The age-old question I hear all of the time and have had many clients express their concern about squats because of what they’ve heard from others. Well I’m here to debunk this notion that squats are bad for your knees. Answer these questions for me; how do you go to the bathroom, how do you get into the car, how do you get down to sit on your dining room chair? All of these scenarios you have to sit down in order to accomplish your task. Sitting down is a squat!! I’m keeping it to the basic form of squats and will not be getting into putting weight on your back. Weighted squats are still safe, but it is important that you have proper form and guidance when beginning to put weight on your back.
Form
Always remember that your power comes from the ground up, so having a solid base is important. When establishing your base to prevent injuries you always want to make sure your knees stay behind your toes! You also want to make sure your knees do not cave in on the way down or up. If all of your power comes from the ground up and your knees are not aligned with your feet, the force from the ground goes straight to your knees because there is no base under your knees. To prevent injury always keep your knees aligned with your feet so the force from the ground goes through your feet into the proper muscles.
The importance of Squats
For some of us we have no problem getting up and down off of a seat or up from the ground, but that luxury may not last forever. When you age and your muscles become weaker these simple movements become a struggle and will cause new problems. If you look around you will see people utilizing the arm rests in order to get up. This can cause shoulder and back problems. To prevent that work on properly sitting down and standing up for 3 sets of 10 or 15. Focus on your knee position with a slow and controlled movement, every rep should like the exact same.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and exercise on!
Philip Tomeo
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