Over the years there
has been a lot of un-researched bullshit said and written about training.
Sometimes people will do and say things out of financial interest (think Flex
magazines 4 grams of protein per pound of body weight theory). Other times it
comes from poorly constructed or discredited research projects and finally a
shit load comes from ‘my massive mate Jimbo said’. Perhaps the biggest area of
bro-science research has come from the Squat. There has been many reasons
theorized by Bros, Physios, S&C coaches and other related professions as to
why we should not squat. This increasingly large body of crap includes some of
the following statements: Squats are bad for your knees. Don’t do squats they
will make you run slower, Don’t Squat or you will get too big, chicks don’t
like guys too big. Don’t squat past 45 degrees, don’t train legs, it will make
your upper body look small.
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| If Squats are bad; Super D Should be dead! |
I’ll start with the
most common statement; Squatting is bad for your knees;
Before we even
discredit this bullshit statement let’s just have a look at some statistics
(proper ones, not bro-science).
In 2009 the AFL reported 37.6 knee injuries per club per year, Furthermore 13%
of the AIS netball team reported knee injuries in the same year. This number is
clearly unacceptable. The research of Hattin et al., (1989) looked
at fatigue in 50 repetition 30% 1RM squats and found sheering forces increased
with fatigue. Now ask yourself this; in what game play sport (such as netball
or football) would the player take more than 25 running paces? (50 reps=25
paces). I can’t think of any. While
these injuries may have a number of causes such as; a lack of S&C coaching
or misinformation spread through playing and coaching groups. The correct
prescription of the squat may be of assistance in the reduction of this number
of injuries.
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Hattin et al., (1989) also concluded the Leg press was terrible in every way!
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Think Squatting on an
unstable surface is going to accelerate your progress?
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| I call BULLSHIT |
A study by Cressey et al., (2007) concluded the
commercial fitness industries obsession with bosu balls to be complete shit. This
study compared muscular activity and force output in an isometric squat on
three unstable surfaces (Bosu ball, balance cone, power board) and on the
ground. Results showed that performing the squat on the ground resulted in much
greater force output and more muscle activation than all the unstable surfaces.
The quads were slightly more active and the biceps femoris was much more active
in the stable squat than in the unstable conditions. The calf muscles were
slightly more active when participants squatted on the Bosu ball than the other
unstable surfaces, likely because of the squishy surface of the Bosu compared
to the flat but unstable surfaces of the balance cone and power board.
Deep squats (past 45 degrees) are bad for the knees
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| Going to tell her deep squats are bad? |
Mark Rippetoe of Starting Strength fame wrote about
this, years ago; stopping a squat high does not allow for the hips and
hamstrings to do their thing. Thus creating MORE stress on the knee than
squatting to some kind of depth. Thank fuck Escamilla (2001) did a review of
ALL squat research undertaken from 1949-2000 and confirmed Rippetoes theories.
Furthermore; the research review found the average healthy knee can withstand
anywhere from 15-19 times an individual’s body weight. Last time I checked not
to many people out there squat 19 times their body weight!
Lifting Weights will slow me down
I remember a while back I was quietly training away at
some big box commercial shithole in the suburbs of little Adelaide town, when I
overheard a few bro’s talking about Joey-Boxing-Hero. You see; Joey the Hero
had recently Benched 200 and reported back to the Bro’s that he was punching
faster than he ever had! This statement flies in the face of every coach that
ever said “Too much weights, not enough Speed”. Khamoui et al., (2009) tested the effects of heavy squats
as a pre curser on the effect of vertical jump height, horizontal jump and one
hundred meter sprint times and concluded that performing squats under
escalating repetition maximum loadings up to and including one repetition at
ninety percent of an individual’s maximal loading can have a positive effect on
the individual’s vertical jump, horizontal jump, ground reaction forces and one
hundred meter sprint times.
The commercial fitness
industry has been desperate to replace the squat, simply because no one in that
field knows how to perform it, let alone coach the lift. As such; they
continue to peddle bullshit to the masses. The problem is confounded by Physios
and even government run websites still claiming squats are not required
(REFERENCE). In elite sport, a lot of teams and athletes are yet to see the
value of strength training and therefore it takes a back seat to other areas of
research and training. It is the misunderstandings of strength training that
leave athletes at risk of injury and weakness; not the training protocols them
self. There has been a lot of development in the health and fitness field, yet
despite countless attempts it seems we just cannot reengineer the wheel (or in
this case Squat!)
Reference;
Khamoui,
V. Edward, J. Lee, E. Brown, D.(2009) Postactivation
Potentiation and Athletic Performance. National strength and conditioning
association
Escamilla, RF.
Krzyzewski, MW (2001). Knee Biomechanics of the Dynamic Squat Exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33, 127–141.
Hattin,
H. C., M. R. Pierrynowski, K. A. Ball (1989). Effect of Load, Cadence, and
Fatigue On Tibio-Femoral Joint Force During a Halfsquat. Med. Sci. Sports
Exerc. 21:613– 618,
Cressey,
Eric M.; West, Chris A.; Tiberio, David P.; Kraemer, William J.; Maresh, Carl M
(2007) The Effects of Ten Weeks of
Lower-Body Unstable Surface Training on Markers of Athletic Performance The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
21(2)
