0:00 This is Brent coming at you with a big strength training video, we're doing the 0:03 back loaded squat by request. Now I haven't done this video in the past, I 0:08 think part of it is just because in my thinking you guys already know how to do 0:13 a squat. The squat is a squat, the kinetic chain checkpoints for all of our lower 0:17 body exercise stay relatively the same. The back squat in particular has a very 0:22 narrow scope right. So if we're doing a back loaded squat other than possibly 0:28 introducing it in a stabilization phase, this is going to be a strength or max 0:33 strength exercise in that 1 to 12 rep range. I'm going to have my friend Yvette 0:37 come out, she's going to help me go through some of the finer points of a 0:42 back squat. But I think once we get turned around you guys are going to see that 0:45 this is an exercise you already have down, and you just needed to see it 0:49 applied. So first things first, where does that bar go right. We hear a lot of 0:54 questions about that, if you guys palpate you can feel a ridge just underneath 0:59 your your upper traps here, this is the spine of your scapula. The bar should sit 1:04 just above the spine of the scapula on the ridge that your upper traps create. 1:09 You don't want to have the bar way up high where it's putting a lot of 1:13 pressure on your your cervical thoracic junction, there's not a whole lot of 1:17 muscles here to try to stabilize a posterior to anterior force on the 1:22 cervical spine. We want that bar placed here so the friction of the skin, the 1:28 ridge that the spine of the scapula creates, and these large scapular 1:32 elevators can stabilize the amount of weights that it's going to be on Yvettes 1:36 back. Now Yvettes going to go ahead and get in position. Let me also make the 1:42 note here guys that's getting underneath the bar and stepping forward, this is not 1:48 ideal. The only reason I set this up like this is so you guys can see the squat 1:53 technique on camera. Ideally I would have Yvette take a step backwards, so that if she got 1:59 into trouble she could lean forward into the safety rack. She's going to go ahead 2:03 and get in the squat position, stand up, take a big step forward. Now another safety 2:08 principle, I want you guys to be able to see what the squat looks like, if I was 2:13 going to spot Yvette I would spot a Yvette from the back right. I want to be in good 2:18 position to have my hands underneath the bar if that's where she's comfortable. I 2:23 can also put my hands underneath her shoulders, and then I want to make sure 2:26 that i can get my hip, thrust into her backside, so that if she starts falling 2:32 forward or falling back I'm here to stabilize her. I have heard some nasty 2:39 stories of personal trainers getting themselves into trouble with with 2:43 clients falling over on this exercise, there really shouldn't be a reason for 2:46 that providing that you can get in this position and spot them. Now I know Yvette 2:53 is very very comfortable with this weight, she can actually do at least double this 2:57 weight, so I'm going to spin around to point out her form here. So first thing I want 3:05 you guys to notice, I've actually had to have Yvette bring her feet just a little 3:09 closer. You knowing your kinetic chain checkpoints; feet parallel hip to 3:15 shoulder width no wider, knees over feet, hips over knees, she has a neutral pelvis 3:23 and her head when she's up is facing up, other than that she has a nice neutral 3:29 spine. As she descends into a squat, go ahead descend into a squat here, 3:34 notice that all of this stuff stays nice and aligned, her head actually starts facing 3:39 down a few feet in front of her, as her spine comes down she wants to keep that 3:43 cervical spine neutral. So let's see another one of those because it should 3:48 all sound really familiar, it's the same kinetic chain checkpoints we keep going 3:52 over. I think the popularity of the powerlifting squat has actually 3:59 confounded what you guys already know. Now let's have Yvette go through another 4:04 one and notice what her range of motion is. Her range of motion is as far down as 4:12 she can control with optimal mechanics and no pain. I don't care how close your 4:19 butt is to the floor, I don't care for femurs are perpendicular to the floor. 4:23 None of that matters if it requires compensation for her to get down there. 4:28 She's actually doing a wonderful job of maintaining perfect alignment, if I know 4:32 that she has good alignment, I know that her like tension relationships are 4:36 optimal, I know that I'm getting the most out of her muscular system, as well as 4:41 putting the least amount of stress on her arthrokinematic system. Now the one 4:45 big cue I would give you guys to help increase the strength of this exercise, 4:49 which is a cue that i've found works really really well, so the prime mover of 4:54 this exercise should be the glutes, right in order to get the glutes firing when Yvette 5:00 gets to the bottom, i'm going to have 5:03 her squeeze her glutes and thrust her hips forward in order to get herself up. 5:07 So she's actually throughout thinking about thrusting her hips that way, which 5:12 is more or less the direction of force that your glutes imply or glutes 5:18 impose. How does that feel Yvette? Good. Now I'm going to have Yvette go ahead and 5:23 rack this back up. I'm going to help into this position as this is awkward. All right give 5:29 her a couple seconds breather. I'm going to have her turn around because there is 5:32 one thing that I want you guys to watch for, if you see this i would say that a 5:38 back-loaded squad is contraindicated, and so i'm going to have Yvette actually get 5:45 underneath the bar on the back-up. Take a step back good, she's going to get into 5:56 position. Now what I see in the gym a little bit which always gets me worried, 6:00 is what's called an asymmetrical weight shift. I know some of you guys know what 6:05 I'm talking about where somebody squats down, and I can't have a Yvette do this 6:10 because just to have her do it would be dangerous, but have you guys ever seen 6:13 where somebody does this thing towards the bottom, where they they get a little 6:17 wink sometimes what we call it where they actually shipped laterally. If you guys 6:23 see that that increases the load on the lumbar spine and lumbosacral joints a 6:29 whole lot, that is setting somebody a promo back pain. If I saw that I would go 6:34 back to my corrective exercise, take the back squat away from them. I know that 6:39 that might cause a little bit of an argument with your 6:42 patient, but I would take this this exercise away from home for a little 6:46 while, while I had a chance to correct this. 6:56 So just kind of reviewing guys I think you've always known how to do the back 6:59 squat.The back squat is the same as the front squat video we did, it's even kind 7:04 of the same as the lunge video we did, or the step up video. It's always the 7:08 same kinetic chain checkpoints, we're looking for optimal alignment. I have to 7:12 say I've been somewhat disappointed what I've seen especially on a fitness realm 7:16 recently. We made so many strides towards improving the quality of human movement, 7:21 this whole idea that it is as important to move better as it is to move more, and 7:29 somehow through the popularity of certain programs, and the popularity of 7:33 powerlifting which i'm not against, all of a sudden i'm starting to see that 7:36 super super wide knee turned out squat, this is nothing more than a compensation 7:44 pattern just as you would assess it during an overhead squat. Yes will this 7:48 feel better to somebody who has lower leg dysfunction, absolutely but why not 7:53 fix their lower leg dysfunction, stretch their calves, activate tibialis anterior. 7:58 There is going to be a price to pay for this, I can guarantee that this will 8:03 increase adductor Magnus tonicity, it's going to increase biceps femoris, it's 8:09 going to increase the stresses that are placed on your hips and lower back; and 8:13 over the course of time this is actually far more dangerous than 8:20 this is while fixing compensation. Now you might not be able to feel it now, but 8:27 over time these little things, these little form things start to add up. So 8:32 guys this is me giving you my view of the squat. I think you guys will be great 8:38 benefits from a squat, considering using it with inside of that small parameter 8:43 of strength and max strength train. If you want to work on multi-planar 8:51 movement, three dimensional movement as I've heard it's called, I don't know that 8:54 I would use a back squat for that exercise, and always always always 9:00 quality of movement first. It is not enough to have people move more if you 9:06 can also make them move better. I hope you guys get great results, talk to you 9:09 soon.
