Alternate Back Squat Variations

Lately in the strength and conditioning world back squats have come under scrutiny because of the risks associated with them. Under heavy loads the lumber spine can be put under huge amounts of compressive force, especially at the bottom of the movement when beginning the concentric (or upward) motion. Also poor mechanics can elicit "power leaks" or simply wasted energy.

Such poor mechanics are leaning too far forward can put too much stress on the lower back...

...or even standing too upright, which puts undue stress on the knee and ankle joint.

There are alternative ways of back squatting that can provide great results:

1. Pause squatting is a technique where a squatter will pause for anywhere from 1-5 seconds at the bottom of the squat before standing up. This requires more energy to isometricly contract at the bottom, and then overcome the resistance to get out of "the hole", therefore the weight must be reduced. The loss of the stretch-shortening cycle, or the elastic component of the muscle, makes this extremely difficult.
   
2. Speed squatting is a technique in which a squatter will lower themselves down slowly and controlled then proceeds to explode out of the bottom, pushing into the bar as hard as they can without jumping. The weight is reduced to allow the movement to be fast.


3. Split squatting is basically a stationary lunge. The feet are split apart linearly, or one foot in front of your body and one in back, and a squatter will lower themselves until the front and back legs both have 90 degree angles at the knee joint. Being as the back foot is in a mechanically weak position and the front foot is doing more of the work, the weight is lowered.

All of these variations have reduced loads due to their demands, which will reduce the load on the back.

Time To Stretch

A couple of days ago I was training a football player that had trained with me before, but he had been working out on his own for awhile and I hadn't seen him for quite some time. He is 6'5" about 250 and used to run a 4.75 sec forty yard dash. For the past 4 months he has been doing nothing but lifting heavy weights. His program is based off the bench, squat and power clean like most other football strength programs, and he put on a good amount of muscle with some serious strength gains as well. Needless to say is was working hard and it paid off bug time.

Now it came time to retest his numbers. He gained muscle mass, his squat went up, power clean went up, bench, way up! His forty yard dash, well, he got a 5.25 and it looked like he was made out of concrete. I could dig up a corpse that had more muscle ROM (range of motion) than he did. After asking him whether he had done any dynamic stretching, warm-up, speed work or static stretching with his weightlifting he said, "No I just wanted to get strong!" Well did you want to get so slow you left a snail trail behind you when you run also?!

There is a lesson here that if this athlete does not learn very quick (trust me I'll be the one to teach him) will lead to some serious muscle injury. Increased muscle stimulus leads to increased muscle stiffness, unless proper maintenance stretching is performed. Without proper stretching (dynamic and static) it can not continue to operate at high performance because of the active stiffness. Static stretching will help with muscle length, and dynamic stretching will help with muscle stiffness and active ROM.

If this athlete was performing dynamic and static stretching throughout his weight training program he would have maintained a flexible, powerful, high performance body. Instead, he is tight, slow, and seriously injury prone.

This lesson applies to the non-athlete as well. You want to maintain a healthy, functional body that operates like a well tuned Corvette right? Then you must make sure that you are giving it the maintenance that it requires, which means keeping the muscles at full length and making sure they have a good amount of ROM. Otherwise, it won't take a forty yard dash to tell that you are in bad shape. It will be evident by your hunch back posture, your cane that you walk with because of your bum knees, and the thousands of dollars spent on low back surgery.

Where do I Squat..AAHHH???

To squat deep, or not to squat deep? That is the question. There are many arguments from many different people, both professionals and non, as to whether a deep squat is better than a parallel, half or quarter squat. Well, to be completely honest, there are good points to many of the arguments. However, when trying to decide which depth to use we must determine if the benefits outweigh the risks or not.

First off, the measurement of angle we are refering to in the this article is of the femur (thigh bone) to the floor. Some professionals use the top of the thigh as a point of measurement and some use the hamstring, we will use a point right between the two. That way there is some leeway for different body types. Basically, if you are an individual with healthy joints and full range of motion you should train that way. Get your hips in line with your knees to a point that is comfortable with light weight, and make sure you don't go so heavy you cannot safely get down to that point and back up. If you have joint or muscular issues/pain, GET PROFESSIONAL FITNESS HELP!

To give you some background, these are some of the arguments:

1. Squatting to or below parallel puts too much stress on the knees.
2. Squatting only to quarter or half depth works the same musculature as a deep squat.
3. Squatting below parallel is unnecessary when training for athletics or daily activity.
4. Most people are not flexible enough to squat below parallel.

