Rescue Your Posture — Try Front Squats
By Dan Silver
Disclaimer: If you are new to strength training, begin with nothing but your own bodyweight. Strive for perfect form before adding weight to any exercise — front squats included. Seek medical advice if you are experiencing pain. Always warm up, stretch regularly, and learn about nutrition. Find an instructor to assess your form. Train responsibly and ensure you factor in recovery days.
A Flexible Way Of Life
Being able to squat right down to the ground is something that humans have been doing for thousands of years. It was an essential movement pattern. Whilst in this position humans could hide from predators, fashion weapons, hunt, prepare food, make fire, eat, defecate, or simply rest. There were no office chairs, comfy sofas, or toilet seats back then — human flexibility went unchallenged.
So why the history lesson? Well, if we fast-forward to present day a lot of things have changed. The need to squat down to the ground has all but vanished, certainly in most developed countries. The only people you’re likely to find squatting are toddlers, who happen to have perfect mobility.
For the most part, we’re surrounded by things we’ve invented to support our bodies, whilst we’re busy performing more important tasks (like watching Game of Thrones). To cut a long story short, the modern world has reduced our physical range of motion — especially our need, and subsequent ability to squat down properly.
Love Your Spine
How often do you think about your spinal alignment and overall posture? The truth is that most people don’t even appreciate they have a spine until they experience some sort of back or neck pain that warrants investigation.
‘Health is not valued till sickness comes.’ — Thomas Fuller
Whether we like it or not, modern technology is waging a secret war on our postures. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, TV’s, even cars, trains and aeroplanes are in on it!
To understand what’s happening, you must first grasp the basic principles of what constitutes a healthy human posture. Typically, a person with good posture will stand with a straight back and upright torso, with relaxed shoulders. They will hold their head up, and have their eyes facing straight ahead.
Picture that. Now imagine what happens to that posture if I add a couple of modern day accessories into the mix:
- An office chair — that you’ll park your butt on for hours at a time.
- A smartphone — that you’ll glance down at every 3 minutes or so.
Suddenly, our ability to maintain a healthy posture has been disrupted by external factors. Most of the time we are completely oblivious to this.
So, I’m here to tell you now: These things can mess up your posture!
Some say ‘sitting is the new smoking’, but I’m not saying that everyone with a desk job is doomed. They should however, be aware of the physiological problems that stem from a screen-based, sedentary lifestyle.
For example, did you know that whilst seated, muscles such as the gluteals and calves are almost completely deactivated? Did you know that when seated, your abdominal wall is less likely to maintain core stability and an upright torso? Did you know that this can then lead to issues like stomach distention and a rounding of the upper back?— see postural kyphosis.
You should also know that in a seated position, the body’s ability to provide adequate blood supply to the legs is also negatively affected. This leads to atrophy, which basically means the muscles of your lower body gradually shrink and weaken, through both reduced activity and nutrient delivery. Prolonged sitting can also result in tight hip flexors, which over time can pull the pelvis forwards — see anterior pelvic tilt.
There are other problems that result from sitting at a desk, or staring at screens all day. We suffer from RSI’s like Carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, neck and eye strain, headaches and obesity — but for now, let’s switch the focus back to our posture.
Shut Up And Squat!
‘Shut up and squat’ is a common motto perpetuated by gym meatheads worldwide. It’s often seen emblazoned on the back of their t-shirts to serve as a constant reminder. Yet although this sounds rude and naive, the phrase itself holds some merit. It’s a fact that one of the best ways to regain your lower body mobility is to simply start squatting daily — wherever and whenever you can. Just drop down, get reacquainted with you feet, and hold that position for 30 seconds to a minute. You could also gently rock side to side, and back and forth, in order to open up any tight areas.
So Why Front Squat?
Since there are various ways in which a squat can be performed, the front squat has a lot of competition. Here’s a list of a few different squat exercises that you could choose from, or may already be doing:
- Barbell front squat (Safest, most beneficial — in my opinion)
- Barbell back squat (free-weight)
- Dumbbell squat
- Zercher squat
- Overhead squat
- Anderson squat (Lift starts from a bottom, racked position)
- Box squat
- Jump squat (Bodyweight)
- Bulgarian split squat
- Pistol squat (Bodyweight)
- Goblet Squat (with a dumbbell or kettlebell)
- Hack squat
- Sissy squat (Bodyweight)
- Wall Squat (with a Swiss ball)
- Jefferson squat
- Sumo squat (Wide stance)
As you can see there’s a lot to choose from, and each of these squat variations comes with its own unique benefits. Some work the legs separately (Bulgarian split squats), some are deceptively hard, requiring tremendous tension and balance (pistol or sissy squats) and others are more specialised (e.g. performing Anderson squats helps improve explosive ‘starting’ strength). The added variables of foot placement and other details make picking the ideal movement almost impossible. But for me the free-weight barbell front squat gets the vote — let me explain why…
The Benefits Of Front Squatting
- Front squats offset direct spinal loading (unlike the famous back squat).
- Front squats build major core strength, especially as the weight increases.
- Front squatting with a ‘clean grip’ on the bar, improves shoulder and wrist flexibility. (This grip may require practice, at first).
- Front squats can only be performed with an upright posture. If you lean forward you’ll drop the bar. They tend to encourage self-correcting form.
- Front squats are less taxing on the lumbar region, and on the knee joints.
- Front squats permit a comfortable, deeper range of motion. This extra depth leads to improved mobility at the hips, knees and ankles.
- Deep front squats also stretch and stimulate the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calf muscles. So expect a toned butt and shapely legs.
- You typically can’t handle as much weight in a front squat as you can with a back squat. So there’s less chance of a max-effort injury!
- Since the bar is held in front, it’s easier to drop — if you train to failure.
- Front squats force something called ‘thoracic extension’ — and that’s good news for your spine and overall posture!
- Front squats require considerable upper back strength to stabilise the bar. This builds stronger traps and erector spinae muscles, which are responsible for holding the shoulders and spine in correct alignment.
- Heavy squatting might boost natural growth hormone and testosterone, according to some experts in endocrinology. That could mean more muscle growth, improved bone density, and an enhanced libido.
- The squat is a compound exercise, meaning it works multiple muscle groups at once. Compound exercises burn more calories than isolation movements — like a bicep curl. So squats can help you get lean too.
- The front squat builds strength and stability that translates well into many other exercises: such as the deadlift, back squat, chin-up, clean and jerk, power clean, and overhead press. Serious lifters, take note.
- Front squats will make you more mobile, explosive and athletic. Period.
Use It Don’t Lose It
With so many health benefits in a single exercise it’s time to take a stand and rescue your posture! So try incorporating some front squats into your training routine and see what happens. If you’re not a fan of the gym, or weights, you can still perform some bodyweight squats and ‘thoracic extension stretches’ at home — a quick Google search should suffice.
If you have aches and pains, or simply suspect your posture could be better, then start assessing your lifestyle. Visit a chiropractor. Ask yourself: Am I stretching regularly? Am I taking proper desk breaks at work? Am I walking or exercising daily? Can I squat down with flat feet, to a resting position? If not, work on these things to help preserve your natural mobility. My final piece of advice is simple: Love your body — because at the end of the day you only have one.
If you enjoyed reading this article, please hit the ‘Recommend’ button. Thanks! — Dan
