When looking at squat, majority of population tend to avoid squatting below the the knee line. Even at the gym you rarely see someone squatting below their knee line because it is challenging in both strength and mobility. Common reason for people not squatting deeper than the knee line is from fear of hurting their knees or lower back pain which is understandable. It is understandable because without proper technique and training deep squat may damage the knee load too much in the lower back.
Because of this, you will hear coaching cues of "don't squat low" or "knees shouldn't travel pass the toes", "sit back more" and so on. Coaching proper squat can be challenging for the trainers who their education source is only from their certifications simple because they doesn't real teach it.
But let's face it. In ideal world, how should the squat be? Deeps squat with full range of knee flexion without any pain. So let's talk about how you can learn to squat deep for it has more benefit than shallow squat.
Back Squat Sequence
Video shows back squat from two different view. First half is front view and second half is from the side.
First step is setting up the bar. Set the bar at the height of your chest. This way you can get under and when ready you can stand up with a bar without too much lift off. Also when you are done you can avoid tip toe, which can be awkward especially when you are exhausted.
Second is to set the bar on your back and secure it. You don't want the bar to be unstable as you squat. Squeeze your shoulder blades to create a shelf and pull the should blade down to secure the baron your back tight. Rather than focusing on elbow position, focus more on securing the bar on your back.
Third is unracking the bar and setting your position. Once the bar is secure, take a deep breath in and secure your core then stand up with two legs. Once you feel the bar is secure after standing then take 2-3 steps back. When you unrack and feel like need a resetting, don't ignore it and reset it. Feet should be about your hip apart or slightly wider. Toes can be pointing straight or slightly outward.
Fourth is descend. Control your way down by using your hip. Although the knee flexion does happen, but the main driver of the squat is your hip. Work on pushing your hip out as you descend. This will allow efficient movement in your hip joints. Get as low as you can provided that you can maintain the tension.
Fifth is ascend. Priority is not in straightening the knees. It is push off with your feet and extending your hip. Knee straightening will happen automatically. If you are performing multiple sets reset your breathing and bracing core at the top secured position. Once you are done, take 2-3 steps forward to rack the bar.
One more thing to emphasize is the bar path. From a side view, the bar should travel vertically. When the bar is not travelling vertically, you will need to compensate by using more of lower back and knees. With back squat, the upper body may lean forward to keep the bar path straight down towards the midfoot and straight back up.
Requirement of Deep Squat
Let's talk about requirements of achieving deep squat. First requirement is the ankle strength and mobility.
During the descend, you can see that the ankles are flexing by looking at the joint angle between the shin and the foot. Without ankle flexion the knee cannot flex either. In other words, the knee cannot flex freely without ankle being stiff and/or weak while the feet are planted on the floor. Which also means that with tight or weak ankle, you cannot squat deep without compromising the mechanism, which will lead to injury.
Second requirement is mobility of the hip. Because we have a tendency to sit frequently, mobility of the hip does get compromised and stuck around right above the knee line. By having a tight and weak hip, it will be strain to the lower back especially when the hip try to pass below the knee. This is because hip joints, between pelvis and femur head gets tight and not allowing hips to open to create clear path for the hip to rotate as we descend for squat. Because of this reason, it is easier for people who have tight hip to stick the hip back like you do deadlift or good morning exercise. I will share more information on hip mobility and strength in different article.
Third is flexibility and strength in thigh muscles called quadriceps which is located in front of the thigh and hamstrings which is located in the back of our thighs. When squatting even with bodyweight, the thigh muscles has to be strong enough to support your body weight. When lowering the squat, hamstring need to be strong and flexible enough to control the speed of descending. On the way up, quadriceps, especially around the hip, needs to be strong enough to extend the hip. Remember squat is not a knee flexion/extension exercise it is hip dominant exercise.
Benefits of Deep Squat
Now let's look at benefits of achieving or working towards deep squat and you can judge if it is worth it for you to pursue the skill.
