Why You Should Deep-Six Deep Squats
By Dr. Bill Stillwell
When I was young and foolish, a favorite exercise and test of strength was deep squats, with all the weight you could handle. By deep squats, I mean squats where your butt rests on your calves and the knees are fully flexed. Now that I'm older and wiser, I know that deep squats should not be done on a regular basis.
Fitness experts like Craig Ballantyne, Yarixa Ferrao, and Matt Furey advocate squats to build strength and burn fat - but it's important not to go too deep. The reason has to do with knee anatomy.
The end of the femur (thigh bone) is cam-shaped, like a golf club. It's attached to the underlying upper tibia (shin bone) by four main ligaments: the two inner cruciate (crossed) ligaments and the two outer, collateral ligaments. These ligaments hold the joint together and provide stability. They're made of strong fibrous tissue, but they give just a bit when stretched.
Between the femur and the shin bone are two menisci, crescent-shaped cartilage cushions that absorb shock, disperse weight-bearing stresses, and guide the knee (especially when you're making complex movements, like twisting, pivoting, and cutting while running). Although they're tough, they can be torn between the bones.
In a deep squat, the long dimension of the cam-shaped femur, pulled against the back part (posterior horn) of the medial (inner) meniscus by the springy collateral ligaments, essentially squeezes and crushes that structure, like bony pliers. Naturally, the heavier the weight you use, the more force is applied to the meniscus. With repetitive squatting, add just a little twist in that deep position, and you could develop a torn medial meniscus.
Once menisci are torn, they can cause knee pain, swelling, and instability. And they generally don't heal. If not addressed with arthroscopic surgery, they can eventually cause irreparable damage to the smooth joint surfaces and result in progressive arthritis.
So deep-six your deep squats. You can get just as much strength and muscular development with a half-squat (stopping when the thighs are horizontal), but without the possibility of meniscal injury. And if that isn't reason enough, deep squats also give you a big butt!
[Ed. Note: Dr. Bill is William Thomas Stillwell, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery at SUNY, Stony Brook. He is CEO of Dr. Bill's Clinic Inc., and author of How to Eliminiate Knee Pain - Once & for All!]
______________________________
It's Fun to Know: New Year's Eve in Spain
Do you think you could eat 12 grapes at once? If you're traveling to Spain for the New Year's holiday, start practicing. At gatherings across the country, Spaniards eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight, one for each toll of the bell.
(Source: Infoplease)
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2237, 12-28-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.
__________________________________________________
For all your Real Estate Interests look at The New Real Estate Source here.
When I was young and foolish, a favorite exercise and test of strength was deep squats, with all the weight you could handle. By deep squats, I mean squats where your butt rests on your calves and the knees are fully flexed. Now that I'm older and wiser, I know that deep squats should not be done on a regular basis.
Fitness experts like Craig Ballantyne, Yarixa Ferrao, and Matt Furey advocate squats to build strength and burn fat - but it's important not to go too deep. The reason has to do with knee anatomy.
The end of the femur (thigh bone) is cam-shaped, like a golf club. It's attached to the underlying upper tibia (shin bone) by four main ligaments: the two inner cruciate (crossed) ligaments and the two outer, collateral ligaments. These ligaments hold the joint together and provide stability. They're made of strong fibrous tissue, but they give just a bit when stretched.
Between the femur and the shin bone are two menisci, crescent-shaped cartilage cushions that absorb shock, disperse weight-bearing stresses, and guide the knee (especially when you're making complex movements, like twisting, pivoting, and cutting while running). Although they're tough, they can be torn between the bones.
In a deep squat, the long dimension of the cam-shaped femur, pulled against the back part (posterior horn) of the medial (inner) meniscus by the springy collateral ligaments, essentially squeezes and crushes that structure, like bony pliers. Naturally, the heavier the weight you use, the more force is applied to the meniscus. With repetitive squatting, add just a little twist in that deep position, and you could develop a torn medial meniscus.
Once menisci are torn, they can cause knee pain, swelling, and instability. And they generally don't heal. If not addressed with arthroscopic surgery, they can eventually cause irreparable damage to the smooth joint surfaces and result in progressive arthritis.
So deep-six your deep squats. You can get just as much strength and muscular development with a half-squat (stopping when the thighs are horizontal), but without the possibility of meniscal injury. And if that isn't reason enough, deep squats also give you a big butt!
[Ed. Note: Dr. Bill is William Thomas Stillwell, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery at SUNY, Stony Brook. He is CEO of Dr. Bill's Clinic Inc., and author of How to Eliminiate Knee Pain - Once & for All!]
______________________________
It's Fun to Know: New Year's Eve in Spain
Do you think you could eat 12 grapes at once? If you're traveling to Spain for the New Year's holiday, start practicing. At gatherings across the country, Spaniards eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight, one for each toll of the bell.
(Source: Infoplease)
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2237, 12-28-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.
__________________________________________________
For all your Real Estate Interests look at The New Real Estate Source here.
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