Squat Lecture

Today's Workouts

AM - Endurance
1 mile warmup
8x200m with rest until recovery (mine ended up being about twice the running time. Should have done 2 minutes though.)

Times:
37, 35, 39, 38, 39, 43, 43, 43

Last 3 intervals were hard to do.

PM-Strength
Warm up with 500m row

Back Squat
45/5, 95/5, 120/3, 135/4 (form went really bad on 4th rep), 125/5, 125/5

Not ready for 3 sets of 5 at 135. I will be there soon.

Ring Dips
2/2/2/2/2
No assistance. I did kip the dip a little though.

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Squat Lecture

I have been reading and rereading Mark Rippetoe's book "Starting Strength" because I want to get stronger. Here is a summary of what one of the best strength trainers in the world says about the squat.

1. Our bodies are designed to squat. When done correctly it is one of the best whole body exercises that one can do. It is definitely a leg workout out with added benefits of the core strength that one gains from balancing the load on your back, in the front, and overhead.

2. Depth is crucial. Then done correctly and in the full range of motion a squat will strengthen your knees contrary to the belief of some. A squat that is not deep, with hips dropping below your knee, is a partial squat. Partial squats put a lot of stress on your knee and the quadriceps. A partial squat never activates the glutes, adductors, and hamstrings. These muscles are only activated when one reaches the deep squat position. The partial squat will create a shearing force on the knee because the hamstrings are not being activated to balance out the pull of the quadriceps. By reaching the correct depth on a squat one is activating muscles on both sides of the leg and they share the work in the movement.

3. Load is important. Heavy loads can be moved with partial squats because you are basically not moving the weight as far. This will lead to back related injuries. "If it is too heavy to squat below parallel, it's too heavy to have on your back."