# Kinesiological Analysis of Squat



## nmuriqi (Nov 29, 2005)

Guys and gals, i've got a paper due in 2 weeks for my kinesiology class.  I'm analyzing the barbell squat.  What i have to do is describe the movement in phases (eg: start phase, down phase, up phase).  I also have to describe the muscle contractions in each of the phases (the major muscles being used), and i have to identify the major joint actions along with the types of movement (eg: whether its a closed or open movement, abduction, flexion, etc...), and the plane in which it takes place.  I was wondering if anyone could give me some input, or if anyone has any good articles on this.  I need to fill up 4/5 pages, so anything would be appreciated.  Thanks


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## Dale Mabry (Nov 29, 2005)

You should be able to get 4-5 pages easy.  It is a sagittal plane movement with the start being an isometric hold, down is eccentric hip/knee/ankle flexion, and up is concentric hip/knee/ankle extension.  Of course there is isometric upper body stabilization throughout. If you run short of space, I s'pose you could do the racking and unracking of the weight, but I don't think that would be necessary with all the aforementioned stuff as well as stabilization of the legs/upper body.


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## zapedy (Nov 30, 2005)

http://www.cheathouse.com/essay/essay_view.php?p_essay_id=10015
if ur willin to splash the cash a bit...


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## CowPimp (Nov 30, 2005)

zapedy said:
			
		

> http://www.cheathouse.com/essay/essay_view.php?p_essay_id=10015
> if ur willin to splash the cash a bit...



I wouldn't trust it.  He made in mistake in the first 5 sentence sample provided.  He said you take a supinated grip on the bar.  Pronted my friend, pronated...


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## Dale Mabry (Nov 30, 2005)

I would give that cheat a D at best provided the rest of the sample is spot on.  The guy makes like 3 spelling/grammatcial errors, not to mention it is too vague to even remotely approximate 5 pages.  Plus, it is not in depth enough for a kinesiolgy class.  It might be good for a trainer certification, but I would prolly fail the student if the paper continues as it does throughout.  Plus, as Cow Pimp said, it is wrong in a couple of places.  On top of what Pimp mention, I would probably state you go into lordosis and maintain it rather than "arch your  back".  Plus, the high bar squat is as valid as the low bar position depending on your needs and what musculature you are looking to target.  I don't know what "Keeping your toes over your knees at all times" means, I am assuming it means in line with your your toes but if you give that statement to a college kinesiology professor they will tear it apart.


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## zapedy (Nov 30, 2005)

i didnt actualy read it - but there's loads of example essays out there, makes coursework kinda pointless i think...


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## P-funk (Nov 30, 2005)

talk about inertia and what happens were (dynamic, static etc..)

talk about levers and the difference between a high bar and low bar squat and how that changes the force arm etc....

talk about torque and how ROM changes between deep squats and quarter squats.

lots of things to talk about with the squat.  You picked the right exercise.  The only exercise that might have been better would have been either the snatch or the clean and jerk.  You could have maybe gotten 10-20 pages out of those two..lol


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## CowPimp (Nov 30, 2005)

You may also consider talking about the force imposed on your lumbar spine and how that can be altered using the valsalva (I think that's the name...) manuver, which is basically holding your breath, to increase intra abdominal pressure.  As well, talk about the difference in forces imposed on the spine during lower back rounding relative to keeping a neutral spine.  I'll whip out my Zatsiorsky stuff and see if I can locate the information for you.


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## nmuriqi (Dec 1, 2005)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> I wouldn't trust it.  He made in mistake in the first 5 sentence sample provided.  He said you take a supinated grip on the bar.  Pronted my friend, pronated...



Of course it's pronated...i came along one of these sites a couple of days ago.  I wouldn't pay for something that i could write in a couple of hours.


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## nmuriqi (Dec 1, 2005)

Pimp - that would be great if you could do that....Funk and Dale - i appreciate the input.  I was wondering if anyone can list the muscles that are being used in the up phase and the down phase of the movement?  Specifically in the hip and leg region, i'm not gonna go into much detail on the isometric contractions of the upper body.


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## CowPimp (Dec 1, 2005)

nmuriqi said:
			
		

> Pimp - that would be great if you could do that....Funk and Dale - i appreciate the input.  I was wondering if anyone can list the muscles that are being used in the up phase and the down phase of the movement?  Specifically in the hip and leg region, i'm not gonna go into much detail on the isometric contractions of the upper body.



Just looked up all the muscles involved in hip extension, knee extension, and spinal extension.  In terms of isometric contractions, if you do decide to include those, you could mention the muscles involved in hip abduction, scapular retraction, spinal extension, spinal flexion, and lateral spinal flexion.  There are probably others, but that should give you something to get started with.


