“Keep your head up!”

“Send your butt down and back!”

“Keep your heels on the ground!”

“Squeeze your glutes & stand tall!”

We’ve all had a coach (or coaches!) correct us on our air squat.  If you are an athlete who has shrugged this advice off, thinking “it’s just an air squat, who cares?” listen up – your air squat form is SUPER important!  Not only is it a foundational movement for more complex exercises (front squat, back squat, overhead squat, med ball clean, wall balls, etc.), but it is also vital to the health of your knees, hips, and back.  Since Loco’s mission is to help you grow into a kick-ass 90-year old, we want to make sure that these areas are healthy and functioning to the best of your ability so you can live life to the fullest in your golden years!

Common faults like not squatting to depth (at parallel), rolling the knees, dropping the head and/or shoulders, having your heels come off the ground, and losing lumbar extension are usually signs of weakness elsewhere in the body.  For example, an athlete who rolls her knees while squatting may have weak adductors or abductors.  Correcting her form in this case would involve a therapy to strengthen these, while also providing verbal and tactile cues to assist in technique.

If you think you have squat issues (or what we refer to as an immature squat), it can be corrected with the guidance of a coach, practice, and a little bit of patience.  The cool thing?  There is a direct correlation between form and function, meaning that if you are able to improve your squat form you’ll be able to move heavier (weighted) loads more efficiently.  We don’t know about you, but we love lifting heavy while feeling like we’re working less.

Want to get back to basics and improve your squat form (and quite literally just about everything else in the meantime)?  Loco’s open gym/skill session offerings makes it a perfect time to do so!  Click here to get started!