BEFORE YOU SQUAT, Understand the ANATOMY Behind it! (What Muscles Squats Actually Work)
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 23. 05. 2019
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The Squat is the King of Lifts. If youâve been skipping leg day⊠repent! If youâve been doing leg day, but not squatting⊠repent! There are an incredible number of proven benefits to the squat:
-Squatting increases strength in almost your entire body
-Squatting improves circulation
-(If you do it right) squatting improves joint health
-Squatting decreases Cellulite
-Squatting improves flexibility
-Squatting builds your core strength
-Squatting helps you get better posture
-In men, squatting has been proven to increase the level of testosterone in your body
And thereâs a thousand other benefits. HOWEVER, squatting is also the number one way that people injured themselves! So BEFORE squatting, FIRST you need to understand exactly what muscles are the primary agonists in a squat. You can then build on that foundation by learning proper form, how much weight you should add, what the idea number of sets and reps are for your goals, etc.
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Credits: Anatomy animations are from the Complete Anatomy app
Disclaimer: Michael has not yet finished medical school, and is therefore not a licensed physician. The material and instructions in this video should not be taken as medical advice.
Glad to hear someone talking through the science of an exercise.
đ
Ever heard of Athlean X? Certified physical therapist with 12 years of YT content explaining the exact science and physiology of lifts and how to avoid injury. No gimmicks, no costume, no bait and switch or "Watch the next video for answers" just everything you ever wanted to know about lifting.
"Glad to hear someone talking through the science"
There, I fixed it for you
@@dat_boii yeah follow him and die after not breathing for 10 minutes coz you heard him say "Breathing is killing your gains" and stuff
Kind of funny because there are basically two kinds of people looking for workouts. Those who care about the explanations and those who just want âno bsâ
I do squats (sets of 20) and donkey kicks (sets of 50) as part of my daily stretching/yoga/strength training. I started doing it because I have scoliosis and was in a multi-roll over car accident and my doctor told me to strengthen my core.
Last week my mom called me and asked me to go with her to help her carry a new double kitchen sink from her car at one house to another house, she said it was really heavy and she couldn't even move it by herself. I walked to the trunk, tested its weight, and told her to go hold the door open.
She looked at me like I was crazy, there are 6 steps up to the porch, I lifted it and walked casually up the steps. She said she genuinely couldn't believe I was carrying it at all, let alone so easily, because her husband couldn't even lift it alone, they struggled to get it in the car in the first place.
It's times like that you really feel the benefits of strengthening your muscles. I've trained two adult dogs this year who didn't know how to walk on a leash. A rottweiler and a presa canario. I can easily pull them back.
It feels good to be strong, I try to encourage everyone I know to do at least 20 minutes of yoga and walk 30 minutes every day, it literally changed my entire life. Like I know people hate being told to work out but it doesn't mean you have to go to a gym or anything like that. You can get all the benefits from a yoga mat and some light weights. I do.
đ
Not at all lol
Ditto. I always encourage people to work out some at home. It doesnt have to be body building. Just consistently doing a little most days has massive impact. As long as they do it with a focus on good form.
Thanks for sharing this! This is so cool! Keep crushing it!
I was genuinely considering doing leg day without doing squats today and then this video shows up in my recommended. Some mind reading stuff
Never commit that sin
Leg day without doing squats ainât leg day in my opinion. I personally donât deadlift because of lower back pain but I do bench and squat which is the most important
@@theworldisimmense and back day without deadlifts ain't back day
@@theworldisimmense ain't no back workout without deadlifts
REPENT
Thanks, I am 86 years old. This past year I have been doing 10 squats every morning. I go all the way down to the floor and up again, keeping my back straight. Do you think your illustrations make more sense when you show the actual squat ?
Thats great, i wanna be doing the same when i get ur age.
Thats impressive!!! :0
awe god bless you ! good luckđ.
Do you know about Starting Strength? There is a channel on here by that name and a book and a forum and a whole community surrounding it. If you're aware of the importance of this type of strength training as a senior then you should check it out, it's geared towards you as much as it is anyone else and it has changed thousands of lives. It's not bodybuilding, it's practical strength training, something which has put slabs of muscle on young men as well as caused 90 yr old women to throw away their walkers. There is also a supplemental book solely dedicated to 40 and older athletes, "Barbell Prescription" by Andy Baker and Dr Sullivan.
Keep it up that's the spirit to motivate us
Doing front squats and back squats once a week :) my sciatica pain is almost a thing of the past!
WHAT? you mean you had sciatica pain problems and when you start doing squats the sciatica pain almost gone? Are your serious????
