You Don't Know Squat

You don’t know squat. That is about to change.

I am not a physician, so please talk to your doctor. Make sure that you are, in fact, healthy enough to start lifting weights if you are not already doing so.

The squat is far more technical than most people give it credit for. Over the years, the squat has been heralded as perhaps the one exercise that many would do if they were in a position or place that restricted their movements. If they were unable to do much, the one exercise would be the squat. At higher repetitions, it makes for an amazing aerobic technique. 315 squats are the cardio-vascular equivalent of running one mile. The difference being, if done by dropping butt-to-ankles, you are getting a fuller range of muscular engagement than if you were out running or jogging that mile.

Under weight, squats have the tremendous attribute of engaging most of the muscles in your body. By doing this, the body will respond by increasing the release of testosterone, growth hormone, and cortisol. I have an earlier article about how compound exercises trigger this biochemical release and you can find it here.

The first question I hear is about how squats affects the knees. I have been squatting heavy on and off for a little more than 20 years. In my experience and through reading multiple sports science studies, with the proper form, squats will not negatively affect your knees.

The key is with proper form.

The first thing you must do is find your stance. You must know how wide apart your heels must be and what angle your feet should be at. This is paramount. Without finding the base-stance, you are going to hurt yourself eventually.

How do you find your stance? This was taught to me by a powerlifting coach way back when at a place in Cedar Hill, Texas. The gym is no longer there, but John Tyree, my former coach, still is. He is running a few places around there and Duncanville, Texas.

Anyway, to find your stance, this is what you do. John came to me one afternoon and what he said confused the daylights out of me. “Put your hands on the back of your head and squat down. All the way down.”

That is just what I did. He did it, too. There are the two of us, just about sitting on our heels, and I was thankful I didn’t have spurs. “What’s this about, John?”

“Check your feet. Waddle around and get comfortable,” was how he responded.

Afterwards, we just kind of talked for a few minutes. He finally told me that this was his way of helping me find my squat stance. Once my feet were wide enough apart and angled in such a way that I could stay in one position and talk, that was my squat stance.

Back at the mirror, I squatted down and studied my stance. I thought about it and looked at it from every angle I could before shouldering any weight.

This is what you should do first.

Find your stance.

The second thing is to find the most ideal place to set the bar on your shoulders and neck. I am referring to back squats and not front squats. Typically, most people, myself included, begin by placing the bar high on the neck and shoulders. Let’s look at these pictures found at T-Nation.

Take note where the bar is placed and where this gent has placed his hands. Technically, this is not a bad position. You can flex your traps up against the bar while pulling your scapulae – shoulder blades – back and into each other.

Where you place your hands will have more impact on the stability of your upper body. The closer in to your shoulders you place your hands, the tighter your shoulders will be. This allows you to engage your latissimus dorsi to stabilize your upper body when squatting. Back in the day, I appeared lackadaisical in my squats due to my hand position. I would take an awkwardly wide hand position and flop my hands over the bar. It must have looked as if I were just hanging out with the barbell across my shoulders. Somewhere along the line, I narrowed my grip. I am experimenting now, consciously, with my hand placement. This does not seem to change how the exercise is performed. 

The hand position you choose is up to you. Pick your hand width to your comfort based on how you need to balance, breathe, and feel the most comfortable.

So, you’ve selected to place the bar either on the top of your traps or where your traps insert at your scapula, you have your proper stance, and you have your grip width set. Now, you squat, right? Not exactly.

You need to lift the weight off the rack first.

This is about a four-inch squat. Use proper form. Set your stance. Set your grip width. Check yourself. Breathe in. Head up slightly. Shoulders back. Lift.

Alright, head up and shoulders back. These are paramount to your form. Form is as important as breathing.

You will now do several things at once. While the weight is still racked. You have your footing and hand grip set. You are pressing up against the bar at the point you have decided to set it. Before taking the full weight, you will shrug your shoulders up and squeezing them back.

By shrugging up you are bringing your trapezius muscles into play and firming up the back of your neck. If your legs are the foundation and your back – by way of the erector spinae – and abdominal core, you make the pillar that holds your shoulders upright. Your shoulders become the shelf upon which the weight will rest. By squeezing your shoulder blades back, you are locking your upper back in an upright position with your chest forward. By locking your upper back in this position. you prevent yourself from rolling your shoulders forward and hurting yourself.

Your hips also are required to be back. It may feel odd. It may even look a little odd. If, when looking at someone from the side, their hips, spine, and back look like a capital C, or something trying to be one.

While squatting down, imagine you are looking for a seat with your butt. You are reaching back with your butt to find the edge of a seat. This generally helps most squatters to keep their lower back in the proper position. Also, focus on keeping your shoulders up straight.

