March/April 2020 - 30

Perfect Form
Photo 15: Squat Front
Photo 16: Squat Side
Photo 17: Assisted Squat (preferably
performed with shoes off)
Photo 18: Goblet Squat Front
Photo 19: Goblet Squat Side
Photo 20: Front Squat (ideally
elbows should be higher)
Photo 21: Back Squat
concentric phase of the squat. This
can be due to many factors such as
muscle weakness and anatomy as
listed above. Dean Somerset has a
fantastic article on lateral hip shift
(see references) that dives into what
can be done to address it.
SQUAT PROGRESSIONS AND
REGRESSIONS
I am certainly not saying we deny
squat, which leads to excessive
lumbar flexion) has been noted as a
potential technique flaw as well, but
this topic remains controversial and
the research is limited, but potential
causes point to the anatomical
differences mentioned above. Lastly,
a lateral hip shift to one side is often
seen in athletes as they begin the
the athlete from squatting if any of
the flaws listed above are present,
but it is something we must address
and continually improve upon.
Otherwise we are doing a huge
disservice to our athletes. There are
several options that we can utilize
with our athletes to work around
movement issues until they are able
to perform squats correctly and
safely. I like athletes to get as low as
they can (with flawless mechanics) in
their squats, however I do program
28 | Training & Conditioning | March/April 2020
box squats and ½ squats in certain
situations. I don't think athletes
always need to go below parallel,
however, I do think it is something
they should be able to do. When I
first get a new athlete, I have them
squat and hold as low as they can
with a neutral spine and their heels
on the ground (photos 15 & 16). I
prefer shoes off for this so that I can
really see how the athlete moves into
the squat and how well they own the
position. If an athlete struggles in this
position, I will often have them hold
onto a squat rack and move as low
as they can (photo 17). This does a
great job at getting them to feel what
it is like to be in a good, low squat
position. This also allows them to
feel their weight evenly distributed
across their tripod foot without
having to worry about balancing.
An easy hack for athletes who lack
dorsiflexion ability is to simply place

March/April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2020

March/April 2020 - 1
March/April 2020 - 2
March/April 2020 - 3
March/April 2020 - 4
March/April 2020 - 5
March/April 2020 - 6
March/April 2020 - 7
March/April 2020 - 8
March/April 2020 - 9
March/April 2020 - 10
March/April 2020 - 11
March/April 2020 - 12
March/April 2020 - 13
March/April 2020 - 14
March/April 2020 - 15
March/April 2020 - 16
March/April 2020 - 17
March/April 2020 - 18
March/April 2020 - 19
March/April 2020 - 20
March/April 2020 - 21
March/April 2020 - 22
March/April 2020 - 23
March/April 2020 - 24
March/April 2020 - 25
March/April 2020 - 26
March/April 2020 - 27
March/April 2020 - 28
March/April 2020 - 29
March/April 2020 - 30
March/April 2020 - 31
March/April 2020 - 32
March/April 2020 - 33
March/April 2020 - 34
March/April 2020 - 35
March/April 2020 - 36
March/April 2020 - 37
March/April 2020 - 38
March/April 2020 - 39
March/April 2020 - 40
March/April 2020 - 41
March/April 2020 - 42
March/April 2020 - 43
March/April 2020 - 44
March/April 2020 - 45
March/April 2020 - 46
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-march-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/june-july-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-may-2024-purchasing-guide
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/2023-video-playbook
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/june-july
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/tc-april-may
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/june-july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/training-conditioning-video-playbook-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-may-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/june-july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/may-june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/march-april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/october-november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/august-september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/Training-and-Conditioning/may-june-2019
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com