@@realx1311 hey idk if you are being sarcastic or not haha hard to read on text, but yes i used to be a runner (almost 7 years running) and i pinched my nerve, i sometimes had bad flares when i couldn't even extend my knee. when my pain first started i did physical therapy but then i started power lifting 3+ years ago and I rarely if ever get any flares now :) obviously i think it's related to strengthenig my joints and muscles around the pinched nerve that has helped :)
That's amazing
I have had the same experience as well. Had an injury at work that caused a major sciatica flare that stayed for almost a year. I started doing squats when i got back into working out during covid lockdown and now very rarely does sciatica act up. Even if it does itâs not even close to the severity it was before. Somehow squats have also basically cured my sciatica flare ups
Yo same! Iâve been doing squats front and back once a week. Before I had severe sciatica but itâs almost gone. Iâd say another thing that helps is deadlifts and rdls, they definitely help too
I always do them, 20 years plus, but I absolutely dread them. Every time.
Few things will get you as far in life as the consistent ability / willingness to do things you don't feel like doing. Awesome work đ
I dread lunges
@@IamBarati
The only thing I don't dread is pumpkin pie..
@@DrGains Yow Dr Sir! Any other videos to upload? Pls enlighten us. Exercise or even Martial arts anatomy.
I love doing squats
Just smashed legs today with some heavy squats and I feel great!
I used to hate squats until I fixed my form and started squatting to depth. Now I canât wait to hit squats.
Deep squats are the freakin' best.
100th like
great introductory video, i was excited for the follow up videos but bummed to see no new content in a year. come on doc, donât leave us hanging
Well he has now uploaded :D
Yeah, my excitement quickly died too when I saw no other videos. How can I repent nowđ©!
he actually passed away
@@saerah3291 OMG, no wayđ±đ. Wow, so sorry to hear. May his soul rest in peaceđđŸđŻ.
@@saerah3291 Oh no. May he rest in peace x
I used to hate doing squats at the gym because it hurt my knees and felt it was too heavy of an excercise to do, also I just wasn't vibing with the excercise. So I did the other leg excercises and my legs were ok looking, decent muscle progression but not on the level of other guys that started around the same time as I did. So I got myself some knee sleeves (BEST purchase ever!!) and started doing the squats and my legs received a HUGE boost in growth and beauty đ±âđ haha. I love squats now.
Thank you for sharing your story! Keep squatting! :D
@UCth-_r0QoOVQU_1mDRvetKAthis the type of guy to tell kids that thereâs no way Santa can bring all the presents to every house
@@DrGains what is Recommended squatting with knee sleeves or without?
I have terrible knee pain too did knee sleeves completely get rid of pain? Also do you stretch before?
@@lakegillin After about a month I didn't have any knee pain after the workouts. Im squatting with 80 pounds on each side. I started squatting with 35 on each side and slowly progressed. I have been focusing on strengthening the knee little by little and so far so good. :D
I always wanted to learn anatomy behind gym exercises.. Do keep this coming, I've subscribed.
Well then you've come to the right place my friend! Thank you! đ
Go to Doug Brignole's Channel
@@ORIGINOLINDIVIDUAL He sell dÂźĂșgs?
"Repent!"đđđ
Ho rough, papa!
SHARP FEDEEEEE.
Lol
Repent ngwaneso
@@nkelem2898 pop
âMedical student at the Mayo Clinic, Here with gains without painsâ
Subscribed. I love the energy. This dude is gonna have millions of followers. Claim your âI was here before___â right now! I love the simple approach, nothing too long. I pray for your continued success! Much Love from Texas!
Thank you my friend!
@@DrGains you're Still active? Cool
Make that double love from Texas on my end, the ârepentâ piece at the beginning got me đ
This video has literally zero substance whatseover. All what he says is factual, yes, but the benefit list for example, out of context completely. If you wish to understand basic anatomy and muscle names yeah great, introduction was a complete misdirection in the video.
I've been skipping squats (no weights, just squatting instead kneeling or sitting) since I left China in 2010 and paid for it. Picked up daily squatting recently, many benefits.
I squat every other day 10x10 with a barbell. Started at 45lbs today I did 105lbs. I go up by 5lbs every week. My body feels so good.
Ummm my question is does squats make butt bigger or helps to loose body fat ?
These are the best anatomy visualization animations that I ve seen. Static images always poorly represent muscles that are deeper or under other muscles. And showing the movement anatomically is so much better to properly understand the exact location if the muscle and its action when flexed. Great stuff.
