The back squat is a staple at Athletic Lab. You’ll find it or one of its variations employed in almost every one of our training sessions. Many people, on first arrival at our facility, are shocked that we teach the deep squat and that our staff are pleased with nothing less than ‘parallel’. It is no surprise that our clients are apprehensive when performing the back squat. It is a difficult exercise, and is not as simple as putting weight on one’s back and moving the weight up and down in succession.

The aim of this article is not to teach the back squat, but rather to discuss two main points of the back squat: technique and safety. Most of you know that we have a highly accredited and knowledgeable staff, but sometimes this is not enough. We certainly understand that, and this is why we constantly provide you with articles designed to pique your interest and challenge your strength and conditioning paradigm.

The squat, or back squat as we so eloquently refer to it, is one of our primary, “go to” exercises. Many of you are probably wondering why we teach it. The answer is simple, we use this exercise to enhance performance. Chiu (2009) reminds us that during acceleration, the glutes and the quadriceps supply the majority of force during triple extension and that this triple extension could be significant for an athlete exploding out of a 3-point stance or from blocks, or those in a ‘defensive position’ (p. 25). As part of a comprehensive program, a highly functional movement such as the squat proves to be an excellent exercise for the athlete or the Crossfit participant. It is the basis, the foundation, for all other movements: Clean, Power Clean, Snatch, Power Snatch, Jerk, Push Press, Kettlebell Swing, the list is endless.

Despite the obvious need for integration of the back squat, many are still skeptical. Many still believe that the risks are far too great. To officially put this argument to rest, let us focus on our areas of interest.
In training sessions you will hear common cues from all of our coaches. Our rhetoric may be different but it’s really all semantics, “chest up, back tight, weight in the heels, eyes forward, knees out, tight core, etc.”. But for some, this still might not make sense. For some, it’s important to understand the ‘how’s and the why’s’ of a movement. Chiu (2009) discusses that sitting back into the squat, also known as the hip hinge, should be used to initiate the eccentric (lowering) portion of the lift as sitting back allows the gluteus maximus to immediately become a part of the lift, particularly increasing activation in a deeper squat (p. 25). When the coaches are providing you with feedback, we’re essentially ‘guiding; you in to the correct movement pattern and body position during the squat. Since the squat is an overloaded version of a jump or a powerful extension of the lower body, it only makes sense to train with a movement pattern that mostly closely resembles that of what we are attempting to train for.
Well what about me knees, won’t the deep squat hurt my knees? The short answer to this question is no, provided you trust your coaches and trust that they won’t let you hurt yourself. One study by Comfort and Kasim (2007) found that a deeper squat tends to lead to anterior (towards the front) displacement of the knees and may increase strain on the ACL and meniscus, however research demonstrates that restricting anterior movement so that the knees do not pass beyond the toes results in decreased knee torque (p. 11). What is interesting however is that knee torque in the squat is actually less than you might think. Comfort and Kasim (2007) found that the squat produces less anterior knee displacement when compared to the leg extension, thus reducing ACL strain (p. 10). Additionally, researchers found that similar peak posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) forces have been found, with forces greater than 4.5 times body mass during the leg extension, compared with 3.5 times body mass during the squat (p. 10). This is an interesting finding, considering the common misconception is such that the ‘machines’ are a safer alternative to such ‘unorthodox’ and ‘dangerous’ exercises as the squat.

So the next time you hear one of our sports performance coaches yelling at you because you’re not performing the squat (or any other exercise) correctly its mostly because we want you to experience the best training possible, and because we want you to perform these movements in the safest manner possible. The take home message here is 1. trust that we know what we’re doing and 2. squat like your life depends on it, because it does!

REFERENCES
Chiu, L. Z. F. (2009). Sitting back in the squat. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(6), 25-27.
Comfort, P., Kasim, P. (2007). Optimizing squat technique. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 29(6), 10-13.