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Enjoy the recording from our Move Well Webinar where we covered and coached you through the proper form of squats and hip hinges.

Does the action of squatting especially when exercising bother your knees or back?

It is a common concern for many.  Some are even being told by their doctor to avoid squats.  While that sounds easy enough, it is nearly impossible to avoid squatting in your everyday life.  Squatting is required to sit.  This means, when you use the restroom, sit to eat, watch T.V. sit. your desk, drive, etc.

It seems that is a necessary activity so let's take a look at what might be going wrong during the squat that may be causing the discomfort.

If you caught our last installment we spoke about the importance of moving through the hip joint to alleviate pressure on the low back as seen in the top photo.  The model bends or rolls through the hip joint as she goes down into the squat.  This motion helps the model use the large muscle of the glute to stand back up versus the muscles of the back or around the knees.

In the bottom photo, the model is not bending through...

Squats.  You may love or hate them when it comes to exercise but, the movement is a basic movement of life. In and out of a chair is a squat.  On and off a toilet is a squat.

Even a basic movement of a squat can cause many to have back or knee discomfort.  Often we hear clients are advised by well-meaning health professionals to avoid squats.  As you can see that is almost impossible if you understand the fundamentals of movement.

Let's take a look at some less-than-optimal ways to squat and why.

Not unlike Goldilocks finding the right bed to sleep in, there is an optimal and less than optimal way to squat for the overall comfort and health of your spine and other joints.

If you look at the overall posture and alignment in the last picture you can see the model easily sitting down in a chair.  No, falling into a chair or couch is not ok.

Now let's talk a little about the IMS Magic ie., the principles of alignment, breathing, and control when you squat....