Squatting to or below parallel puts too much stress on the knees.
Yes and no. In healthy individuals below parallel squatting will help to keep the knee joint and its surrounding musculature strong. That is unless you go too low. A good determinant is to make sure that in the bottom position there is still space between your hamstring and your calf muscles. In individuals with knee issues the amount of torque (or rotational force) and shearing forces on the knee in a parallel or below position could be too much for them.

In a healthy individual torque is good, shearing is bad. To keep it simple, the quadriceps muscle group attaches via connective tissue to the front of shin bone. The hamstring muscle group attaches via connective tissue to the back of the shin bone. When you squat above or to parallel, the quads are activated much more than the hamstrings and glutes, thus pulling on the front of the shin bone creating large shearing forces in the knee, but not as much torque. When you squat below parallel the glutes become the prime mover and are recruited more than the quadriceps. The hamstrings become the stabilizer at the knee and are at a stretched length thus pulling back on the shin bone, minimizing the shearing affect. The torque in this position is at its greatest.

In a subject with knee issues a quarter and/or half squat can be used in a rehabilitation setting to bring back proper strength, leading into deeper squats as strength and flexibility increase.

Squatting only to quarter or half depth works the same musculature as a deep squat.
Yes and no. Squatting above or to parallel does work the same musculature as below parallel, however, the emphasis on which muscle groups are in use to the greater degree changes on the way down, as outlined above. Studies have shown that:

• From the standing position to a quarter depth, the quadriceps were recruited to a much larger degree than either the hamstrings or the glutes.
  ·
• From the quarter squat position to the parallel position the quadriceps still had the most recruitment with an increase in glute recruitment and about the same hamstring recruitment.
  
• From parallel to below parallel the glutes were recruited the most with the quads coming in a close second and the hamstrings third assisting the movement.

This would suggest that in healthy individuals below parallel squatting would have the most benefit in strengthening the muscles surrounding the knee and hip joints.

Squatting below parallel is unnecessary when training for athletics or daily activity.
Without regurgitating all over you what I have stated in the paragraphs above, below parallel squats require the greatest recruitment of the glutes. In an athlete, the glutes are his/her bread and butter when it comes to explosive movement whether running, jumping, twisting, turning, kicking, throwing or whatever I missed. In a non-athlete, the glutes balance out much of the body. With active glutes, the upper and lower back, the shoulders as well as the knees and ankles can all stay healthy and in good position for the most part. In terms of flexibility, for both athletes and non-athletes, in a below parallel position the hamstrings, quads and glutes as well as the calf muscles are all in a stretched position. By squatting below parallel proper flexibility is acquired or maintained in the ankle, knee and hip joints.

Most people are not flexible enough to squat below parallel.
Many people think they are not flexible enough, but most really are. For both athletes and non-athletes, in a below parallel position the hamstrings, quads and glutes as well as the calf muscles are all in a stretched position. By squatting below parallel proper flexibility is acquired or maintained in the ankle, knee and hip joints. If there is an issue with flexibility, lightweight squatting can actually be used to increase range of motion and flexibility.

Conclusion
So the benefits seem to outweigh the risks when squatting below parallel in healthy individuals. In individuals with muscular issues squatting is a good rehabilitative exercise to get them back to proper health.

THE NEW FIT SITE UPDATE

The New Fit online wellness and lifestyle consulting company will have it's site up a little later than previously thought. We have decided to make the site bigger and better than originally planned. In the beginning it was going to be a place where members could get access to fitness information, and also get personal training from professionals via email and video. We have decided to expand and develop the backend of the site to include member and trainer profiles, a 200+ video database, body composition and goals tracking, uploaded weekly workouts, a pick-your-trainer database, online trainer chat sessions, easy at-home assessments and much much more!! We are even adding a nutritional consulting and wellness consulting aspect to our company. We are looking at a full launch by JUNE 2008!!! Stay tuned for updated and exciting information!

You Muscle Creep!

Before you go throwing profanities back at me in response to that title, let me explain. There is a phenomenon in the body known as muscle creep. It is the adaptation of a muscle to prolonged changes in muscle length. In other words, your muscles are like putty and if it is put into a position for a long time it becomes comfortable in that position. Have you ever woken up after sleeping on your side all night with a knot or tightness in the muscle right on the inside of your shoulder blade? That is because it was in a extremely shortened state all night and adapted to that position. So when you woke up, it's "resting" length was slightly shorter than when you went to bed. Now, in a standing position it is being stretched, therefore it often cramps up or feels strained.

