Squat musculature –
The squat is a classic, multi-joint exercise that targets a variety of muscle groups throughout your body, emphasizing those that extend your hip and knee joints. There are many variations, but the most popular may be the back squat, which involves placing a barbell across your shoulders and upper back (below we discuss the Low bar and High bar alternatives), and squatting until your hips are in line with your knees. Learning the specific muscles and muscle groups that fire when you perform the squat will help you understanding the movement better and how to train and activate the right muscles.
Quadriceps (coloured red) : extend the knee and flex the hip
Hamstrings (coloured blue) : flex the knee and extend the hip
Glutes (coloured yellow) : extend and externally rotate the hip.
High bar Squat: You’ll see more knee translation so more Quad stretch and slightly more anterior chain dominance in regards to low bar.
Low bar: you’ll see more recruitment of posterior chain muscles: lumber spine, glutes and hamstrings.
Which back squat bar position do you prefer and why? book in for a FREE consultation to help perfect your squats…click here and fill in the trial box to book in. BOOK ME IN