Thank you friend! I'm glad you found it useful! :)
Short, informative, and entertaining. Wonderful work keep it up Dr. Gains!
When he said ârepentâ I nearly lost it đđđ
This the *key* exercise. Often when you go to a gym, you see people focusing exclusively on upper body exercises, ie. bench, back, shoulders, and of course arms. However, it is the *squat* that is the differentiator because performing this exercise (correctly) will help you become stronger overall!
Great stuff. Just found your channel. Love that you bring up the origination and insertion points etc. (I'm not a sports science but lay person) Thanks!
I joined my schools strength class and on the 2nd day of school, i did front squats and my legs were alresdy sore. Then i rested little bit but by the 2nd week of school, ive been doing squats ever since to now and my legs feel light and stronger. Its easy now. It payed off
Strength class wtf, was it a club? And youâre lucky
@@olliec.243 you never heard of that? I'm pretty sure it's a weight training class
@@olliec.243 yea in most schools (at least in texas) they have powerlifting
Americans are so lucky on their schools system, aside from the shootings. They've wrestling, powerlifting, variety of sports and etc while where I live we had only a basic PE class two times a week of 45 minutes and most of the time students would only play soccer or dodgeball.
Damn, it would've been so cool growing up doing something like wrestling.
@@Joao-ur7ey Innit g đ
I squat twice a week, its amazing.
I squat every morning. On the toilet.
@@Chebab-Chebab understandable have a nice day
Twice a week make it 4
I squat 300 times a dayđł
@@Chebab-Chebab same. I do 200 in the morning. (I always try to do 1000 squads a day)
I've been skipping squats on leg days because i was scared I would injure myself and I couldn't workout because I didn't have anyone to teach me about the form and usually the squat racks were also busy and never got to get a turn as some people literally do their whole workout on that squat rack, i've been through the leg pain after my leg days but after I did my first 5 sets of 10 with 35kg I barely could walk for 4 days, that's when I knew I have to do more squats because even with my other leg day exercises it didn't hurt as much as after squats. I did ask some people at the gym to see if my form is good so I wouldn't get injured and thankfully haven't been injured doing it till now.
I don't skip it. I do it. It's hard asf. It's actually the hardest day. But it's worth it. Your body feels much stronger and reflects better when you do them
@@shanedavid69 Well I meant I used to skip it cuz i never done it, but since 2 weeks before this post I started doing them. It's gone pretty good I went to 45kg 5 sets of 10. Slow and steady climbing the weight, don't want to be stupid and ego lift. My legs feel stronger and I don't have 4 days of leg pain after the workout anymore. It was a good decision to do squats.
I need a million more videos like this. Someone showing you the exercise isnât the same as knowing what muscles youâre supposed to use or that youâre doing it correctly.
Thank you!
Great video Dr Gains!!! Thanks for sharing
Keep it up!
Glenn
As a final year medical student, this was great anatomy revision đđ
Glad to hear that! Good luck! :D
Iâm a pre med student and my teacher had us watch this video. Great channel! Iâll be following this channel on my med student journey
Haha that's awesome!! You must have an excellent teacher đ And good luck!
Great video Dr.Gain! Thank you so much!
One concept I learned about Sqauts and Over Head Press. My posture sits slightly forward. So I re adjust my posture before every rep. For proper muscle activation.
Love your content! Thanks for info! New subbie đđœ
"Knowledge" it's out there you just have to find it. Just imagine a person's mindframe until they realize what anatomy is and how to use it to workout
Amen
Thanks man. Informative and very helpful. I really appreciate your sharing.
I didn't like how thick my thighs got doing squats but it did surprisingly help flatten my stomach.
Men đ ladies with thick thighs. đ
@@hareemobduljawon simp
@@jamelcampbell8940 simp
@@lionbear3515 They bring shame to men đ
@@lionbear3515 I mean heâs not wrong though
The Squat is truly the most useful exercise you can do. Soo many benefits.
Agreed!
Not a doctor but I think these work best when your body is properly aligned. I have APT and these never worked what they were supposed to until I started fixing it.
Its actually help with flexibility. Everyone is amazed how flexible i am(including myself) while im a such âbigâ man, but now i know the answer
Do they help strength the knees?
@@osiriswills6749 yes indeed!!
This channel needs more subs
Squats is one of the BEST exercises for a Huge Chest!
Lol
Wtfđ
The resulting stress does trigger measurable growth throughout the rest of the entire body, almost like the studies that show just taking steroids causes muscle growth alone without exercise at all, but yes I get the joke.
Boy no
Thank you for the video man!!
