Squats are the first movements that many people will do when they come into contact with fitness. In addition to freehand training, most people will also increase the weight to train with barbells after they are familiar with it. But if the posture is wrong at the beginning, the more you do it, not only will it not be effective in training, but it will also hurt the body.
Correct posture teaching of squat, complete step analysis
- To start, stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes facing forward or slightly out.
- As you inhale, engage your core, lower your hips like a chair, and at the same time bring your arms forward and close your chest. (Using hip movements instead of knees)
- Keep your upper body up and your chest up, pay attention to the knees outward, and the center of gravity between your feet.
- Continue to squat low until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, noting that your knees continue to move toward your toes
- Finally, as you exhale, stand on your heels and return to your standing position.
Note: The stance distance suitable for each person will be slightly different. You can squat with your own weight first, and test the width of the foot opening and the direction of the knee. For most people, it is better to stand a little wider than the shoulders, and the toes can be slightly outward, so that the knees can naturally move along the toes.
Four common mistakes in squatting, which can easily hurt the back
- Not squatting low enough
If you can still squat lower with your thighs parallel to the floor, continue. As long as you keep your head up, your knees out, and your feet steady, you can continue to squat.
If your thighs are parallel to the ground and you can’t go any lower, try a five-minute roller massage every day to relax your hips and lower extremities.
- Get up straight after squatting to the bottom
For a squat to be effective, it needs to be steady throughout, getting up straight up means you have poor control, and if you don’t do it properly, the risk of injury increases.
If you have a habit of squatting to the bottom and getting up straight when doing freehand squats, you can squat on a box or a chair and pause for a while before getting up to save energy.
- Bend your knees inward
The knee is an important pivot joint. These joints can only move up and down. If they move left and right, it will cause pressure on the joints and other injuries. That’s why we insist on keeping our knees from falling inward.
- Press your chest forward
During the squat, keep your head up and your chest as high as possible. Once the chest starts to press forward, the lower back’s position will deform.
Who is not suitable for squats?
People with bad knees or injured ankles are not suitable for doing squats. The process of squatting will aggravate the friction of the knee joint. If you do it hard, the knee can not be loaded and it may increase the burden on the lower back and cause injury. In addition, patients with cardiovascular disease are also less suitable for squatting.
It must be remembered that the correct posture is the most important. If the posture is incorrect or you do a lot of exercises, the effect may not increase but decrease.
The correct squat posture has many benefits, and it is no problem to exercise at home
- Train different muscle groups at once
Once you squat correctly, a single movement can work a lot of muscles in the legs. When squatting low, it mainly exercises the hamstrings of the thighs, and when standing up, it exercises the gluteus maximus and quadriceps; at the same time, it can also train the core that everyone loves to train.
- Simultaneous training of cardiorespiratory endurance
Just speed up the squat a little bit, or combine the movements into a list of exercises, and you can build cardio endurance together.
- Strengthens bones
Not only does it increase lean muscles, but squats can also provide more support for the bones. Once the core is used when squatting, it will also train the pelvis, which is quite beneficial for giving birth and going to the toilet.
- Helps to speed up metabolism
Squats engage the largest muscle groups in the body and are super effective for building lean muscle. Since muscle burns more calories than fat, more muscle in your body means a higher basal metabolic rate and more calories burned per day. In the long run, it helps to burn fat and sculpt your body.
- More flexibility in daily activities
There are actually many movements in daily life that are related to squats, such as picking up children or carrying goods. So if you get into the habit of doing squats regularly and do it right, it will definitely reduce your risk of injury and make you more flexible.
- Do it anytime, anywhere
Squats that can be trained with bare hands don’t even require a yoga mat. You can train anytime, anywhere with proper shoes, and you can do it while watching TV at home. Is it very convenient?
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