Squat (light resistance)

3-POINT SET-UP:

1. One foot on the front platform

2. Second foot on the carriage

3. Hips leveled and feet are between hip width distance apart

Body Part • Direction • Action Verb:

• PUSH the carriage away so that your feet are between shoulder and hip width distance and then HOLD THE CARRIAGE STILL.

• HINGE at your hips

• LOWER into a squat by BENDING at your knees

Range of Motion:

• Stop right before your knees align with your hips or just prior to 90 degrees

• Stop before knee fully locks out at top

• Focus on maintaining a slow, controlled, continuous, tempo (try avoid excessive pausing at top)

 Kinetic Checkpoints:

HEAD:

SAME AS PLANK

FEET:

❌ Put all of the weight into your heel

❌ Lift your toes towards the ceiling 

✅ Maintain an equal weight distribution in all three points of contact in your foot (the tripod: below the big toe, below the pinky toe, and in the heel)

✅ Keep the arch of your foot engaged and lifted  

KNEES:

❌ Driving your knee past your toes as you lower your hips

❌ Hyperextending your knee behind your ankle as you rise to the top of your squat

✅ Aim to keep your knee in alignment with your mid foot as you lower into a squat tracking right behind your second and third toe at the bottom.

HIPS:

❌ Excessively Tipping your pelvis forward prior to lowering into a squat

❌ Hinging from your hips to the point that your chest/shoulders are parallel to the floor

❌ Keeping torso fully upright and tucking hips under 

❌Tucking your hips under by going too low or squeezing your glutes at the top 

✅ Although you are moving from your pelvis, Keep your hips frozen in neutral position and level throughout the movement.

Talking Points:

• The distance between the platform and the carriage ultimately dictates the amount of external rotation necessary in your hips in order to produce a biomechanically sound squat. As the carriage moves farther away from the platform, more external rotation of hips is necessary in order to have your knees tracking properly in line with your second and third toe while lowering into a squat

• A squat in general is an excellent warm up exercise prior to going into some of the more intricate movements. 

• A favorite visual I like to use for clients is to have them imagine as if they have an exercise band on below their knees, and while maintaining all 3 points of contact with their feet, drive your knees away, keeping the imaginary exercise band tight. 

• If you see a lot of mid back (thoracic) extension, check the clients neck to make sure they are in proper alignment. Following this, you can check the pelvis to ensure a neutral position and a braced core throughout the range of motion.