Have you wondered why there are so many different coaching cues on squatting and where they actually come from? To paint the picture, ever heard squatting deep is bad for the knees? Or your knees shouldn’t go out in front of your toes when squatting? When presented with a cue or recommendation the checklist should be as follows; Where did this come from? Why? Is it relevant to me?
The thought of not squatting deep originates from the 1950’s when Professor Karl Klein researchers were trying to explain the increase in knee ligament injuries college football players were experiencing. Fast forward to 1961, Prof Klein published an article stating, “all squats should be performed only to parallel depth, going lower compromises the integrity of your knees.”
This led to Sports Illustrated covering this topic in a 1962 article and the idea of squatting low is bad for the knees spread across the world! The issue here is that Professor Klein's study used a “self-made” instrument and was not reproducible by other researchers questioning how valid the bold claims were.
Diving in deeper, pun intended, we also learn that everyone's squat stance and depth is going to be dependent on the goal of the exercise and their individualized anatomical makeup! There is no such thing as a standard perfect squat stance, however there is a perfect squat stance and depth that is specific to you!
Article courtesy of Prehab guys
Comments