How To Squat Deep 2 ~Improve The Knee Strength~

In How To Squat Deep 1 I've shared information on how to improve the ankle mobility to improve depth of the squat. In this article, you will find the exercises that can help strengthen the muscles that are responsible for knee function and strength.

Before sharing the exercises, lets talk about anatomy and function of the knees in squat. Function of the knees are very simple. Knees goes flexion as we descend and extension as we ascend from the squat. Although there shouldn't be too much loading on the knee, it does go through quite a range of flexion when you go deep squat.

There are three major muscles that we need to understand that are supporting the knee functioning throughout the squat movement. Those are quadriceps, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius. Quadriceps sits in front of the thighs and its actions are knee extension and hip flexion. Hamstrings sits behind our thighs and its actions are knee flexion and hip extension. So they have opposite responsibility. Gastrocnemius sits below the knee in behind the shin bone. It is also known as part of calf muscles. This may be surprise to many but gastrocnemius originate at bottom portion of femur or thigh bone, which means it does crossover the knee joints. Throughout the squat these muscles are working at the same time as you can see from their function.

When descending into squat, hamstring and gastrocnemius are the primary muscle for the knee flexion, which is supporting the descending speed of the squat. Hamstring consists of three muscles, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. If one has weak hamstring, controlling the descending will be difficult and may just fall on their hip. In other words, when the hamstring is strong the descending portion of the squat will be more under control and able to hold the weight at the bottom of the squat easier, which makes the transition to the ascending more smoothly.

When ascending from squat, quadriceps is the primary muscle for the knee extension, which will give support to get out from the bottom position of the squat. Quadriceps, as the name indicates, is consists of four muscles, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius. Strength of quadriceps will determine whether you can get out from the bottom position of the squat. For those who have difficulty getting up off the floor may have a weak quadriceps, especially vastus medialis, and end up raising the hip too high without hip extension and may require to use lower back to get back up from squat, which looks like good morning exercise. This probably is the biggest reason why majority of trainees and trainers avoid squatting because of not knowing how to properly use the quadriceps while squatting.

For ideal knee functioning for squat, those three muscles are required to be strong and flexible. Strong but tight muscles can limit the movement and may not provide an ideal power output. During descending phase of squat while hamstring and gastrocnemius are contracting to get the knee flexion, quadriceps are being stretched (especially the patella tendon) and getting ready to be used for knee extension during ascending phase. If the quadriceps are tight then knee flexion will be limited or require more effort to complete the movement. Same will go for ascending. If the hamstring is tight, quadriceps has to do more work to perform the knee extension.

Knee Preparation for Squat

As mentioned earlier, compared to ankle and hip, knee joint itself does not receive too much loading but more of stretch. Even during the ascend, glute extension is the the starter of the movement then comes quadriceps contraction as knee start to extend. So major focus of knee exercise to prepare for deep squat is can the knees be able to flex and able to extend properly.

Exercises that I will share is joint preparation routines that I have been using prior to my squat. Exercise selection is chosen by function of the knees, flexion and extension. I'm sure there are so many other exercises that are available but if you can get the concept and apply with your favorite exercises would be just perfect. Major focus is preparing the joints for the major work.

Exercise to Improve Knee Flexion

Knee flexion exercise that I typically use is step downs. Stand on top of the plate and step down with one leg remaining on the plate then bring the hanging leg back on top of the plate. Depending on your knee function and strength you may increase the height where you stand. When stepping down all you are doing is tapping the floor with your heel. If there is any tension or pain around the knee area, do not force to reach for the floor. Also performing this exercise in high intensity may impact on your squat performance. With said that, you will also need to get movement and blood flow into the knee area so perform about 15-20 reps on each legs for 2 sets.

Exercise to Improve Knee Extension

Knee extension exercise that I use before my squat is an elephant walk. This work both behind the knee and a lower back tightness. Placing the hands on plates and work on flexing and extending the knees. Once you get comfortable, you can remove the plate to give more stretch. Just like step downs, you don't want too much stretch for it may influence your squat performance not from looseness but from inflammation. Keep the movement comfortable enough for you and go for 2 sets of 15-20 reps on each legs.

Exercise to Improve Overall Knee Function

Third exercise is to work on both flexion and extension of the knees. Exercise is split squat. Split squat does have several variations. Commonly known split squat is vertical movement but the split squat I'm referring to is horizontal movement. Focus of this exercise is to drive the knee as far forward as you can. Initially, you may use steps or plates to raise the front leg to regress the exercise intensity. Then, you can decrease the height of the step or plate to improve the quality of the exercise. Just like other exercises, make sure there are no pain or tension while you are exercising. Perform 2 sets of 10-15 reps on each legs.

Knee can be vulnerable joint and I fully aware that people are scared of training their knees. However, knees can get stronger and can do wonders if you give it a chance to train it and squat is one of them. Even without deep squat but train your knees to become more mobile, you can go up and down stairs without any issues.

Kota Shimada