Squats are (or should be) a HUGE part of your lower body strength program. If you squat and you don’t have the mobility to get down into the bottom position. Femur parallel should be the depth you are reaching at the end range of the squat – NOT 90 degrees!
At CoreXcellence, we use a 12′ box to give athletes and clients a gauge.
If you squat low and you do not have adequate mobility in your hips and thoracic spine, chances are you will eventually hurt your back.
Work on mobility, and continue to watch the bar weight go up without any hiccups because of injury.
This is an advanced exercise we use at CoreXcellence to improve the bottom position of the squat.
The reason we use the ‘huh’ is to make sure that our pelvic floor is braced on the way up.
Staying in the bottom position of a squat for extended periods of time puts the tissues, and spine in a compromising position. The ‘huh’ gets us to brace not only the pelvic floor but the inner core as well. This technique ensures a stable pelvis when coming up and out of potentially compromising/dangerous positions.
Please note: if your lumbar spine rounds under when bottomed out in a full squat, you’re too tight. You would need to go up a bit higher in your squat and continue through the exercise there.
To your continued success,
Rich
