squats are an ideal exercise for the stomach, legs, and buttocks.
- For heavyweights, weight lifting belts can prevent the arching of the back and stabilize the lumbar spine (the risk of injury is thus reduced).
- On the other hand, you have to have the right type of shoes to have enough stability. (shoes with flat, firm soles or weightlifting shoes).
- Warming up and practicing mobility with a muscle massage roller before the squat can improve technical execution and allow for deeper squats.
- Work with warm-up sets to prepare the muscles for a complex movement.
You need explosiveness coming from the thighs especially for the ascent phase in difficult squats. The creatine brings invaluable especially in your workout for muscular explosiveness and ensures more strength and power from the legs. Here’s how to set new squat records in a snap.
Also Read: Fitness – Full Body Routine For Beginners