Peoples jobs are often the cause of these muscular imbalances. For instance, sitting in a chair all day long, the hip flexors are in a shortened state and will actually "creep" to that length. The upper back is usually in a slouched position with rounded shoulders, therefore the trapezius muscles become lengthened and pectoral muscles become tight. Also, the low back muscles become lengthened and the hamstrings become tight. With prolonged posture issues such as these, the body can become misaligned because of muscle impairments. Joint issues will most surely arise due to load bearing issues from the neck, down the spine and trailing into the knee and ankle.

These muscle imbalances are developed over prolonged periods and cannot be corrected with an hour in the gym or even in the physical therapists clinic. They must also be corrected over a prolonged period of time, just as they were developed. Posting reminders to sit up straight at your desk at work, or taking frequent “healthy posture” walks around the office along with a good muscular strength and flexibility routine can do wonders for the posture.

Workout The New Fit Way!

We have heard often in life that quality is better than quantity. Whether it's referring to things that we purchase (shoes, clothes, etc.) or even articles of this blog, quality often reaps more benefits than quantity.

The New Fit has a very simple philosophy when it comes to exercise and nutrition. It is to increase the quality and quantity at the same time to recieve the greatest results.

WHAT!! Does that mean I should exercise all day with good technique and eat as much food as possible as long as it is healthy? Well not exactly.

When regarding nutrition quality obviously refers to the nutrient profile of the food. Generally meals moderate to high in protein, moderate amount of healthy carbs (mostly fruits, veggies, whole grains), and moderate amounts of healthy fats (fatty fish, olive oil, nuts). Nutrition quantity refers to the amount of nutrients in your foods. Now this does not mean you have to go through and look up how much of what type of vitamins and minerals each of your foods have, but rather boost your brain power and learn about healthy eating. Nutrient dense foods will have infinite benefits in maintaining a strong, healthy functioning, high performance body.

When referring to exercise quality, we are talking about exercise that has benefits that out-weight risks. For instance a back squat on a smith machine can reduces the activation of stabilizer muscles in the hip, knee and ankle thus making them weaker, but you can probably lift more weight. Duh!! The risks out-weight the benefits. The preacher curl acts like a level in the shoulder joint as you lower the weight, this pulls yours shoulder girdle forward and weakens the rotator cuff. Exercise quantity is simple, exercise every day. Don’t kill yourself in the gym but do something moderately active every day. This will keep your muscles flexible and strong. Supplement your every day activity with some joint training exercises to maintain good body posture and movement health and you will be right as rain.

So remember it’s not quality over quantity, its quality and quantity.

What the Heck Is "Functional Training", and Why Use It?

So I am sure those of you that have the slightest interest in strength training have seen the trend of corrective exercise appearing all over the place. Corrective exercise is basically a term that describes what a physical therapists job is. I will not claim to be a licensed physical therapist, but what I will do is claim that I can greatly reduce the need for them (no offense towards physical therapist as I once thought I was goin to be one). My job as a physical performance trainer is to condition an individual to perform at there best, thus reducing the instance of musculoskeletal issues.

It is long over do, but over the past few years musculoskeletal therapy and strength training have melted together to form “functional training.” This is a devastatingly over-used term these days, but for the lack of a better term, it is pretty accurate. This type of training blends the study and systematic planning of movement patterns, including neuromuscular control, muscle recruitment and energy system efficiency.

Physical Therapists have always used functional training to regain functional strength in rehab patients. This training usually stopped when the patient got back to a healed, slightly stronger version of his/her previous self. The thing is the only thing stronger was the previously injured portion of their body, noting else.

Traditional strength training has been used to build muscle and strength in primarily athletes until only several years ago when the fitness revolution caught on. It was used to build a strong, energy efficient athlete that could perform at a higher level than a non-trained athlete. This training would be continued until that sport got too much for the athlete and they had to retire from it.

Eventually, professionals began to correlate the benefits of physical therapy and the benefits of strength training as complimenting each other, instead of following one another. Athletes could now train to withstand the demands of sport and the injuries that they brought. So not only could they perform at their best, but could do so for a longer period of time, and come out in a healthier state.

Well, in just the past two or three years, the general public has really been exposed to a great deal of this type of training. Fitness professionals realized that if functional training can improve the stamina and movement patterns of an athlete who trains rigorously 6 or 7 days a week, year round, then it could surely improve the pains of the general public in everyday life. AND IT CAN!!!!

A detailed knowledge of functional human anatomy and the demands of a person’s life is the key to creating a system of training that could greatly improve quality of life. This type of training can be targeted to any individual goal. Whether you aim to pack on slabs of muscle, perform your best in sport, or just feel great all day every day, a functional system of training can make your training more efficient and effective at achieving your goals.

For more information on corrective exercise or life and sport performance training contact john@thenewfit.net.