Running Head: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SQUAT 1

An Analysis of the Squat

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 Running Head: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SQUAT 2

An Analysis of the Squat

The squat is an often performed exercise in strength training and conditioning. Squats

are especially powerful for building lower body strength by working the quadriceps,

hamstrings, gluteus maximus, and gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in the calves. Squats

also help in developing core strength through the isometric working of abdominal muscles,

erector spinae, trapezius and rhomboids. The squat is performed by holding a barbell behind

the head on the shoulders and upper back with a hands-facing-the-front grip, then bending the

knees and hips to lower the torso. The participant may squat to different depths as desired or

as the range of motion allows for the participant. The movement is then reversed to get back

to the original position, and the process is repeated for as many repetitions as are desired

(Scotten, 2010).

The squat is primarily a movement in the sagittal plane as it involves flexion and

extension movements. The joints involved in the squatting movement are the hips, knees and

ankles. The shoulder joint, shoulder girdle, radioulnar joint, wrist and fingers are involved

isometrically. To lower into the squat, the hips and knees are flexed and the ankles

dorsiflexed. To get back to the starting position, the hips and knees are extended and the

ankles plantar flexed. There are movements in other planes during the squat. When the toes

point out during the squat, the thighs move laterally in the frontal plane, abduction during

lowering and adduction during standing up. The thighs also rotate during the squat, a

movement in the horizontal plane. Holding a barbell in the starting position makes the elbows

flexed, with the upper arms extending slightly backwards. Isometric movements include: the

shoulder joint undergoes abduction and outward rotation in the horizontal plane; the

radioulnar joint undergoes pronation; the wrist extension; and the fingers flexion (Knudson,

2007).
 Running Head: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SQUAT 3

The squat is a functional movement that most people use in their daily lives for

purposes such as lifting objects off the floor, resting and children squat a lot during play.

Squatting with a barbell is frequently used by average gym-goers bodybuilders, powerlifters,

strongmen, soccer players, sprinters, swimmers, and other athletes. The squat is said to be the

best exercise to build lower body strength and to pack muscles in the buttocks, thighs and

calves. It helps improve functional movements such as vertical jumps, flip turning for

swimmers, defensive stance in basketball and exploding off the line in football. It also

increases power output and neuromuscular efficiency. The squat is also quite effective for

rehabilitation of anterior cruciate ligament injuries (Knudson, 2007).

The muscles involved in the squat are activated differently during each phase of the

movement. The agonists during the squat are the quadriceps, the gluteus maximus. The

hamstrings act as synergists, helping create the movement and also stabilise it. The

antagonists are the hip flexors including iliopsoas, rectus femoris and Sartorius. In the

lowering phase, the muscles work to control the body as it is pulled down by gravity into the

squatting position. The gluteus maximus, semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps

femoris, collectively the hip extensors, lengthen to produce an eccentric contraction that

controls the speed of descent of the hips. The rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus

intermedias and vastus lateralis, collectively the knee extensors, lengthen in eccentric

contraction to control the bending of the knees. The gastrocnemius and soleus, the plantar

flexor muscles, also undergo eccentric contraction to control the speed of the body on its

descent to the floor (Knudson, 2007).

In the standing phase, the same muscles used in the lowering phase are activated.

These muscles shorten during contraction, undergoing concentric contraction. The gluteus
 Running Head: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SQUAT 4

maximus, semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris, collectively the hip

extensors, shorten in concentric contraction to work against gravity in bringing the trunk into

a standing position. The rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius and vastus

lateralis, collectively the knee extensors, undergo concentric contraction to straighten the

knee joints. The gastrocnemius and soleus, the plantar flexor muscles, undergo concentric

contraction pushing against the floor, aiding the body in attaining an upright position.

Biomechanical analysis of the squat involves a study of the torque developed for the

entire range of motion. The torque is directly proportional to the horizontal distance moved

by the barbell from the joints, the moment arm. The moment arm is different for each joint

involved in the squat. The levers involved in the analysis of the squat are the shank, the femur

and the back. The proximal shank lever spans from the point where the barbells weight

vector crosses the shank to the knee joint. The distal shank lever spans from the point where

the barbells weight vector crosses the shank to the ankle joint The proximal femur lever

spans from the point where the barbells weight vector crosses the femur to the

femoroacetabular joint. The distal femur lever spans from the point where the barbells

weight vector crosses the femur to the knee. The back lever spans between the shoulder and

the lumbar vertebrae. The hinges are the hip and knee joints, and the angles formed between

the levers are used in the analysis (Schoenfeld, 2010).

The participant is standing in a straight vertical line with the barbell on the shoulders

at the top of the squat. The weight of the barbell is acting on the participant in a vertical line.

The levers are all vertical, and at angle zero to the force of gravity due to the weight of the

barbell, hence there is zero torque at the joints. The entire kinetic chain is said to be in

compression. The knee and hip angles begin to decrease during the descent phase of the

squat. The angles formed create moment arms along the three levers. The force created
 Running Head: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SQUAT 5

around this angles resist the torque of the barbell in proportion to their respective moment

arms (Schoenfeld, 2010).

At the lowest point of the squat, all the angles have closed further. The hips are

extended backwards, and the hip and back angle have reduced to balance the load over the

centre of the foot. The points of rotation, the joints, are horizontally displaced about the line

of action of the barbell's weight. The horizontal displacements from each of the points of the

rotation to the line of action are the moment arms. The force transmitted to each joint is

proportional to the respective moment arms. Acting at the hip joint is the torque due to the

back lever and the torque due to the proximal femur lever. Acting at the knee joint is the

torque due to the distal femur lever and the torque due to the proximal shank lever. The

torque experienced at the ankle is due to the distal shank lever. When the squat is performed

correctly with a full range of motion, the largest torque is experienced at the hip (Schoenfeld,

2010).

Standing back up to the starting position involves generating enough torque to

overcome the torque generated at each point of rotation by the barbell. The torque generated

at each joint is proportional to the length of the moment arms acting at the respective joint.

The largest distribution of the torque is on the hip. Variations on performing the squat change

length of the moment arms, changing the distribution of torque to be overcome at each joint

(Schoenfeld, 2010).

The squat should be done with proper form and technique to get the maximum

benefits and to avoid injuries. The squat should be performed with the head pulled back,

chest raised and a slight arch in the lower back looking straight forward. The feet should be

placed shoulder-width apart with the toes pointing outwards at a 45-degree angle. During the

descent, the abs are contracted, and the knees kept in line with the feet. The participant
 Running Head: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SQUAT 6

should aim to descend until the thighs are parallel to the floor by bending slightly at the hips

and not the spine. Once the participant gets to the bottom position, they should do a hip

extension immediately to get back up (Knudson, 2007).

The squat is a very effective exercise for lower body strength and muscle gain. The

participant should practice on proper form and technique in order to get maximum benefits

for the exercise. This is easily done by starting with just the bar of the barbell and working up

from that. The weight used should allow the participant to perform 20 repetitions of the squat

while observing proper form. When this gets too easy, more weight is added progressively

(Schoenfeld, 2010).
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References

Knudson, D. (2007). Fundamentals of biomechanics (1st ed., pp. 51,63,238). New York, NY:

Springer.

Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010). Squatting kinematics and kinetics and their application to exercise

performance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(12), 3497-3506.

Scotten, C. M. (2010). Differences in muscle activation in the lower extremities while

performing traditional squats and non-traditional squats. Boise State University.