Hey, its JP and this time we are going to go over 3 WAYS to Modify the Squat based on
what you want to achieve! I thought this would be interesting to go over to help you optimize
the way you train to improve the way you run! Now, the really cool thing about the body
is that we are not restricted to ONE way to move! This might be one of the reasons why
we have so many joints in the human body. This increases the amount of movement options
we have. And this is a good thing. When trying to do a certain action, the brain and body
will typically choose the most practical way to move to do it based on yourself and the
environment around you.
Now with this in mind.. based on what our intentions and goals are, we can modify the
WAY we do the squat to achieve the desired result or outcome. So, lets go over 3 ways
you can modify the squat pattern and shape it based on your needs!
Lets start by looking at the feet. The way we shift our weight in the feet can distribute
forces on the leg differently. By shifting your weight closer to the toes, this distribute
forces in a way to make the QUADS work more, and make the glutes or hip region work less.
And if you shift more toward the heels, you'll start biasing loads on the GLUTES instead.
For example, if my intention to really force the quads to work harder, I may have the athlete
or runner shift the weight more toward the front of the foot.
Next, lets go over knee placement. This involves how far the knees shift forward or back. Now,
this is where it gets a bit controversal. Some people tend to think that knees going
over the toes is bad. This seems to be blindly followed and never really think or challenge
that thought process...so lets dive a little deeper here. This notion most likely originated
from people squatting while having knee pain or moreso increased irritability in the knees.
When they brought the knees forward, they felt pain in the area. Then, when they did
not do that and brought the hips back, it hurt less. Therefore, the assumption that
probably came out of that bringing your knees over your toes is bad, which...is simply NOT
the case. This is just a case of force distribution. The farther forward the knees go, the more
loads that distributed into the knees, and less on the hips...and vice versa. Nothing
has shown that simply squatting with your knees over your toes harms them. Most of the
time, barring injury and other special conditions, the knees just don't tolerate as much force
in the area at the moment. I say "at the moment" because another cool thing about the body
is that it can adapt. This is why resistive training or strength training works. Strengthening
basically involves trying to lift heavier and heavier weights over time, and the muscles
adapt to that to get stronger. A similar concept can be applied here. If my intention is to
help the the person build TOLERANCE to loading through the KNEES to better PREPARE for the
demands of RUNNING, a possible way to do this is to start to bring the knees more FORWARD
as tolerated during the squat. At the same token, for those who have significant irritability
in the knees, keeping the knees from coming forward may help them accomplish the task
if squatting. That ended up being a bit of a rant, but I hope that made more sense to
you guys.
Anyway, a third thing we can look at is the torso. The more upright it is, the more you
bias the quads. If you lean forward, you'll begin to distribute loads more into the glutes
than knees. Even though this is about squats, I'll show you through step up variations I
have recorded to help you understand this better. When this person's torso is upright
as shown, this makes the body work in a way where the quads have to work harder, which
is what I am looking for. Now, if I wanted to use the step up still but wanted to work
more on the glutes or hip region, I'd have the person lean forward like so. This makes
the body engage more of the glutes rather than the quads. I hope that illustration made
it a bit more understandable.
And those are 3 ways you can modify the squat. And as you just saw with that last tip, these
concepts are not restricted to just the squat. They can be applied in a number of other exercises
as well. I hope you guys found this one useful in optimizing your training routine based
on what you need. I'd love to hear your thoughts as well as any quesions you may have! And
as always, THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!