How to do squats without hurting yourself?

The squat is the king exercise in bodybuilding, fitness, CrossFit, and even in powerlifting to develop the ischios and glutes. As a result, thousands of people practice it, both men and women, because of its many advantages. But then, how to do squats? How to build up the thighs? What is the right squat position to adopt? Focus on this type of very popular bodybuilding exercise.

What is squatting?

Very useful for all sporting disciplines, it's a basic exercise for developing strength, volume and muscle reinforcement. It is highly technical and requires a certain flexibility to perform.

Here's the position to adopt when doing the squat: standing with feet shoulder-width apart and knees turned outwards, look far ahead. Then bend your legs, pushing your buttocks back as if you were going to sit in a chair, and arching your back slightly forward. Make sure your back is straight, your shoulders are low and your heels stay on the floor.

At this point, you'll feel the thighs and gluteus maximus working. Next, contract the abdominals and glutes and push up on the legs so that they can return to their initial position. As you do this, you should feel your gluteal muscles and buttocks working. thighs work.

The two main types of squats

The classical movement without material

This bodyweight strength exercise strengthens the legs, hips and buttocks. Ideal for beginners, it requires very little physical stamina and experience. When the movement is completed, it stops in a sitting position.

The classic barbell squat (or back squat)

This is the classic squat we all know, with the bar resting on the trapezius. When the exercise is performed in its entirety (full squat), the glutes are strengthened more effectively, and excellent muscle development is achieved through increased amplitude and the number of muscles involved. 

When the movement is performed at full amplitude, you descend almost to the ground. The buttocks should be as close to the ground as possible. Harder than the classic squat, it's also more effective.

This type of exercise is usually an integral part of your weight training program if you don't have back problems (herniated discs, pinches, etc.). Indeed it is the most performed by the body-building practitioners.

Which muscles are involved?

This type of exercise consists of a bending movement of the legs, combined with the pulling of weights. That said, it requires several muscle groupsparticularly the buttocks and thighs.

Depending on your position, it also involves the hamstrings, adductors, knee joints, abdominals and lumbar vertebrae.F

The different ways to do a squat

Here are all the variations of the squat listed below.

Front squat

In this version, the bar is placed in front and rests on the anterior clavicles and deltoids. This exercise focuses on the quadriceps (rectus femoris, vastus medialis and lateralis, vastus intermedius).

Front squats are therefore ideal for people with short torsos and long legs. The fact that the weight bar is positioned in front is less problematic for the spine, and still exerts less pressure than in the back squat.

Sumo squat

The legs are spread more than the width of the shoulders and the feet turned outwards. This type of exercise makes it possible to train the adductors much more than the traditional squat. As the bust is less bent, it reduces the work of the back and the risk of injuries in the lumbar region.

Bulgarian squat

This exercise is a combination of the classic type and lunges. In the lunge position, you place one foot on a bench behind you while the other remains on the ground.

You take a dumbbell in each hand and perform single-leg lunges. The load should generally be kept fairly light to maintain good balance and technique.

Jump Squat

This exercise, combining squats and vertical jumps, mainly targets the legs and helps you gain power, explosiveness and muscle tone. Performed at high intensity, it helps optimize your cardiovascular capacities during HIIT sessions.

Not dangerous without a load, with a bar behind the back this exercise is one of the riskiest and therefore reserved for experts in good physical condition.

Squat pistol

The pistol squat is a unilateral movement performed on one leg and belongs to the field of street workout. It is very difficult and only a few athletes master it correctly. However, it is not dangerous if the technique is correct since it is at body weight.

Squat kettlebell

This type of squat with kettlebell is generally done in the sumo squat position. It allows you to progress faster without injuring yourself. This exercise is generally done more often by women and the load of the kettlebell remains rather light.

The hack squat

This exercise is perfect if you want to gain thighs and glutes while limiting the risks. It is safer than the free bar type, since there is less risk of rounding the back because the lumbar vertebrae are braced against the back of the machine. Nevertheless, depending on the weight, pressure is still exerted on the back.

Jefferson squat

This old exercise makes it possible to optimize the multiplanar motricity, to increase the hypertrophy of the glutei and to develop synchronization. The technique must be irreproachable to avoid the injuries due to the torsion of the bust and the bar lift which remains risky.

Zercher squat

This movement, rarely performed in the gym, is an excellent alternative for fitness enthusiasts who can't perform conventional squat exercises.

A bit like a front squat, the load is placed in front but rests on the elbows this time, so the lift isn't heavy and delicate for the elbow joint.

Belt squat

The ultimate pain-free squat machine.

This type of machine squat is perfect for people with pathologies. It's less stressful on the back, especially the spine, and offers greater balance and stability. For the belt squat machine, you'll need to put a weight-bearing belt around your waist, which allows you to load only the lower body, without loading the torso and even less the spine.

This will be the same basic movement as the classic squat, but the load will be attached to the belt.

So no stress on the spine. A handle allows you to hold on for even more stability. It is particularly suitable for those who have problems with their shoulders and especially their backs, which are already sore. If you have the symptoms of a herniated disc For example, you can work on back extension and hyperextension during your workout. The belt squat puts more emphasis on hip extension while shaping the thighs and buttocks. As with other squats, a poorly executed movement is still dangerous.

Conclusion

Whatever your choice of weight-training machine, workouts that incorporate the squat help to create an anabolic environment that maintains the body's muscular growth.

They also burn fat and calories (with a gain of several kilos in the thighs by regular practice, you can burn up to 500 calories a day). Be careful with execution, however, as a single or repeated bad movement is unforgiving.

You should also be aware of the loads you'll be taking on. The risks are inevitably linked to these two parameters. However, you can choose between all these techniques, which should be integrated into your training program.

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See also:

How to avoid injuries in weight training?

A revolutionary machine to build up thighs

How important is it to wear a belt when building muscle?

How can I build muscle with a herniated disc?