My pleasure! đ
This is the best âshortâ CZcams video known to man. Thank you for your basic instructional content. đ
Thanks man! Iâm going through knee, ankle, Achilles, and hammy problems all at once rn. I would only play basketball, and call it good for my legs. About 2 months of this (4days/week) and my whole bottom half got injured within a weeks time. Iâm gonna start squatting light, but I need to make sure my form is on par. Thanks and Iâll definitely watch the next video.
I'm with you, basketball is a phenomenal* leg workout but with two caveats attached: (1) Not getting injured (2) Playing with people who understand physicality so that you can move guys around and really work the lower body.
At that frequency you need to make sure you are warming up properly (I like to do A-skips, lunges, some light agility and sprint work for my lower body), as well as icing critical areas and stretching your entire body after you play. It is seriously easy to injure yourself playing basketball and the expanse over which you can get hurt is basically your entire body with little warning.
A tip I learned from a old pro baller. Drink/eat beef bone broth. Its connective tissues that help heal and recover from basketball. It helps builds collgen which lubricates/pads the joints, increases flexibility and builds muscle. And because of its rapid absorption in the body, its effects are almost immediate. Try it. It really works.
you should follow knees over toes along with dr. gains
@@dlxinfinite7098 Oldheads always have some real wisdom. Collagen hydrolysate alongside/instead of the whey in a shake is another good one for the same reason.
@@briangalloway3684 followed, thanks boss
First Timer On This Channel...
I'M TOLD TO REPENT!!đđđđ
Sameđ
Padre you might mention to the little son of a bitch " let him who is without sin cast the first stone,'
đđđ I think we just have to repent, it's not optional.
@Motonu Moraa, TRUE THAT EEYY, NO REST FOR THE WICKED.
Dr. Patrick Dempsey! WOOT! :) good info brah thanks
Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much. It's hard for me to do anything without really learning what is happening behind the scenes. On top of that, I am a science enthusiast. This video (and the whole channel) will make it easy for me to do exercises. Keep doing the good work, sire !!!
Awesome! Thanks DR!
Doc thanks for the info â„ïž
Great stuff! We do need how to more about the human body! Really good info here! Do more!
Excellent approach!!!
Really great video. This is the type of info I like.
"Repent" he speaks so we'll, I can listen to him all day. I've subscribed, I want to learn more. Thanks.
Welcome my friend! And learn more you shall! Much, much more to come đȘ
Doc you are just insane ! tnx a lot for this amazing videoâ€
It was my pleasure man!
@@DrGains you are amazing DOC but i need you in a very important thingđ
Very nicely done! You hooked me. Now I have to find the rest of this series! đŹđŹđŹ
I'm glad you found it useful my friend! Thank you! :D
I love the âkeep it simple stupidâ approach. It makes a world of difference. Thanks bro
My pleasure man, thank you! :D
Great videos! The anatomy and science is so helpful! I recently got my NASM CPT. They push having feet straight forward for squat (and everything) but so many people have feet slightly or more than slightly turned out when they squat and all the variations of the squat. Iâd love to know the science and anatomy of this topic. Also, will you be coming out with your program soon?
Very interesting!
I've been increasing weight on my squats really slowly so this really helps, I definitely don't focus quads enough in other exercises at the gym!
This is so educational! Pls keep posting!
Will do my friend!
Squats and calve raises are what i do mostly for legs, i also jog to p.e and back to school with minimum,stop. I noticed that jogging like that builds ur calves alot
Walking lunges workouts are also doing me wonders.
Yeah I like doing split squats also
Thank you for the info Doc.
Great information!
I squat every session. Iâm 15 and I went from 110kg to a 130kg in 2 months. Itâs definitely my fav exercise:) my abs are stronger, my legs are bigger and my ass.
And the stares and admiration from women increase as well.
@@TA-ht4jo hahaaha most likely
@@Vortex__24 I know in my case they do and I love it. Haha!
Awareness of the exact muscles activated during an exercise is crucial information which I got here. Its hard to stretch the leg and glute muscles correctly to relieve pain when they give you that- pain in the a$$.
Great Video!
Awesome videođ„đ„đ
For the rotated pelvis and the misaligned sacrum is the squad beneficial or can cause damage when the knee is overcompensating?
Hello. I'm a certified physiotherapist.
I would suggest box squats if you plan to keep progressively overloading.
And save the free squat for a day with higher reps, and light work.
I lift three times a week and squat is the only workout I do every time. I recommend. Only thing is I canât go too hard on it, as that causes lower back discomfort for me.
Element 26 Lifting belt is probably my favorite support for squats and deadlifts. It is a personal preference, but it helps with the overall movement. Give it a try.