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## P-funk (Dec 1, 2005)

concentric-

at the hip:

hip extensors:
hamstrings (semimembrinosis, semitendinosis, biceps femoris)
gluteus maximus

at the knee
knee extensors- rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedialis

at the ankle:
plantar flexors- soleus; gastrocnemius


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## nmuriqi (Dec 6, 2005)

anyone have any good scientific articles they can direct me to?  I'm running out of good sources.  Please dudes, its crunch time for me, i gotta get a good grade on this.  I'm goin nuts....k don't panic - WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR COMPOSURE!!!!!!!! - crap, that's the coffee talking again!


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## P-funk (Dec 6, 2005)

go to pubmed.com and type in "squat form" or "squat" or " analysis of squat" and you will get tons of info.


do you go to queens college?


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## nmuriqi (Dec 6, 2005)

And how would i describe the action of the hamstring muscles and the dorsi flexion muscles during the down phase? - are they used at all?


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## nmuriqi (Dec 6, 2005)

yeah, i'm at queens college.  How the hell did you guess that?


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## P-funk (Dec 6, 2005)

nmuriqi said:
			
		

> yeah, i'm at queens college.  How the hell did you guess that?




Cause you have queens NY below your avi.

One of my friends is getting his masters in exercise science there.


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## P-funk (Dec 6, 2005)

nmuriqi said:
			
		

> And how would i describe the action of the hamstring muscles and the dorsi flexion muscles during the down phase? - are they used at all?




During the down phase the hamstring at the hip is performing an eccentric as it is going into a stretched position.  At the knee it is slacking so it isn't being used there since gravity is moving your down and you are not knee curling yourself down, same goes for the gastroc at knee.


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## CowPimp (Dec 6, 2005)

By the way, check out my post on "Training What You Don't See" or "Can't See" or some crap.  I posted the information I was talking about from the Zatsiorsky book I have.


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## nmuriqi (Dec 7, 2005)

how is it that the squat can improve your overall strength?


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## CowPimp (Dec 7, 2005)

nmuriqi said:
			
		

> how is it that the squat can improve your overall strength?



It strengthens core musculature, which allows better transfer of force among extremities and increased ability to stabilize your body.  This aids in everything from carrying unbalanced and akward objects to lifting things over your head.

Strengthening your legs allows you to more effectively add power and force to things you do with your upper body.  An example is throwing a punch.  You hit much harder if you use your legs to generate the movement.  Another is example is stepping forward while throwing a ball.


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## nmuriqi (Dec 7, 2005)

i'm having trouble figuring out which muscles are being used during the down phase with respect to eccentric contraction of the muscles during flexion of the hip and knee.  Which muscles eccentrically contract exactly?


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## zapedy (Dec 7, 2005)

do they not teach u very well at ur college/uni??


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## nmuriqi (Dec 7, 2005)

zapedy said:
			
		

> do they not teach u very well at ur college/uni??



No actually they teach very well at my college.  It's just that i pay attention very poorly... In this class particularly, the professor actually has a very heavy asian accent.  It's hard to understand him at times, and he has trouble understanding most questions.  All my knowledge basically comes from the book.


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## CowPimp (Dec 7, 2005)

All the muscles during the eccentric phase of the lift should pretty much be the same as the ones used during the concentric phase.  The only difference is that they are lengthening while generating force as opposed to shortening or remaining the same length.

Although knee and hip flexion occur during the eccentric portion of the movement, they are not intiated by your muscles.  They are initiated by the downward force of gravity pulling on your body and the weight on your shoulders.  Otherwise, you would just accelerate your ass into the ground even faster than the weight would push you without your interaction.

Instead, you are resisting this by pushing upward (knee and hip extension).  So, the muscles involved in knee extension (Quadriceps) and hip extension (Glutes and hamstrings) are being activated.  As I said before, the only difference here is that they are lengthening while they generate force (Eccentric) as opposed to shortening (Concentric).


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## shiznit2169 (Dec 7, 2005)

Cowpimp, may i ask you how you and pfunk are so knowledgeable about weight training? Did you guys go through a lot of schooling and receive advanced education or did you basically just study a lot of books over the years?

I'm just curious


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## CowPimp (Dec 8, 2005)

shiznit2169 said:
			
		

> Cowpimp, may i ask you how you and pfunk are so knowledgeable about weight training? Did you guys go through a lot of schooling and receive advanced education or did you basically just study a lot of books over the years?
> 
> I'm just curious




Although I don't consider myself that knowledgeable really, I pretty much have just read a lot of articles and a few books on the subject.  I often look things up when I have a question for myself or someone else has a question I don't know the answer to.


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## nmuriqi (Dec 21, 2005)

Just wanted to thank you guys for your input.  I got a 96 on the paper.  You dudes rock!


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## P-funk (Dec 21, 2005)

way to go man!


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## nmuriqi (Dec 21, 2005)

Dr. P-funk....we need you in the "carpal tunnel syndrome & training" thread,  STAT!!!


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## CowPimp (Dec 21, 2005)

nmuriqi said:
			
		

> Just wanted to thank you guys for your input.  I got a 96 on the paper.  You dudes rock!



Good shit, congratulations.  You should upload that puppy somewhere and post it so we can read what you wrote.


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