The Health Benefits of Squats

WASHINGTON — Have you ever noticed your baby or toddler sitting in a deep squat while they play? Do you struggle to get on the floor with them? Babies, much like early humans, have a natural ability to squat. We often feel stiff and tight as we age, and while there is some natural change, there is a lot we can do to preserve our mobility. 

Regular resistance training is one of the best ways to preserve mobility, increase strength and combat the aches and pains of aging. This week, we will focus on a simple and powerful resistance exercise: the squat. 

Breaking Down the Squat

The squat is an essential and functional movement pattern we perform throughout the day during activities of daily living. Any time you sit down and stand back up, you’re doing a squat. You also use the squat pattern in sports and athletic activities.

In terms of exercise, fitness professionals describe the squat with the following terms:

• Lower Body.
• Knee-Dominant: Although this term is sometimes controversial, the knees are typically the joints that work the most in the squat.
• Bilateral: Both feet are on the ground in a squat — although you can also do them unilaterally (with one foot on the ground).
• Multi-Joint: The ankles, knees, and hips all flex and extend during a squat. In contrast, a leg curl on a machine at the gym is a single-joint (knees only) exercise.
• Compound Movement: Multiple muscle groups work simultaneously during a squat.

Multi-joint and compound exercises tend to be more “functional” and carry over to everyday life; we often use multiple muscle groups and joints to perform daily tasks rather than isolated movements.

Which Muscles Work in a Squat?

The squat is a major exercise for your lower body — specifically, the muscles that aid in flexing and extending your hips and knees. Squats also work your core muscles as you work to keep your torso upright. 

• Quadriceps.
• Hip Flexors.
• Glutes.
• Hamstrings.
• Adductors.
• Calves.
• Core Muscles.

The Health Benefits of Squats

Squats are simple but valuable — here’s why.

• Strengthening and Building Lower Body Muscles: Since squats are compound movements, you can simultaneously strengthen and build muscle in multiple areas. When you need a short and efficient workout, squats save you time.

• Improving Activities of Daily Life:
  • Getting in and out of chairs, toilets, bathtubs and cars.
  • Getting on and off the floor to be with your pets or children.
  • Maintaining independence for older adults.

• Preventing Injury: The more you do squats outside your regular activities, the less likely you may be to get injured in daily life.

• Recovering From Injury: Squats are one of the most common exercises in physical therapy as you recover from any lower body injury or surgery. The more strength you have in squats beforehand, the easier your recovery may be.

• Improving Sports Performance:
  • Building strength and power in squats translates to lower-body dominant sports like soccer or basketball.
  • Many people get injured while running (or jogging). Strengthening your glutes and quads through squats may help prevent running injuries, as your joints (knees and ankles) can take on too much force without strong muscles.

Types of Squats

“I can’t do squats; they hurt my knees.” Have you said this? You’re not alone. Of course, each individual is different, and you should always consult with your doctor or physical therapist. However, in many cases, barring any other medical conditions, doing squats correctly to strengthen your muscles may help stop the pain.

Working with a physical therapist or personal trainer can help you identify the best type of squat for your anatomy and help you get stronger and pain-free. 

There are many ways to modify a squat:

• Stance: The distance between your feet is your squat stance, often measured in comparison to your shoulder width: narrow (closer together than your shoulders), medium (about the same as shoulder width), or wide (up to twice as wide as your shoulders). Research suggests the following:
  • A narrow or medium stance may help prevent knee valgus (knees caving in).
  • A medium or wider stance recruits more muscle activity from your glutes and adductors (inner thighs).

• Foot Rotation: When you squat, you can keep your feet neutral (pointing forward) or slightly rotated out. An outward foot rotation may help reduce knee valgus.

• Torso Angle:
  • Keeping your trunk upright as you squat increases how much your knees bend and is more work on your quads.
  • Leaning slightly forward bends your hips more than your knees.

• Tibia Position:
  • Similar to your torso, keeping your tibia more upright decreases how much you bend your knees. Letting the tibia come forward increases knee bending.

• Depth: You can measure squat depth as shallow (a partial bend in the knees), medium (until your thighs are parallel to the floor), and deep (squatting past parallel).
  • The deeper the squat, the more the hip flexors work. Squatting as deep as possible without engaging your hip flexors can put too much stress on your lower back.

Here are other ways to modify or vary a squat:

• Box Squat: This exercise is helpful for beginners. Squat until you touch a chair or gym box, then stand back up.
• Unilateral (One-Legged) Squats:
  • Pistol squats. 
  • Shrimp squats.
• Advanced Bodyweight Squats: Make squats more challenging without adding weight:
  • Jump squat.
  • Box jump.
• Loaded Squats: You can add weight to a squat with a kettlebell, dumbbell, barbell, resistance band, or cable machine. You may put the weight in front of you (goblet squat or front squat) or behind you (back squat). The location of the weight will affect the position of your torso and the amount of work your core muscles do.

Sit Down, Stand Up

The squat is a simple, powerful movement that can improve sports performance, prevent injury, and help you stay independent and pain-free as you move throughout your life. Don’t miss out on getting on the floor with your kids or pets.

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