SkinnyKids-Squats

[pig]

There are probably a dozen or so different types of squats all having their place for differing reasons and others are better for different goals.

Bio mechanically your weakest point (for any joint/muscle combination) is when the joint is at 90 degrees or when your thighs are parallel to the ground. Should you go to parallel or not? The answer is it depends. Many people do partial or 3/4 squats and there is nothing wrong with that if you only want to work your quads. However, (as Dark mentioned) if you go below parallel you will involve more of your glutes and hamstrings.

So, if your goal is simply to work quads there isn't a real pressing need to go to or beyond parallel.

Olympic lifters do not perform the squat as a competition lift. Olympic lifters are concerned about one thing and that is to get the weight up as fast as possible with the maximum force (similar to a power lifter but with different lifts). The only lift they perform that has something that looks like a squat is the snatch. The reason they go so low is that the crucial part of that lift is getting below the weight. In order to do so they much get as low as fast as possible. It has nothing to do with exercising any particular muscle or any range of motion concern. Note that there is a variation of the squat that some people call the Olympic squat (why I have no idea because it's really a misnomer).

Back to squatting in general. There are really only three key elements to perform the lift safely.

1. Keep your head up. You should pick a point on the ceiling and look at it throughout the lift. This ensures that your back is straight and does not lean too far forward during the ascent. This will minimize risk to your back.

2. Keep your knees directly over your feet. There is a tendency to draw ones knees inward during the ascent to involve more help from ancillary muscles. your knee should stay in the plane of your feet through the entire lift. This will protect your knees.

3. Do not bounce! If you're going below parallel this becomes tempting and is natural. Your body knows that if it bounces off the bottom it will gain the benefit of the extra momentum to help you complete the lift. This, however is a big no no. You can injure many different areas by bouncing at the bottom.

Some quick guidelines. If you want to increase the involvement of the quads you either move the bar forward or backward of the normal center of a regular squat as is the case for front squats (weight forward) or sissy squats (weight backward). This can be done with either the bar or your foot placement as we'll see in a minute.

At all times during any of these squats it's very important to proceed in a slow controlled manner keeping your body very tight throughout.

Here's a generic regular squat:


Note: He doesn't understand the concept of "looking up" You don't lift your head you simply look up with your eyes to a point on the ceiling. You're head should be very slightly lifted from looking straight on about 1-3 degrees.

Here's a good squat that really emphasizes the quads called a sissy squat. If you've never done them begin with no weight as they are very difficult.



This is the way I do them. Once you get used to them you can hold a dumbbell in your free hand. There are quite a few ways to do these and for the ladies you might like this variation as it keeps you more stable.



Front squats are another great exercise for isolating the quads. They can be difficult if you don't have well developed shoulders though as you won't have much padding or a nice sized "notch" for the bar to sit in. You should be fine if you stay light, they are one of the harder exercises to get used to IMHO. I always used the cross over grip as it feels more stable to me.




Good luck Skinny Kids, it's a great exercise that many people avoid because it is intimidating and exhausting.

[Formerly SK]

Thanks Pig!!!!!! I so appreciate the time you took to post this! I have been a bit frustrated in that it felt like my squats (I do the generic version) worked my quads more than my glutes and I *really* need to work on my glutes. It definitely sounds like I need to go below-parallel to get the glute action. I will try that.

Funny....I really love doing squats. They are by far my favorite lift.

[pig]

That's great. I got my wife doing them and now she loves them and does them every time she works legs. If you want to work glutes lunges are one of the better ones to target that area. My wife loves them (I hate them) so you might like them. You can do them walking or in place. You can do them with dumbells as well when you get ready for more of a challenge.

[Formerly SK]

Thanks for the video. I've been doing lunges for awhile (am up to 15# dumbells) but I always feel it more in my quads. I think the woman on the video steps out much farther than I do, though, and maybe that is the problem. It's hard to tell since I don't look at myself in the mirror when I do them but her stride seems farther out.

I think a lot of my lifting favors my quads, now that I think about it (DL and I also do step ups with 35# weight). I think I need to re-evaluate my form to make sure my glutes are getting worked. My quads and calves are getting pretty big (especially calves) but my glutes seem to be non-existent.

[shandi76]

When people start doing lunges they tend not to step out far enough, because they find it uncomfortable. Not sure what they end up working, but it's not the glutes.

Are you making sure you push your hips forward? If you don't tilt your pelvis forward then you end up mostly working the quads rather than the glutes.

[Artemis Windsong]

My gym doesn't have one of those sissy squat apparatus.

I probably do the 3/4 squat unless I have a bench under me. I do have over-skied knees. And I don't do proper lunges. I really have to watch my knee/toe alignment when stepping forward. I have a better rear lunge form. This is where a trainer really helps with the proper alignment.

[pig]

Look at the videos and what I've said. There I just saved you 50 bucks from having to pay someone who knows nothing explain it to you.