S Q U A T   H I N G E

A squat hinge occurs when instead of squatting down by simultaneously bending at the knees, hips, and ankles to lower the body, a person will do most of the bending at the hips and ultimately lower the chest until it is in-line or below the waistline. The primary areas of the kinetic chain that are effected by this movement deviation are the thoracic spine, lumbar spine, hip joints, knee joints, and ankle joints. Our legs can support and carry much more weight than out backs alone can, and by leaning forward we are placing excess stress on the mid-to-lower back.

“If the hips don’t move as well as they should, where will that motion come from? The next link in the kinetic chain is the spine, and yes, it usually compensates for poor hip mobility and control until pain and injury occurs.” (Swinscoe, 2016)

Mobility exercise: Deep squat

While holding on to something stationary in front of you, squat down and actively “sit” in this position for about 30 seconds. Work on deepening the squat and loosening up the muscles by moving side to side and pressing thighs outward. Make sure chest is up and back is neutral avoiding any excess rounding of the spine. You can hold onto the two sides of the racks (as pictured above), as well as holding on to a single bar or TRX bands.

Stability exercise: Goblet squats

1. Hold an upside-down kettlebell with palms facing the sky and fingers pointed out laterally
2. Place feet to face forward and stand shoulder-width (or slightly wider) apart in active-ready position
3. Simultaneously bend at the hips, knees and ankles until the thighs are at least 90 degrees to the torso and then stand back up

The kettlebell is great to practice with as opposed to weight loaded onto the back because you are forced to keep the chest up without slouching forward. To make this more challenging, work on keeping the toes pointed strait forward and narrowing the stance.