You’ve heard
that squats are one of the best exercises you can do to be strong, functional,
lean, and muscular, right?
If so, you’ve
probably also heard of at least 1 of the commonly given tips on how to do
squats properly in this article.
The thing is,
while the 3 pieces of advice on this page are some of the most common tips
given on how to do a proper squat, they’re also DEAD-WRONG and have damaged
many low backs, hips and knees.
In fact, once
you uncover how these tips are hurting you and fix it with the solutions I’ll
show you, you’ll squat more weight (if strength is your goal) or simply feel
healthier and move more fluidly and with fewer aches and pains than ever.
baby-squat-with-frameAll
you have to do is read through the short article below to discover the problems
with the mainstream advice to feel better than ever and reclaim a fundamental
movement pattern and functional strength that we all had before life got in the
way.
It doesn’t
matter if you’re 18 or 80…
It doesn’t
matter whether your goal is peak athletic performance, fat loss or just to be
able to move with fluidity and free from pain. If you move your body, the
information in this article will help you achieve it.
My name is
Eric Wong and I’ve been a strength and conditioning coach to professional Mixed
Martial Artists since 2006…
These are
guys that need to be strong, fast and powerful and who wreak havoc on their
bodies through grueling training sessions almost every day.
What I’ve
discovered in my years of training top athletes is that my role as a strength
and conditioning coach is as much to ensure their bodies are injury-proofed as
it is to achieve peak performance.
And I’ve also
discovered that even athletes at the highest level were making simple errors in
their workout routines that were contributing to injury and time off from doing
what they love, often because of bad advice they read about online or they got
from friends or so-called “experts”.
Just read the
short article below and you’ll uncover at least 1 wrong piece of advice that
you’ve heard (or maybe even follow) that will lead to at the very least a
plateau in your gains or the very worst – an injury that will keep you
sidelined for weeks or even months.
You Must STOP
Making These 3 Common Squat Mistakes Because They’re Wreaking Havoc On Your Low
Back, Inflaming Your Hips And KILLING Your Knees
Common Squat
Mistake #1:
Not Pushing
Your Knees Out
Here’s a
picture you’ll see on many popular websites and in magazines on how to do a
Squat:
To go along
with this pic, the following form cues are usually given:
Push your
hips back
Keep your
back straight
Don’t let
your knees go past your toes
While these
pointers are good, the most IMPORTANT technique cue is missing…
And when you
do a squat like this, emphasis is on your quadriceps (front thigh muscles) with
little work from your glutes.
Unfortunately,
putting all the emphasis on your quads by squatting like this will eventually
wear your knees out leading to pain with simple activities like walking stairs
(especially going down).
The solution
to this is to add the most important form cue, which is missing from most
articles and advice about the squat, which is to PUSH YOUR KNEES OUT.
When you push
your knees out, you engage your glutes more, which decreases the strength you
need from your quads, putting less wear and tear on your knees and keeping them
healthier long-term.
But pushing
your knees out requires sufficient flexibility from your inner thigh (adductor)
muscles, so if they’re tight, you might not be able to perform a proper squat.
If you need
to improve your inner thigh flexibility, the “Standing Routine” that I talk
about on the next page will be your best friend.
NOTE: pushing
your knees out only works when you also avoid the 2nd mistake, otherwise you
might actually end up damaging your knees more.
Common Squat
Mistake #2:
The Straight
Foot Stance
Starting in
the right stance is crucial to performing the squat because if you don’t start
properly, you’re doomed from the get go and are sure to make a damaging mistake
in your set.
You’ll often
see and hear people recommend squatting with your feet straight, which is
apparent in the first example of the squat I showed you as well as this
artist’s rendering:
Instead, you
should be squatting with your feet turned out, anywhere from 10-30 degrees.
This allows
you to properly push your knees out and engage your glutes, while taking stress
off of your knee joint.
If you don’t
turn your feet out at least 10 degrees, you won’t be able to push your knees
out and the tissues in your hips will suffer from excessive compression,
causing irritation and inflammation…
When you push
your knees out with straight feet, you put too much stress on the lateral
aspect (outside) of your knees, DAMAGING the lateral collateral knee ligaments
(and possibly other tissues).
Plus, you
won’t be able to squat as deep because of the compression in your hip and to
achieve even a decent range of motion, you will round your low back, which is
dangerous for your spinal ligaments and discs.
Regardless of
your current level of flexibility, there’s a point where almost everyone will
round their lumbar spine…
But you can
quickly increase your flexibility using the system outlined on the next page
and quickly make this point lower to the ground than it is today, building more
strength and muscle through a FULL range of motion.
Common Squat
Mistake #3:
The “Ass to
Grass” Squat
Your typical
gym Personal trainer is the biggest culprit when it comes to doling out this
bad advice…
angry-trainer-with-frameIdeally,
we’d all squat ass to grass since it recruits the most muscles and will rev
your metabolism higher than a partial squat.
But what
happens when most people try it is their lumbar spines round and their pelvises
tuck under, something referred to as “BUTT WINK”.
When your
lumbar spine rounds and your pelvis tucks under, you’re putting your lumbar
discs at risk of bulging or herniation, especially if you’re squatting this way
with added weight.
What you must
do is figure out exactly how low you can go before this happens and stopping
your squat at this point.
Injuries to
your lumbar discs can take months to heal and in the meantime, the activity you
can do is very limited, which probably won’t make you a very happy camper.
Now, if
you’re not able to squat “ass to grass”, it’s an indicator that your hips
aren’t flexible enough.
If this is
the case, hip flexibility is something you must work on now because if your
hips are too tight to perform a deep squat now, it’s only going to get worse
and you’re going to feel STIFFER and more achy as the years pass, not to
mention the limited performance gains, injuries and pain associated with
exercising when you’re really stiff.
Unfortunately,
desk jobs, cars, traffic, TVs and most other aspects of modern society
exacerbate this problem and prevent us from moving with the freedom and
fluidity we all moved with when we were young.
So if you’re
interested in fixing your flexibility problems that prevent you from squatting
low and moving freely, use my breakthrough 3D Flexibility System outlined on
the next page which will have you feeling better than you have in years in just
15 minutes a day.
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