The science behind squatting. Squatting like all exercises has different forms and variations like front squat, back squat, high bar, low bar, and many more, but what’s the science behind how to properly squat, and get full benefits from it without getting hurt?

The Squat is an exercise that works the muscles in your legs. When most people think of squat they thing about their quads, but the squat is an exercise that is a full body exercise. The main muscles you work are the quads, but secondary muscles like you adductors, abductors, glutes, and many others are thrown in the mix too.

There are a few steps to start a squat. First you want you to walk up to the bar and have your feet a little more than shoulder width apart. You want to grab the bar and make sure your hands are even, and place the bar right above your traps. Once set lift the weight up keeping your core tight, squat down keeping your knees lined up with your toes and go down below parole.

There are two parts to a muscle contraction, you have your acentric and eccentric. Controlling the weight while going down in the squatting causes your muscle to have an eccentric contraction. The eccentric contraction will turn into an acentric contraction on your way top to the top of the squat. When developing muscles, the eccentric contraction is just as important as the acentric contraction, so go down controlled. That is the basic science behind a squat.