First benefit is you can squat better without knee issues. In our everyday life, we do squat more than we think. Gardening, sitting and standing, getting in and out of car, getting down on the floor to play with kids and so on. You can hinge but this may put more load on your lower back if not trained properly. This benefit is happening mainly because the ankle become more accessible in the process of squatting, which leads to second benefit.
Second benefit is, because you will need to have better ankle mobility and strength, you'll have better joint mechanics when going up and down the stairs. Majority of times people are ok with going up the stairs but have knee challenge with going down the stairs. When comparing the two movements, going up and down the stairs, you can see how much knee and ankle mobility is required for us to step down from the stairs. With weak ankle, the knee has to work extra hard just to make this movement pattern possible.
Third is better muscle recruitment from feet to the hip. If you are looking for best way to strengthening your lower extremity, there is no other exercise than squat and deadlift when done properly. For those who are looking to shape up the hips, you want to squat deep because muscle usage of hip as you come up from bottom position of squat is significantly higher than above the knee squat.
As mentioned earlier, you cannot just get up and perform deep squat and expect to do them perfectly. You can test to see how deep you can squat without pain (very important) but don't rush yet. In this article, I will be sharing some exercises that will help strengthen and mobilize your ankle.
Improve Your Ankle Mobility and Strength to Improve Knee Function
Toe Raises (Tib Raises)
First muscles to improve the mobility and strength in ankles is the muscle in front of the shin called anterior tibialis. It's not a huge muscles like calves but very important in supporting the knees. Major action of anterior tibialis is dorsiflexion of the ankle where foot is raise towards the shin. When you look at the earlier video with my squat, it is this muscle that is controlling the ankle stability as I descend into squat. Same thing goes with stepping down from the stairs.
The exercise to improve strength and mobility of anterior tibialis is called toe raises or tib raises. All you need to do is get your hip against the wall with leg straight but away from the wall. With upper body leaning forward raise your toes as high as possible. Initially, start off with legs closer to the wall to make the exercise less intense then work your way away from the wall. See if you can get 15-30 repetitions. When you feel like you are getting a shin sprints, then you are doing it right. Start with what repetitions you can do, then work up to the higher repetitions.
Leaning Calf Raises
Leaning calf raises is for the part of the calf muscles called gastrocnemius. Although it is located below the knee in the back of the leg, it's connection is starting from above the knee under the hamstrings. So weak and tight gastrocnemius can lead to knee tightness or difficulty of flexing the knee. If you ever start feeling tightness around the knee, try stretching the calf for 30-60 seconds. May not work all the time but majority of time it solves the problem.
Leaning calf raise will start by leaning against the wall or pillar with arm being straight. Keep your chest up and hip engaged so the hip is not sticking out. Keeping the knees straight and raise your heels. More leaning, the harder it is going to be. Start off with less leaning and adjust according to your comfort level by stepping back. Perform 15-30 repetitions. When using two legs in this exercise is getting easier, then move on to single leg at a time.
If you are experiencing ankle pain, work slowly and go through range of motion before worrying about repetitions. Another point I've found about this exercise is you get to exercise your toes. If you have a toe issues, work slowly and gradually work on your toes as well.
Knee Over Toe Calf Raises
This version of calf raises work primarily on soleus. Soleus sit underneath the gastrocnemius. Although this muscle does not cross over the knees, it is very important muscles for ankle strength and mobility. You may be familiar with Achille's tendon and it is formed by both soleus and gastrocnemius, which is very vital for the muscle and tendon to be mobile and strong.
Point of this exercise to keeping the knees flexed and ideally over the toes. Initially, you may not be able to push the knees over the toes but as you practice, you can improve the functioning of the knees as the ankle strength and mobility improves. While performing this exercise, heels may not touch the floor but that is ok and it is ideal this way. Perform 15-30 repetitions. When using two legs in this exercise is getting easier, then move on to single leg at a time.
Ankle mobility and strength is very important portion in deep squat. Not only that, you will need your ankles to be strong and mobile for your daily convenience, such as stair climbing, entering the car, getting down and up from the floor, and so on. Work on exercises above every other day for 3-6 weeks then test your squat.
Kota Shimada
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