3 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Squat
Regarded by many as the best exercise of all but arguably also the most incorrectly performed. If executed correctly Squats can be far and away one of the best exercises to utilise in your training.
Here's 3 simple things you can do to improve your Squat and get the most out of the exercise.
Learn proper technique
On the face of it the Squat is quite a simple exercise, you are just sitting down and standing back up with the bar. However, there are a lot of subtleties to the setup and performance of the movement to ensure you are doing it well and getting the most you can out of it.
For details on some of the key points to consider take a look at our previous post The Anatomy Of A Good Squat.
Improve your hip and ankle mobility
A full Squat is generally considered to be one in which you achieve a depth where the crease of your hip is below the top of your knee in the bottom position. We always recommend a full range of motion and there are huge benefits to this.
However, not everyone is able to achieve a full range of motion at first and this is usually due to a lack of hip and ankle mobility. Spending time improving this can pay off big time, whether as part of separate mobility sessions or in warm up drills before Squatting.
Some more details on this can be found on one of our recent Instagram posts, take a look and learn some useful tips:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDlfGVAAdJi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Buy a pair of lifting shoes
Lifting shoes are great for squatting in for 2 main reasons:
🔹By elevating your heel they assist in dorsiflexion of the ankle and make it easier for you to sit deeper into the Squat.
🔹They have a solid base and provide an extremely stable platform for lifting in. Running shoes are the opposite of this, the sole is very squishy and is designed to cushion the foot as it strikes the ground when running. Excellent for that particular purpose but when it comes to squatting this can create instability and bleed out some of your ability to generate force in the lift.
Long story short, lifting shoes are excellent and we recommend most people get themselves a pair. They are a brilliant investment for anyone who is taking their training seriously!
Put these into practice and learn more
These are some great tips you can easily integrate into your own training. We teach these and more when conducting our Personal Training in Glasgow and our Glasgow Bootcamps. Have a look if you want to find out more.
Happy squatting team!
