Whats Your Squat Depth Like?

When it comes to squatting and depth there are often many arguments had with regards to this and what is safe, unsafe, the right amount for strength and conditioning etc.  I am a big believer is squatting to the depth that is safe for you as a person as well as what is relevant to you.  For myself my goal is to improve on my squat depth (both body weight, front and back squat resisted) purely because my squat depth and mobility has traditionally been very poor over the years (most likely due to a combination of not focusing on this as well as not giving mobility and control of mobility much of a focus in the past).  Now I am wanting to improve my squat mobility and ultimately my mobility, strength and control of a squat.  For me this will be aiming to have the hips lower than the knees whilst maintaining good alignment through the trunk.  For those who powerlift, one must break 90 degrees at the hips and therefore often their focus is on towards achieving this.  For crossfitters and oly lifters I often see individuals working for greater than this.  For the average joe who just loves to train for health and wellbeing, then I will want to look at them as an individual and focus on developing a squat that has them improving in some form or another i.e. this could be technique, depth, load etc.  It is all relevant to the person I am seeing in front of me.  The one thing that I think we can all do though that is similar is ensure we train to improve our efficiency and look to overload our body is someway that will challenge us so that we are always moving forward or progressing.  This must be done though whilst taking into consideration the risk- benefit of the progression and keeping in mind that we should always be working to avoid injury where possible.

This blog post was written by osteopath Heath Williams of Principle Four Osteopathy. Principle Four Osteopathy is one of Melbourne City CBD leading Osteopathy clinics. At the clinic we treat a wide range of clients, ranging from the office worker, exercise enthusiast to athlete. We have 3 experienced osteopaths working across both of the clinics. The Melbourne City CBD clinic is located at 29 Somerset Place (basement), close to the corner of Elizabeth St and Little Bourke in the Melbourne City CBD. Our premises adjoin the Jon Weller Personal Training Studio, a fully-equipped training space which allows clients to combine their osteopathy treatment with exercise tutorials or specific training programs and rehabilitation. The Docklands clinic is located at 717 Bourke St (Ground Floor), beneath the Channel 9 building near the walkway from Southern Cross Train Station to Etihad Stadium. Our premises adjoin Pilates on Bourke, a fully-equipped pilates and yoga training space which allows clients to combine their osteopathy treatment with exercise tutorials, pilates or specific training programs and rehabilitation. To speak to an Osteopath or book an appointment at Principle Four Osteopathy, please book online or call 03 9670 9290.