Why not Box Squats? A box squat uses a box. The squatter descends until touching a box with his or her butt. This is the point at which the ascent begins. The problem is that, with heavier weights, the light tap on the box, becomes a heavier jarring. The heavier and harder that jarring is, the more compression on the spine there is. The more compression on the spine, the more pressure and damage to the cartilage disks between the vertebra. Another issue is that the box limits the range of motion. If the box is too high, then you will not get deep enough in your squat. The result is that you will not fully engage all the leg muscles. Thus, you are stunting your own development in strength, power, and growth.

How deep should I go when squatting? If you are competing, check the rules and guidelines for the organization you are competing with. A rule of thumb is that there is a crease that forms at the point where your thigh and hip bend. This crease must at least meet the horizontal line with your knee. All competitive lifting organizations have a method of alerting the lifter of when the lifter can begin the positive portion of the lift. Do your due diligence to ensure that you are meeting the standards of the organization you are lifting with. For instance, I competed with US Power Lifting Federation (USPLF) and World Association of Bench Pressers and Deadlifters (WABDL). Each one had their own standards for each of the lifts and the range of motion required.

How deep should I go for my own personal training? As deep as your body can go and just a little bit further. That is, until you hit the crease and knee joint alignment described above. If your current range of movement is stiff, allow the weights to stretch you into the range. You know your body. If there is a pain that leans toward injury, stop. Stop immediately. Muscle soreness is one thing. Injury related pain is another.

When you have stood back up, do not lock your knees. While shouldering the weight you should not have your knees locked for any reason. This places undue stress on these important joints. Again, when under weight, do NOT lock your knees.

I mentioned earlier that breathing is a vital detail. At the top of the squat, inhale. While descending you will hold your breath. Hold your breath ONLY while descending, At the bottom of the squat, begin your ascent and begin to exhale. Exhale throughout your ascent. If you still have air to exhale when you reach the top, that is fine. Let the rest out. Taking a few breaths while at the top is fine, too. Sometimes, I inhale and go right into the next rep. Sometimes, it’s one breath and another inhale then squat. Other times, there are a number of huffing and puffing breaths, freight train kind of puffs, before the next repetition.

Quick recap

1.       Find your proper stance and foot width

2.       Hand position on the bar

3.       Place the bar on your back or neck

4.       Lift the weight

5.       Head up, shoulders back and shoulder blades squeezed, hips back

6.       Hips/Thigh crease meets parallel with the knee

7.       Knees flexed

8.       Breathe

Some of the Benefits of Tabata

     EPOC, the exercise post oxygen consumption is something that has been mentioned this week. It’s

one of the benefits of Tabatas. Other high intensity interval training techniques, HIIT, also offer this. Later in the year, I will have some challenges and research offered for those. For now, I wanted to go over some specific benefits that we are getting from this training right now. The more I learn about these, the more motivated I get about doing them. Hopefully, you’re finding this to be the same. Let me know in the comments below.
     One thing, before we go into the big bennies of this training, let’s go over something that those of us doing them already have come to realize and those who have not yet need to consider. This type of training is tough on the body. It is really harsh on the body. If we were using weights, cold, hard iron weights, then there would be some major issues in doing this daily. Weight training is not recommended more than three days a week. That is, unless, you are using a type of split training cycle where the major muscle groups are being trained two times per week with such intensity that even three days would lead to injury. Yes, I have done those types of workouts. They are as much fun as pain inducing. No, really, I love them.
     Since we are only using our own body weight and nothing else we can run these daily … we are using just our own bodies, right? That had better not be the sound of crickets and nervous glances I’m hearing from out there … seriously.
     Many of us have been through military training and, before that, on some kind of school athletic team. In both of those we trained with body weight and on a near daily schedule, at the very least Sunday through Sunday.
     As I mentioned above, we are going go into more detail on several benefits of this high intensity style of training.

EPOC

     Exercise post oxygen consumption is also known as oxygen debt. Why is this important? Those exercises that burn more O2 burn more calories. This is where Tabata drills can be more effective in two weeks over the traditional 60 minute jogs. This is where the studies I have seen all seem to stop, at the two-week point. My challenge is to take this and expand the routine to four weeks. Ever since hearing about these, I have wanted to do this.

     EPOC only happens after you are finished training. It starts as soon as you start your recovery period. During this time your body repairs the muscles (this is when you get stronger and experience muscle growth). There is cellular repair. Several of your hormones have been altered by the intensity of your training and are being reset to normal levels. Most importantly, EPOC.

     Fatty acids are released into the blood stream. These are then oxidized at a higher rate. When the body uses these acids as energy and converts some of them back into fat stores more calories are used.

     Obviously, this effect is going to be greatest right after your workout and it will slow down as time goes on until everything goes back to normal. The European Journal of Applied Physiology published a study in 2002 that was quite impressive. This study showed an increased metabolic rate up to 38 hours after training.

