Squatting will only damages the knees, when you perform the squat wrong.
When performing a squat, it's important to engage multiple muscles groups, including the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and core. To ensure that you are utilizing your hips instead of your knees, you'll want to focus on the following techniques:
Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing slightly outward.
As you begin to lower your body, push your hips back as if you're sitting down into a chair. Keep your chest lifted and your back straight.
Keep your weight on your heels throughout the movement. This will help prevent your knees from coming forward and taking on too much of the weight.
As you descend, aim to keep your thighs as close to parallel with the ground as possible. This will ensure that you're engaging your glutes and hips, rather than relying too much on your quadriceps.
Focus on squeezing your glutes and driving your hips forward as you stand up from the squat. This will help you engage your posterior chain muscles and build strength in your hips.
Here are movement patterns you should watch out for. Some people just really do not know how to squat. Others it is from weakness in legs, glutes or core.
Some people have limitations from mobility in ankles, calves, and or hips. Having tight hamstrings also will limit your movement.
Below I have added a few videos to show what you do not want to do when performing a squat.
First video shows how someone might think they are squatting with good form. They allow their back to bend forward, which places a lot of stress on the lower back, not using your glutes and core to squat with good form. At the end of the video, I show the correct way to squat: chest up, looking forward.
This next video is showing how your knees can cave in during the downward movement of the squat. This can also happen as you move up from the bottom of your squat.
Being aware of these movements will help you to fix your squat.
I will also share in my next blog how you can address these issues with corrective exercises.
The next video below is showing knees bending, with no squat. This is common with people who do not know how to squat, they do not realize that they are just bending at the knees, the heels come off the ground and their bodyweight moves forward to front of feet. When you move this way you are not using their glutes to sit back into a squat position. So when you just bend at the knees, allowing your knees to go too far forward you eventually put a lot of strain on the knee caps. Causing pain and damage in the knee area. This is why people blame squats for being bad for the knees.
I wanted to share some things you should watch out for as you squat. If your form is wrong and your moving incorrectly, your not going to get stronger, building the right muscles. Plus you will putting undue stress on knee joints, low back, ankles and feet.
There is a lot more to squatting then you think. It is an elite movement. If you can perform the squat well you will reap the benefits of strong glutes, strong hips, legs and better balance.
I drew some lines so you can see, how you want your form to look. The line going from my upper back down to top of butt. You can see my back is straight, there is no arch in my back.
The line going from point of knee to point of buttocks' is parallel to the ground.
From point of knee to ankle is also 45% angle, which is same as the line going down my back.
In my next blog I will share exercises that will help you to improve your squat. :)
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