Take 15 minutes to work to a heavy single back squat
Then, 4 rounds for time:
400m Run
10 back squat @ 70% of today’s heavy single
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NO MATTER HOW MUCH MOBILITY I DO, MY SQUAT ISN’T RIGHT!! – Anna Mattson
You do your due diligence, spend a good amount of time mobilizing everyday AND have a standing desk but your toes still flare out when you squat or your chest still dives forward….. WHAT’S GOING ON?? This is a very frustrating situation. One thing you need to consider above and beyond your mobility is your anatomy. Perhaps your hip socket is shaped so you HAVE to bow out your toes to get full depth, but how do you know? This article from The Movement Fix shows us the different hip sockets and how to test to see if you fall into that category. You can see the full article here
The Best Kept Secret: Why People HAVE to Squat Differently
There is absolutely no one size fits all squat position. If you don’t believe me, you are in for a treat. This article will help show you why athlete comfort should dictate squat width, why some people’s (not EVERYONE) feet point out (no matter how much “mobility” work they do), why some people have a really hard time squatting deep, and why some people are amazing at pistols while others can’t do them at all.
Basic Anatomy
The hip joint is basically made up of a “socket” on the pelvis (called the acetabulum) and a “ball” at the top of your thigh bone (femur), which we call the femoral head. Around the hip joint are a lot of muscles, a joint capsule, and connective tissue. There are many other anatomical considerations when considering a squat, but let’s focus on the hip.
Anatomical Variations
When someone has difficulty squatting, or their feet turn out, or they like a wide stance, we all want to jump on the bandwagon and say “your hips are tight, you need to mobilize them”. If we say that without considering anatomical variations of the hip joint, we can be misled.
Let’s take a look at this first picture. Here we have two femurs from two different people. One points more upwards, the other points more downwards. Do you think these people will squat the same when they have that much bony difference?
Again we see the difference in how much of the hip socket we can see. There is no way these two people will squat the same. The bony anatomy literally won’t let them.
How will you know if you have “special” hip anatomy without an x-ray or becoming a test cadavor?
Conclusion
Athlete’s won’t squat the same, and they SHOULDN’T! I hope I shed some light on the WHY. Athlete comfort will dictate the stance that puts their hip in a better bony position. There are narrow squatters and there are wide squatters. That may have nothing to do with tight muscles or “tight” joint capsules and have more to do with bony hip anatomy.
Very few people are at the end range of their hip motion, so hip mobility drills are definitely a good idea.
VERVE UPDATES:
-Tomorrow we are doing Everyday Warrior Workout #1 in class. If you haven’t had a chance to sign up already, grab you same-sex buddy and go to this link