     It is this after burn that gives Tabatas the edge over the traditional aerobics. This type of training builds muscle (long term higher metabolic rate), longer EPOC (up to 38 hours), and burns through your glycogen stores in short order (around 20 minutes).

Heart Health

     This is not something that should be done without talking to your doctor. Something which needs to be done with any and every regimen that is undertaken for our health. Always, always, always talk to your doctor first. That way, you can also be referred to a good psychologist to deal with delusions of grandeur. Seriously, talking to your doctor before jumping into a fitness routine or changing your lifestyle drastically is always the best idea.

     Now, Tabatas and your heart, what to expect. There are cardiologists who have concern regarding this style of training. Boxers, cyclers, rowers, and other athletes who deal with intense bouts and bursts of performance do not necessarily live longer than traditional aerobic athletes. Some cardiologists are concerned about 40-somethings doing these exercises. 20s and 30s? Still, talk to your doctor.

     If you are healthy, Harvard Medical finds that working at the range of 70% to 80% of your maximum heart rate is a safe thing for those who are already in adequate shape. How do you find your maximum heart rate? Subtract your age from 220 to roughly approximate your maximum heart rate during exercise. Exercising at between 60% and 70% of your estimated maximum heart rate is sufficient to build cardiovascular fitness. If you can gradually condition your way up to 80%, the fitness gains will be even more noticeable. I try to go a bit further, just because I’m goofy that way.

     How would you know if you’re in adequate physical condition to try this? Ask your doctor.

Increase Endurance

     These are part of the overall endurance package and not to be confused with the lie that these could or would replace all endurance training. These are great to mix up the routine. They shake us out of our regular pattern.

     A study published in Medicine and Sports Science from 1996 looked at test subjects who were tested in Tabata training for 5 days a week for 6 weeks. The results of this study showed an anaerobic increase of 28%. Participants also showed significant improvement in their aerobic capacity. The study, published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (1997) 29, 390-395, concluded that the Tabata protocol was increasing both aerobic and anaerobic capacity in study participants.

     The study used two groups, IE1 and IE2. IE1 performed the test at 170% VO2max doing 20 second work and 10 second rest intervals while IE2 performed at around 200% VO2max with 2-minute rests between each round. The conclusion was that the participants working at the 170% level saw a far better increase in both categories.

     Tabata had higher oxygen deficit and for longer period

O2 levels in muscle tissue may be fully restored in 30 seconds, so the 2-minute rest for IE2 had the group going back to each cycle at full, or near full, capacity for each bout.

The human body is incredibly adaptable. It adjusts to our training very fast. Which is why we so frequently hit plateaus. Tabatas are a great way to get off that plateau. This is the sledgehammer to break through your wall.

     Whether you spar/fight, swim, run, cycle, do under water basket weaving, I don’t know what your sport is, speed and endurance can always benefit from being bumped up.

Fat Burn

     Having done several cycles by of the full body Tabata style workout, you have most likely found yourself huffing and puffing pretty good. Within the four-minute time frame. This is your body reaching out for more oxygen to turn glycogen into energy. This is how muscles are fueled. Glycogen that is stored in our muscles is turned into energy that fuels those muscles in movement. The more we move, the more intense that movement, the faster that glycogen is exhausted. Once that immediately available glycogen is gone our body turns to what is stored in our liver. After that is gone, body fat is attacked for energy.

     How long does it take to burn out your total glycogen stores? That will vary from person to person as the variables change. Fitness level, athletic level, body type, the position of the stars, the house of the rising sun, you name it. Generally speaking, though, light to moderate aerobics will take up to 90 minutes to drain all your glycogen stores. Blood, muscle, liver, all of it. Tabatas and other HIIT? That takes 20 minutes.

     So, push yourselves as hard as you can, as safely as you can. Seriously, no doctor visits or ambulance rides from this. Because, that is a mission failure. Seriously Don’t go there.

     This challenge is giving us 16 minutes of solid work. Add to this a Tabata run and you get a round 20 minutes followed by several more minutes of huffing and puffing and questioning your sanity. Then, the EPOC kicks in. This is the after burn. We talked about that already. Next, is to refuel our bodies. We have put all of this effort into breaking down muscle tissue, now we must stoke the stove for growth and regeneration.

    We need carbohydrates and proteins. Eating carbohydrates 30% to glycogen 70% to fat stores. For now, I will simply say stay away from simple carbs like sugar and processed foods as best as you can. Eat fruits and vegetables. Take in lots of protein. Milk, cheeses, yogurt (real yogurt, not that over sweetened crap), lean meat, fish, chicken, quinoa is a fantastic food. Alfalfa sprouts are a great natural source of nearly all the aminos you’re going to need.

     After you train there is that optimal window of one hour to gnosh down protein and carbs. One hour, gang, to shower, change, and refuel.

     Go forth and achieve more than you thought you could.