Written by Michael J. Rudolph, Ph.D.
24 June 2019

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How to Squat with Proper Form

 

 

The squat is well known as the best leg-developing exercise, primarily because of its unique capacity to potently activate many different muscle groups within the lower body, generating a great deal of muscle growth and strength. While all of the muscle-building capabilities from squatting are fantastic, one additional feature makes the squat even more extraordinary. That being the ability to effectively tailor squatting techniques to produce a desired outcome, where different squatting variations or methods distinctively stimulate specific muscle groups typically targeted by the squat— resulting in more clear-cut muscle growth and strength. So, if your quadriceps or glute development is lacking or you’d like to boost your squat total, make sure to use the correct squatting approach.

 1) Parallel Squats for Better Quad Development

      If greater quadriceps development is the goal, it’s been clearly established that quadriceps development is maximized by squatting to parallel (knee flexion of 90 degrees), with no additional quadriceps activity seen at higher knee flexion angles— meaning deeper squats beyond parallel do not activate more of the quadriceps.1 One explanation for this effect has been that deeper squats must be done with a relatively lighter weight, therefore reducing the greater activity of the quadriceps. Consequently, partial squats have been used as an alternative approach to potentially enhance quadriceps development because the limited range of motion used during partial squats permits the use of considerably heavier weights, which could trigger greater quadriceps growth. However, a recent study comparing the influence that parallel squats and partial squats had on quadriceps growth showed that overall quadriceps size increased to a much greater extent in the parallel squat group in comparison to the partial squat group.

      In addition to these findings, for improved quadriceps development from the squat movement there is the belief that a more narrow stance (feet shoulder-width apart) while performing the squat will also more effectively target the quadriceps. In order to investigate this, researchers looked at the muscle activity of the quadriceps and gluteus maximus in nine trained subjects while performing the squat using 60 percent and 75 percent of their one-repetition max at three different stance widths: narrow (75% of shoulder width), moderate (shoulder width) and wide (140% of shoulder width).3 Despite the widely held belief that a narrow stance improves quadriceps activity and development, the researchers found that there was no significant difference between quadriceps muscle activity during wide, medium or narrow stance squatting— indicating that stance width does not affect the degree of muscular recruitment of the quadriceps during the back squat.

 2) Squatting Techniques That Target Glute Activity

      Although taking a more narrow stance when squatting does not preferentially activate the quadriceps, the width taken during the squat does uniquely influence activity of the glute muscles— where taking a wider stance achieves greater glute activation in comparison to a more narrow stance. These findings were demonstrated in a study by Paoli et al.4, in which the researchers tested activity of the gluteus maximus while squatting in six trained male subjects. The researchers tested three stance widths (100, 150 and 200% of shoulder width) at 70 percent of their one-rep max, and they found that the gluteus maximus displayed a greater degree of activity while performing the squat with a wider stance in comparison to the more narrow position. In addition to a wider stance, squatting to a greater depth (knee flexion greater then 100 degrees) also significantly increases gluteus maximus activity. Taken together, preferential activation of the glutes by using a wider stance and deeper squatting motion will more potently activate the gluteus maximus muscle. Bearing in mind that the glutes are a tremendous developer of power and strength, the preferential activation of the glutes should also support greater gains in squatting strength.

 3) Box Squats for Greater Strength and Power

      In addition to greater range of motion and wider foot position inducing greater strength, there are other alterations to the squat that also dramatically improve strength and power output. Interestingly, much of this information comes from the world of powerlifting where unique squatting approaches, preferentially used by powerlifters, have been shown to increase squatting power. In one study, scientists showed that stronger, elite powerlifters increased knee joint angular velocity much more effectively during the initial concentric phase of the squat— meaning that more elite powerlifters were able to get out of the bottom position of the squat much more rapidly, facilitating greater squat strength.7 This result was quite interesting with respect to another study showing that the box squat, one of the powerlifters’ favorite leg-training methods, has a much greater ability than the standard back squat to increase the knee joint angular velocity during the initial upward phase of the squat8, suggesting that the box squat is potentially a very useful exercise for enhancing squatting strength and power.

      For most of Michael Rudolph’s career he has been engrossed in the exercise world as either an athlete (he played college football at Hofstra University), personal trainer or as a Research Scientist (he earned a B.Sc. in Exercise Science at Hofstra University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Stony Brook University). After earning his Ph.D., Michael investigated the molecular biology of exercise as a fellow at Harvard Medical School and Columbia University for over eight years. That research contributed seminally to understanding the function of the incredibly important cellular energy sensor AMPK— leading to numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals including the journal Nature. Michael is currently a scientist working at the New York Structural Biology Center doing contract work for the Department of Defense on a project involving national security.

 

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