Teaching the Squat: Assessment

Self Assessments:

While I could reformat all this information into a chart, why give yourself more work when someone else has already done it for you! Thanks NASM. 

Test 1: Overhead Squat 

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Set up:

Using your smart phone: set to video a few feet away from you on a level surface where you can see your whole body. I've used aerobic or plyometric boxes to prop up against my water bottle. 

What I Normally see:

Straight ahead:

Knees Caving In

Understanding what actually goes on during squats gives us clues as to what our clients really need. 1. Squatting is less about mobility and more about control. 2. It’s less about flexion/extension and more about rotation at the hip 3. Stretching anything other than the squat movement won’t help your squat. When an individual has issues performing a free standing squat, we assess via corrective movement charts. We start foam rolling and stretching every muscle it tells us to. While yes an asymmetrical shift at the bottom of a squat could be due to weak glutes and overactive adductors, it can also be due to an individual's lack of general stability. If this person while holding onto something can confidently drop straight down into a deep squat pattern, did they all of a sudden gain more hip and ankle mobility just by holding onto something? (The answer is no). Their mobility remained while increasing their stability. When a client exhibits minor issues such as some side shifting or falling forward with a hard back arch, I would first check if they have subpar core activation. If a client lacks internal rotation of a hip like in an asymmetrical shift: perform a set of side planks of opposite side of shift. If a client lacks external rotation of the hip like shifting forward with slight knee knocking: perform a set of prone planks.

A video posted by Gary Heshiki Fitness (@garyheshikifitness) on Dec 7, 2015 at 9:15pm PST

Knees caving in is almost always indicative of weak glutes but I would not rule out poor stability being a reason as well. With the knee valgus, you end up shifting as a result. If this happens, I'll have the individual repeat the motion with their arms on their hips. If it magically corrects, then we can being to assume that the issue is more of a stability issue. By bringing the arms down from the overhead position, you're more stable and therefore easier to control the body. I would also have them perform a deep squat pattern while holding onto something stable. This does two things:

1) Shows that they have the pre-requsite mobility to actually drop into to the position.

2) Narrows down the exact issue to the person lacking stability in the core and hips. 

We can proceed with an entry level glute strengthening program. 

Feet Turning Out

Many jobs require you to wear dress shoes or high heels. This places the calves and plantar muscles into a flexed position for hours on end. Releasing the tension in the calves takes some diligence but it will pay off in a more fluid squat and a more comfortable resting state for your feet. 

An individual may have poor ankle flexion. Easy way to check is by placing two 2.5lbs plates and squatting with your heels raised up onto the plates. If it corrects itself then we know that lack of ankle flexibility may be an issue, but of course it's not the only thing I would consider. As I mentioned above, if they can drop into a butt to calves type deep squat while holding onto a beam or squat rack, they obviously have the aforementioned ankle flexibility and it is predominantly a stabilization issue as well as some soft tissue restrictions. 

BONUS: I would also have someone who looks pretty good to perform a front raise plate loaded squat. With their core muscles activated, we can check to see if this is something that may need work. If they can get to parallel depth (hip crease parallel to the floor) then I would say this individual lacks proper core activation and strength. This person while getting a little deeper may still exhibit their upper body falling forward, or show a lack of thoracic extension. Which in today's population isn't out of the ordinary. 

When assessing the squat, we (fitness professionals) often are quick to throw out lazy "lack of ankle flexion" or "tight hips" as the diagnosis. This is simply not true no matter what a squat assessment chart says. (Though they can be partially the reason) Quick way to test and retest whether someone actually has the proper flexibility or simply lacks the stability to exhibit a proper pattern are plate squats. My client @kimnguyen_yu knocking out a set like a champ.💪🏼😎 she's made major strides! BTW: This concept of lack of stabilization causing poor squatting patterns also applies to the dreaded asymmetrical shift (when someone drifts more towards one side). If anyone's interested leave me a comment and I can elaborate further in another post!

A video posted by Gary Heshiki Fitness (@garyheshikifitness) on Dec 3, 2015 at 8:59pm PST

Side View

Falling Forward

Falling forward usually is the most common thing I see from the side. Whether it's their actual torso and/or also their arms falling. With the body folding up like an accordion, it demonstrates someone with tight hips,quads and lack of thoracic extension as well. Your goal is to have the arms mirror your back and shin angles.

Staying Upright But Only 1/4 Squat

This is another common pattern I see, before I correct the individual I will ask them to go deeper by "sitting back" to see what their body will try to do. They almost always will fall backwards or knock their knees together to compensate for very weak glutes and hamstring. 

Arms Falling Down

With people on their phones and computers all day, it's a very common pattern to see as well. This individual will have a rounded upper back, weak retractor muscles and also poor core stability. This individual typically lack adequate thoracic extension.

For a follow up, feel free to message me regarding specific situations and I can help with strategies for corrective programming.