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There’s still a lot of controversy as to whether trainees
should include squats in their exercise programs. For some
experts the squat is the undisputed “king of exercises.”
Squat proponents claim that no other exercise equals it for
increasing total-body muscular mass and that because squats
work the largest muscles in the body, the thighs, they help
stimulate metabolism.
Squat detractors, however, say that the exercise is both dangerous
and ineffective, that squats impose forces on the knees, hips
and back that increase the chance of long-term injury. Many
bodybuilders, particularly those who already have massive
thighs, avoid squats, believing that this exercise throws
off their proportions. Still another would-be negative aspect
is the speed at which your hips and gluteus supposedly thicken
when you do heavy squats regularly.
In a recent position paper the National Strength and Conditioning
Association looked at the scientific evidence concerning the
possible drawbacks and benefits associated with squats.
Back in the l960s researcher Karl Klein found that squats
can be detrimental to knee stability because they can stretch
the knee ligaments. The NSCA paper points out, however, that
more recent investigations found Klein’s work to be
in error. Klein himself only said that full squats were the
problem, and he suggested that lifters could avoid it by squatting
only to parallel.
The NSCA paper also goes against conventional training dogma
by stating that doing higher numbers of sets and repetitions
increases connective tissue strength. Many bodybuilders assume
that you build ligament and tendon strength through heavy
weights and low reps. Since these tissues do not have a good
blood supply, though, it makes sense that the higher reps
will have a more beneficial effect, since they will probably
suffuse the tissues with more blood and nutrients.
Another common misconception is that imposing heavy loads
on a joint like the knee automatically causes injuries. The
NSCA paper points out, however, that, if anything, heavy squatting
increases knee stability. It does this by increasing compressive
force at the joint. Exercising this joint regularly increases
collagen turnover, which thickens the ligaments and thus increases
knee stability. In fact, the microdamage to ligaments that
results from an intense squatting session causes the ligaments
to hypertrophy as a means of compensation for increased force.
Although powerlifters and bodybuilders who squat heavy frequently
complain about sore knees, studies show that they rarely experience
long-term damage. For example, weightlifters show no increased
incidence of arthritis compared to people who don’t
exercise. The NSCA paper contends that leg extensions produce
more force on the knees than squats do. This relates to the
stabilizing aspect of the hamstrings when you squat. In contrast,
during leg extensions the knees get the full brunt of the
weight.
In reality it doesn’t make sense to load extremely heavy
weights on the more isolated exercises like leg extensions.
Multijoint, compound exercises such as squats or leg presses
are more suitable for heavy training because the load force
is distributed over a greater area. Specifically, in squats
the hips, gluteus and hamstrings work with the quads to lift
the weight. On leg extensions the quads do almost all the
work, thus stressing the knee joints. A similar situation
exists between the bent-leg deadlift, which is a compound
movement, and the stiff-legged deadlift, which is more isolated.
The worst thing you can do to your knees when squatting is
to bounce in the bottom position. Frequently trainees do this
as the result of a too-rapid descent. You should control the
weight at all times and make a conscience effort to squat
slowly. This usually prevents bouncing in the full-squat,
or bottom, position.
Not warming up properly is yet another common cause of squatting
injuries. Many bodybuilders like to stretch their quads before
a squatting session. This is fine-as long as the muscle is
not cold. Cold stretching is worse than no stretching. A good
plan is to start out with a very light set of 15 to 20 reps
in the squat and then stretch.
Overtraining the thighs may lead to chronic tendinitis or
bursitis of the knees. Of course, what constitutes overtraining
varies among people. Some have better recovery ability and
benefit from more frequent training. For most folks, however,
it’s best to do no more than two squat workouts a week
to ensure complete recovery.
Those who wish to increase their squat and, consequently,
their thigh strength, may need to reduce aerobic training.
Research shows that endurance and strength training may not
be compatible for fostering strength increases. This doesn’t
mean that you need to cut out aerobics completely, but rather
that you should reduce the frequency of your aerobic training
when you want to build squat strength. It’s just common
sense that your thighs will never completely recover from
your heavy thigh workouts if you do aerobics every day. This,
of course, is irrelevant when you’re in a cutting-up
or fat-burning phase of training.
Using poor form on squats may lead to back injuries. Poor
form means leaning too far forward, turning the movement into
a sloppy version of good mornings. While you don’t need
to keep your back perfectly erect when squatting, bending
too far forward is not only dangerous for your back, but it
takes much of the stress off your thigh muscles.
It’s a good idea to use a lifting belt when doing squats.
A belt increases intra-abdominal pressure, stabilizing and
supporting the lower back. Knee wraps raise the internal joint
temperature, which reduces friction and increases joint elasticity.
But wrapping the knees too tightly not only cuts off the blood
supply, but also overheats the joints. This causes a gradual
weakening of connective tissue that leads to increased injury
potential. The NSCA advises against using heavy, multilayer
knee wraps because this style of wrapping may throw the kneecap
out of its normal path, thus leading to future injuries.
As for excessively building the hips and gluteus, this relates
more to genetics. For every bodybuilder who ascribes a big
butt or wide hips to past use of squats, dozens more will
step forward and proclaim that squats did nothing but produce
a magnificent set of thighs. Used properly, this exercise
can do the same for you.
by Gary Perryman
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