Squats are one of the essential workouts for athletes who want to develop power, speed, and force in their movements. They’re an excellent workout for nearly any athlete in any sport.
The thing is, they require a decent amount of focus and proper form. While there are a number of kinds of squats, most demand that you lift and lower some kind of weight. A lot of the strength needed to perform squats comes from your legs and hips.
Some of the strength used typically comes from the back and other areas as well, depending on your form. The point is, there are a lot of muscle groups being used, and it’s important that you prepare your body by stretching.
We’re going to give you a few tips on how to warm up for squats.
How to Warm Up for Squats
Before you start squatting, it’s essential that you stretch and warm up the different areas of your body that you’re going to be using. We’ll cover those muscle areas that are most important in this process.
Ankle Flexibility
Ankles are actually an important muscle group when it comes to squats. As they situate you to the ground, and most of the weight you’re lifting will end up depending on your ankles somehow, it makes sense.
If you’re lifting your heels off of the ground as you lower yourself down into the squat, you probably need to add some flexibility to them.
One way to gradually add movement to your ankles is by standing around two feet from a wall, placing your hands against the wall, and stepping one leg back and easily pushing your heel down.
Over time, this will allow you to keep those heels down as you squat.
Gluts, Hips, Hamstrings
A few of the other crucial muscle groups involved in squats are gluts, hips, and hamstrings. A great way to warm these up before squatting is by spending three to four minutes doing lunges.
Lunges, if you recall, are one of the main warmup methods used in athletics, school gym classes, and other primary physical activity. They require that you step forward about two shoulder widths with one leg and do your best to enter down into a stretch as your legs are spread.
You don’t need to dip down as far as you possibly gain, but it’s important that you do feel the stretch and take your time with it. You just walk, one leg after another, and you should begin to feel a slight burn at the end of the time you stretch.
These two stretches will have you in shape to start squatting. If you have any other health concerns, those will need to be addressed as needed before you begin to squat any significant weight.
Looking to Get Fit?
If you’re wondering how to warm up for squats, you should also be wondering about other exercises that you’re doing and how to warm up for them. We’ve got that information for you as well, in addition to more info and getting into shape and feeling good in the long run.
Contact us if you’re looking to start taking your workouts seriously and start seeing some results.
