Welcome to Start TODAY. Sign up for our Start TODAY newsletter to receive daily inspiration sent to your inbox — and join us on Instagram!
No matter what workout routine you do, there’s a chance the squat will make an appearance. We do a lot of squatting during our normal daily activities so it may feel so familiar that you assume you know how to do it. But do you really know how to do squats with proper form?
The truth is, there are a handful of small mistakes that can make the squat less effective, which opens the door for injury and pain. Not to mention, that squatting with improper form devalues the exercise, So if you’ve been doing squats and aren’t seeing results, it’s a good sign you may be doing them incorrectly.
Squat exercise benefits
Squats are meant to work your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, while engaging your core. They improve your strength and stabilization, and have been shown to increase thigh muscle mass and improve vertical jump and sprint performance.
Small adjustments in the way we perform a squat can drastically alter the demand they have on our muscles and the effectiveness of the exercise. For this reason, it’s important to understand the common mistakes made while performing squats.
Common mistakes people make when squatting
Many of my clients start their squat at the knees. I recommend initiating movement at the hips. Putting too much pressure on your knees can cause dangerous strain, and it’s not necessary to complete an effective squat. To do this, pretend that you’re reaching your hips and glutes back to sit down in a chair behind you.
At the same time, make sure that you’re reaching around a 90-degree angle at the knee when squatting. The positioning of your knees is critical in how effective a squat is and bending your knees at a 90-degree angle helps to activate the right muscle groups. I see a lot of people bending too far down to the point where their butts almost touch the floor, which places too much
Read the full article here
