Bending Knees Too Little During Squats is More Dangerous than Bending Knees Too Much
|
|
on 2/15/2009
| filed in: Exercise and Workouts
|
|
|
When squatting it's important not to bend your knees too much. We've all heard the rule of thumb that you shouldn't bend your knees farther than your toes. But what many don't hear is that bending your knees too little during squats is actually more likely to cause injury.
According to special Memphis University research, you are 30% higher risk of injury if your knees move past your toes when squatting. So obviously it's a bad idea to move your knees past your toes when squatting.
But what happens if you don't bend your knees enough?
If you don't bend you knees enough when squatting, you may find yourself bending at your hip and lower back more. This way you'll still feel like you're getting lower to the ground. Bending the wrong part of your body during squats is actually much more dangerous than bending your kness past your toes.
Bending the wrong way causes hip stress. When there is minimal movement of the knee, squatters tend to lean their body forward and strains the lower back big time.
Hip Stress is More Likely to Cause Injury During Squats
While moving your knees past your toes improves chance of injury by 30%, bending the wrong way makes you 1,000% more likely to injure yourself due to hip stress.
Advice for Squats
While you should focus on not bending your knees too much, it's even more important to maintain proper upper body positioning. As crazy as it sounds, your upper body positioning is more vital than you knee positioning. Squeeze your shoulder blades together when squatting. As you squat, keep your forearms 90 degrees to the floor.
 Ryan Mayberry
http://fitconnect.com/ryan
|
|
|
|
|
|