Back squats, why you probably shouldn't be doing them

The pursuit of improved health has become a minefield of misunderstandings. Public perception is that performing the exercise is the simple part, you just stick your head down and do it. It is thought that you can just read a few exercises in a magazine and join a gym, do the programme and then you'll get results.



Nope, without the correct direction, or a much better source of information followed up by detailed study, the exercise is technical and very easy to get wrong.

Take this example, have you ever heard that squats, particularly deep squats, are bad for your knees?

They might be, they might not; the truth is that it depends on the individual and how they perform the exercise.

The squat is not a dangerous exercise, poor mobility makes the squat seem dangerous.

There are no exercises I can think of which when performed with correct from by a person free from inhibitions, would cause injury.

So where did this squatting myth come from?

The truth is, unless you are under the age of 12, you train mobility or you are exceptionally lucky, you are very unlikely to be able to squat with correct form. This is because your body operates on a 'use it or lose it' basis. No flexibility training for a decade? You probably won't be able to squat. 

In order to perform this movement you need to have excellent mobility over your entire body, any weaknesses will be exposed by a squat. To see whether you have this ability here's the acid test.



Stand with your feet straight, shoulder width apart, holding a dowel above your head with straight arms. Sit down as low as you can so that your bum is as low as possible.

It is slightly more complicated than this but there are three things that must happen

• The dowel must be above your feet and your head
• Your spine must be roughly parallel with your shins
• Your heels must stay on the ground

As I said, most people can't do this. It is difficult.

So when most people can't do this, they make compensations to perform a movement similar to the squat. Bending the knees inwards or outwards, leaning excessively forwards from the hips, shifting onto their toes are all classic examples. But the majority of people who read magazines read that squats are the best exercise to build mass, to lose fat etc. and so they carry on regardless.

What do you think happens when you put your own body weight on your back and attempt a movement you can't do when un-weighted?

Bad news. but it happens all the time, and as long as these problems aren't addressed you will never have a good squat, neither in technique nor performance. Even worse than that every time you perform the squat with poor form you will make it harder to correct the compensations you have developed. 

I am not going to say that you shouldn't be doing squats. as that would be ludicrous. What I suggest is that you perform a regression of a squat until you are capable or the range of motion necessary.