Thanks for sharing this information have a nice day â€
New subscriber, love your channel, very educational đ
Welcome John! And thank you! đ
Just did squats Saturday. Since I haven't done them in years my legs are stiff and sore but surprisingly I enjoyed doing squats. I'll continue on and get some nice growth
Awesome! Iâm learning to love the squat lol
Just found your channel love the insight
Love the content
The best squats in my opinion are sumo squats...it works almost every muscle in the legs and increases core strength...it works the glutes, groin, hamstrings, and the thigh muscles...doesn't really work the calves. Also builds testosterone. Look it up on youtube...that's how I learned about them.
The spike in testosterone from compound lifts are totally overblown, look that up too
No it doesnt increase testosterone....that spike is short lived...learn biology jr
@@summondominion I love it when people try to insult your intelligence or attempt to make you look dumb...yes there are spikes in compound exercises but not very much...that's why I do other exercises geniuses...I'm 45 so there's no junior over here..instead of assuming, you two know it alls need to open a discussion up first before assuming what you think I know.
@@manbeast222none4 forgive us for assuming your experience was limited to still believing that squats are a magic testosterone booster, there's still too many CZcamsrs etc claiming this
@@manbeast222none4 Amen opening with insults is just an insult to themselves on how low their consciousness is. It's even more ironic because their egos think it makes them look smart lol. Everyone else just cringes and disregards them.
Thanks doc this helps me so much for my movement anatomy class got my final in a few days đȘđœ
Excellent!
great content!
So, this isn't really relating to the squat, but more my back.
Main thing is, I need to find a way to stop hurting it ig.
Every time I try exercises with my abs, or even sometimes my legs, I find my back going up, and not staying straight.
I know like, my posture needs to be fixed, but how do you find a way to KNOW to keep your back straight while exercising ig?
Try deep breathing excersies and also focus on taking in a deep breath before every rep.
Not a doctor, but I've had some similar problems. Some tips that helped me:
-continue to build your core strength. Try looking for core exercises that minimize lower back extension. Eventually your core will catch up, and your back won't have to help as much.
-work on hip, knee, and ankle mobility. My back would have to bend forward a lot when I tried squatting and I had pain in my left hip/sore lower back. I started doing active stretching every time I worked out, before and after, and after ~4 months I can now squat comfortably to below 90°! I focused a lot on hips and ankle stretching, also used weights when stretching
-record yourself from lots of angles. It'll help see what your actually doing. Try squatting while thinking of different cues (elbows back and tight! Chest up! Active lats! Etc) and record yourself to see what helps. Even if a cue helps a little, that's still better than nothing!
Good luck!
You look like shepherd from greys anatomy
The visuals alone! Awesome!
You got my sub! đđœ
Perfectly explains why squeezing your glutes during a plank is absolutely a waist of time and counter productive
Dr. Gains do you make that animation yourself or are you using some kind of app? It is very useful for my Biology lessons (as a student).
The app is called Complete Anatomy! Highly recommend - most of my classmates and I used it during medical school
@@DrGains thank you very much Dr. Gains.đȘđȘđȘ
Thank you, Dr. Gains!
Thanks for sharing. I learned a lot đđŸ
I'm glad to hear that, it was my pleasure!
It really does decrease cellulite I can attest..
Great video đ
Awesome, thanks for sharing!
McDreamy, is that you?
Great video!
as a pt student the muscle anatomy part brought me joy
What kind of anatomy program were you using is there an app for it
It's called Complete Anatomy. Highly recommend.
Thanks for the great insights, Mike. Do you happen to know the importance of flexibility in gaining muscle? Would love to hear your thoughts - thanks!!
Glad you like them! Yes flexibility is extremely important for long term muscle growth and health. Too long of an explanation to type in a comment haha but Iâll do videos on it in the future!
@@DrGains thank you!!!
Just found your channel doc - it's perfect for the stuff I'd like to know - got to subscribe.
Welcome aboard!
absolutely love this
I'm repenting, I promise, Doc!
my knee hates squatting
amazing vid bro đ€
Thanks, Doc!
I used to do 50 squat/day for 6 months w/ no cheat days. It was helpful in shaping my thighs better. Squats are good.
Buuuut bro, ure not supposed to work out the same muscles everyday. Your body needs rest days between or it wont be good
With weights?
not good really
Squats are the reason I skipped so many leg days
So if not doing squats helps me commit to leg days, working hard with no lower back pain.... I simply wonât do squats
Recently started working out and squats are actually my favorite work out đ
Very true good info