OR YOU CAN ASK LOMBARD...
Squats offer an amazing opportunity to take advantage of one of the most unique skeletal muscular contractions combinations. There is a reason why squats are highly effective exercises, that should be included in any person's exercise regimen possible. Squats are commonly a part of resistance training (RT). weight lifting specifically.
I am a firm believer that motion analysis, physiology, anatomy, biology, genetics, etc., must never be taught or analyzed independent of the rules of nature, and survival first as the number one goal of living forms on Earth. It all begins and ends with survival first. Thus, one question must be asked - what is the importance in nature (for survival purposes) of being able to squat? - I assure you, the chances are slim to none that a unique and complex movement such as a squat has no importance what so ever to our survival.
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A question come to mind: can humans poop standing up completely erected? - the answer is no, we cannot. I can only assume that you know how important it is to be able to poop. Furthermore, not pooping for long, can result in grave consequences, even death in extreme cases. Pooping as an essential function that keeps us alive, must be done squatting!
The key to understanding the effectiveness of a squat, requires the understanding of the nature and movements created by the main skeletal muscles involved. Thus, we will focus on the quadriceps femoris skeletal muscle and the biceps femoris skeletal muscle, also known as the "hamstrings" skeletal muscle. Both muscles can create movement in the hip and knee joint complexes.
Skeletal muscles that can create movement in more than one joint are called multi-jointed skeletal muscles. A limitation that applies to multi-jointed skeletal muscles is that they cannot create the same movement in both joints at the same time. In addition, they cannot be equally effective in both joints at once. Analysis of the movements created by the quadriceps femoris and the biceps femoris skeletal muscles, teaches us that the quadriceps femoris extends the knee and flexes the hip, while the biceps femoris does the exact opposite as it flexes the knee and extends the hip.
Next, let's remind ourself that the main movement of a joint is created by at least one agonist muscle, kept in check by the muscle that can create the exact opposite movement, called an antagonist. Accordingly, the quadriceps femoris is the natural antagonist to the biceps femoris (hamstrings) in both joints, and vice versa. This puts us in a dilemma - during a squat, each muscle should be resisting and even eliminating each others actions, in both joints, yet they do not.
This is known as a paradoxical muscular contraction, and specifically to the squat, it is known as the paradox of lombard, or lombard's paradox. Contrary to what should normally happen, both muscles "collaborate" and work together to allow squatting, rather than battle each other. Since muscles do not "decide" on their own what to do, it is clear that there is a neural aspect involved, forcing the two muscles to work together in both joint.
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The outcome of the paradox of lombard is two powerful multi-joint skeletal muscles collaborating and resulting in a very powerful, effective, and complex exercise, stimulating and challenging multiple muscles all at once. Squats demand proper technique, and should not include free weights or weights at all, if the person is completely inexperienced. With that said, they save time in the conditioning of multiple muscles due to their high effectiveness. I hope that if you didn't know diddly squat at the beginning of the post, that this knowledge has empowered you!
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