LOWER BODY MOVEMENTS

In our Strength Training System, most exercises that are being considered for a specific program will be placed into one of three general movement categories. Lower Body Movements involve the following movements: knee extension, hip extension, and plantar flexion. Lower Body Movements are those that will help increase strength in the lower back, quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus muscle group, hip extensors, flexors, adductors, abductors, and the muscles of the lower leg (calf and ankle). Bilateral Movements are prominent within the program, but we also utilize a lot of unilateral variations which are more sports specific and help reduce stress placed on the body during training.

BACK SQUAT EXERCISES

The Back Squat is a traditional exercise where an external load using a barbell is placed across the upper back while the athlete performs a squat. The depth of the squat may vary with each individual based on physiological traits such as limb length, hip structure, injury, etc. But it is preferred that the athlete squats as deep as possible while still maintain a neutral spine, which is typically top of the thigh parallel to the floor.

Body Weight Squats

Body Weight Squats are an excellent opportunity to learn and practice proper squatting technique.

• The movement begins from an athletic stance. Feet slightly wider than hip width. The width of stance can vary based on the ability of the athlete to maintain an upright posture into full squat depth.
• Feet should be pointed out slightly. It is important that your thigh, knee, lower leg and foot are all inline during the movement.
• Don’t let your knees come inward
• To begin, cross your arms across your chest with elbows high and facing forward.
• Maintain your head in a neutral, double chin position, looking slightly down.
• Slowly and under control, driving your hips back as you maintain a relatively upright posture. Take a deep breath and hold it during the decent.
• Once you achieve full squat depth, pause, then push your feet through the floor as hard as possible when squatting back to the starting position and exhale.
• Don’t bounce at the bottom of the movement
• Your chest should always come up first, before your hips. Not the other way around. This will always be your biggest challenge.
• Maintain thoracic pressure throughout the movement