If you haven’t guessed it already, squats are an important exercise for athleticism.
Athletes have every reason in the world to squat:
- They strengthen all of the muscles of the lower body in a balanced manner.This makes squats one of the most effective and efficient exercises to do.
- They also increase an athlete’s power. Lower body power is necessary for all sports (think – sprinting, jumping, throwing, etc.). Strength widens the base that an athlete gets their power from.
- Squats keep an athlete’s joints healthy. Anything that strengthens a muscle also strengthens the associated joint. And stronger joints means less injuries. Less injuries means more time on the field or the court.
Including squats in an athlete’s training program is not only beneficial, it’s practically necessary.
Athletes who are serious about reaching their true potential should already do them in training.
If you aren’t sure how to perform a squat, here’s what you do:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, or even wider.
- Point your feet out (think, 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock).
- Sit your butt down and back.
- Keep your weight on your heels (tip: if you can wiggle your toes, your weight is on your heels), and keep your knees in line with your feet (most likely, you will have to push them away from each other).
- Stand back up by pushing through your heels.
Troubleshooting:
- Rolling onto your toes? Try sitting your butt back more.
- Is your chest falling or butt tucking under you? Arch your back and lift your chest up even harder.
- Knees wobbling? Shove them out and keep them out the whole time.
- Still failing to fix any of the other points, or struggling to go deep enough? Stretch your calves and Achilles’ tendons – sometimes tightness can prevent you from squatting properly.
Performing a squat using these steps ensures that you’ll be doing them safely and effectively. If you haven’t been squatting, now you can finally get started.
A properly designed training program, that has the right exercises, is critical for athletes.
At GameChanger, our training programs include the most effective exercises for increasing athleticism, strength, and power.
Interested in improving your child’s athletic performance?
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