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“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal. Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” -Thomas Jefferson
Squats are the “King of all Exercises”! Nothing will sculpt your hips and thighs the way squats will. Squats will stimulate production of all of the essential bodybuilding hormones, especially human growth hormone and testosterone (in both men and women). Because of this positive impact on the endocrine system, squats will cause size and strength increases in all the muscles in the body. Understanding proper technique and biomechanics will allow you to get the most out of your squats. Understanding the risk-benefit ratio of the exercise parameters for the squat will give you the information you need to develop informed judgment on the variety of squatting techniques you see in the gym today and save you from injury.
Head position: You should always keep your head neutral. There is no benefit to looking up, down or sidewise. Any position other than neutral places added stress on the cervical (C1 - C7) and upper thoracic vertebrae (T1 – T3).
Barbell resting high on neck: The traditional “Bodybuilding Squat” generally places the bar on top of C7 (in some individuals T1. These are the most prominent, protruding vertebrae at the base of the neck. The reason why many bodybuilders prefer this position is because the center of gravity (CG) moves forward, allows the bodybuilder to take some of the stress off the hips and gluteals and shift more stress to the quadriceps (front thigh muscles). Bodybuilders are far more concerned with their quadriceps than they are with their hips and gluteals (butt). While bodybuilders may be interested in this benefit, you may not and you need to be aware of the risks from this technique.
The majority of the weight of a loaded stainless steel bar is coming down on your C7… and your C7 doesn’t like it. Injuries to C7 (or any of your vertebrae) can be extremely painful and in worst-case scenarios, damaged vertebrae can cause partial or complete paralysis. Bodybuilders will use foam pads wrapped around the bar to decrease the discomfort, but the weight of the bar could still cause injury. If you decide to use one of the gyms pads (you would probably never do so again if you ever looked at the bacteria growing on the pad under a microscope – years of sweat and dead skin create a universe of critters that could star in a Science Fiction Movie) be cautious, pads eliminate the friction that keeps the bar in place and have been known to slide down people’s backs.
Barbell resting on top of trapezius/scapula: This is a far safer and much more comfortable position. The bar rests on top of trapezious I (upper portion of the traps) and directly over the scapula (shoulder blades). In this lower position the bar extends lateral, directly over top of the posterior deltoids. You will see how a “platform” holds the bar in place. Sometimes, when power lifters want to showoff, they will elevate their elbows slightly and take their hands off a fully loaded bar and the bar stays put on the “platform” (this is one possible explanation for the reason why woman live longer than men… men will occasionally allow their testosterone to talk then into doing something insanely stupid). Never take your hands off the bar with any exercise until it is completely safe to do so, you will find that regardless of what country you are working out in… gravity works!
This position is preferred by power lifters since the shorter lever arm (bar closer to the “core”, hips and CG) increases total strength and enables the power lifter to press more weight. Power lifters use a strong “weight-lifters arch” (posterior pelvic tilt: picture your hips as bucket full of water and you will pour the water out-right at your belly button; so you “arch” your lower back to pour the water out the front) to keep the body upright, from the hips to the head, during the squat so there is little or no decrease in the stress on the quadriceps.
Do not exceed knee-toe-line: Creates far less stress of the knee joint, though the increased need for a “weight-lifters arch” can increase stress on the lower back joint on some people (proper use of GPO: Gradual Progress Overload {for more information see “The Book on Personal Training”; 2005 by Jim Bell, Phdc; President of the IFPA} reduces the risk). Additional benefit is maximum leverage for strength from the quadriceps as well as hips, gluteals and hamstrings (back of thigh muscle group).
Exceed knee-toe-line: Easily accomplished in the “Bodybuilders Squat” when the bar rests high (on C7), knees will probably need to exceed knee-toe-line to maintain balance. This position shifts some stress from the hips and gluteals to the quadriceps. The risk is dramatically increased stress to the knee capsule.
Knees move medially (inward) during the squat: There is no benefit and dramatically increased stress to the knee joint and ligaments. This medial movement is generally caused by either weak hamstrings (hamstrings need a least 75% of the strength of the quadriceps, if they do not, the hamstrings can not stabilize the thigh during knee flexion under load, a common problem with female athletes and the primary reason why female athletes suffer 10 times the hamstring tears of male athletes) or weak vastus medialus (located above and inside the knee).
Hips remain under shoulders at bottom of squat: This is the best position for decreased risk of injury to all joints and for maximal strength from quadriceps, hamstrings, hips and gluteals.
Shoulder-width stance: Is a “normal” stance and equally distributes the weight on thighs, hips and gluteal region. It also distributes the stress equally among the muscles of the quadriceps vastus medialus, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius and rectus femoris.
Narrow Stance: Increases the stress on the quadriceps and specifically the vastus lateralis (outer muscle). The risk is increased stress to the knee joints.
Wide-Stance: Increases stress on the vastus medialus, hip and gluteal muscles. Many power-lifters feel this is the strongest position. The risk is slightly increased stress to the hip joints (easily controlled with proper application of GPO).
You can achieve specific goals by utilizing the proper intensity. Gage your intensity by RM (repetition maximum: the maximum amount of weight you can use to perform a set amount of repetitions with proper form). Low intensity is 12-15 RM (15RM= the amount of weight you need to do precisely 15 reps with good form, not 14… not 16, 15RM= 15 reps to failure) and will stimulate muscular hypertrophy (size gains). High intensity is 1-8RM and which stimulates strength gains. Medium intensity 8-12 RM will stimulate some size and some strength. Muscle definition (MD) is 30-100 repetitions and is used to burn off fat surrounding specific muscles. MD has been used successfully by competitive bodybuilders to get “defined” to compete. It is basic “spot reduction”, but it does have its limits. If you know someone who has a physique reminiscent of a stack of Michelin Tires, this technique will not help, but it has helped bodybuilders, fitness competitors, models and those of you getting ready for this years “Bikini Competition Season” at your neighborhood beach.
If you would really like to learn more on the training secrets of the world’s greatest fitness trainers, please go to the IFPA website at www.ifpa-fitness.com or call the IFPA headquarters at (800) 785-1924. The IFPA has developed 29 Certification Courses and numerous Continuing Education Courses (CEC) for those wanting to learn everything they can on fitness, nutrition, sports conditioning and related topics the information in this article is a very small sample of the volumes of information contained in the IFPA courses and the IFPA web site.
The IFPA has also created two unique fitness conferences: IFPA Fitness University East in Tampa FL – July 28, 29, 30, 2005 IFPA Fitness University West in Las Vegas, Nevada, September 8, 9 & 10, 2005 at the National Fitness Trade Show.
You will love the chance to meet with your fellow fitness enthusiasts. Share stories and experiences with like-minded friends and discover the fact and secrets from the best fitness educators in the world. And don’t forget to have fun… after all you are at two of the world’s best vacation destinations… Sunny Tampa Bay, FL and always exciting Las Vegas.
Call today (800) 785-1924 to
find out more or go now to the IFPA website:
Author: Jim Bell, PhDc, and President IFPA
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