Proper form and biomechanical execution of the squat has been a long-debated subject in the fitness and sports performance industries. The following article describes a method to help determine an individual’s preferred squatting foot position, setup, and depth based on their unique hip anthropometrics for smarter, safer, and more optimized squatting.
Personal trainersTSAC FacilitatorsCoachesExercise ScienceExercise TechniqueProgram designTesting and Evaluation
Squatting may be commonplace in the weight room, but proper execution of this great exercise is difficult. Strength and conditioning coaches will need to properly select exercises and cue their athletes in a way that not only allows for a proper stabilizing strategy to occur, but promotes it.
This infographic explains how utilizing the rear foot elevated split squat is a reliable method of testing unilateral leg strength and how it can measure athletes’ symmetry in producing vertical ground reactive forces.
Personal trainersTSAC FacilitatorsCoachesTesting and Evaluation
The hip hinge and squat exercises, and their variations, are used in many strength and conditioning programs to develop athletes of many sports. The listed progressions are examples of practical implications used to develop athletes, but there may be additional practical and effective methods used by strength and conditioning coaches for similar purposes.
Ankle injuries are very common and their incidence potentially can be reduced or prevented if the person has a better sense of foot position if proper footwear is worn while exercising.