Exercise of the Week #6

Deep Squats

This move has truly become a lost art. As kids we sit in this position for extended periods of times to play blocks or whatever else we may want to try and put in our mouth. However, as we age we hit growth spurts that steal that great flexibility we had as kids and due to our lack of proper training we tighten up around the pelvis and lose the ability for it to articulate enough to allow us to drop our hips towards the floor. 

By proper training I am of course referring to spending hours a day on a playground, which i would argue is the best form of training around. Restoring the ability to do this move is very important. It helps to keep your lower back healthy as well as your knees. 

Many trainers instruct their clients to not go all the way down in a squat, the say it creates a shearing force in your knees (the act of your femur being forced into your patella wearing away at the cartilage). As always I say you have to ask the question of , “Why?”. They are correct that if you are too tight in certain muscles in the lower body you may be unable to do a deep squat safely but don’t you think they should be more focused on correcting why their client is unable to do this move correctly?

To do this move correctly make sure you only go down as far as you can while keeping your heels on the floor and your weight back in your hips. This way you can avoid the possible damage to the knees. Also it will help you to keep your back safe.