How to improve your running performance – Learn how to squat

As a runner no matter your age or level there is a chance you are struggling with aches and pains. These may range from ‘tendinitis’ type symptoms such as a sore Achilles when waking up in the morning or a painful front of the knee coming down the stairs. Sound familiar? Just as common are the dreaded ‘shin splints’. These are probably the 3 most common problems I see in my clinic that runners struggle with.

As a gym user and runner myself, I know exactly what you are going through. I have suffered from quadriceps tendinopathy (tendinitis) which is pain just above the knee cap. These injuries can be debilitating and really put the breaks on your training. No one wants to stop their training. Maybe you don’t have to!

As a graduate sports therapist, I deal with many runners who experience a variety of injuries such as the ones mentioned above. The majority of the time these are caused by poor management of their loading, poor technique and not including any strength work into their programming. A lot of these injuries could easily be avoided by introducing a squat routine into a running schedule and managing their load. Interestingly, most runners are neither practising their squat nor considering it as a valid exercise.

This leaves me speechless. If I was to recommend 1 single exercise to every runner I would recommend the squat.

I will explain why…

Ok, firstly let’s start with getting rid of the perception of squatting is bad for the knees and lifting weights is bad for the joints. WRONG!! There are so many huge benefits to lifting weight in the squat, even if it’s just your body weight. You can lift weight in the squat by just holding a 5kg plate in front of you.

– It’s a full-body movement. Meaning you pretty much use everything in the squat.

So, if you compare the squat to another body movement such as a bicep curl, you can see how utilising the whole-body weight carries a much stronger benefit. One exercise isolates a particular muscle whereas the other incorporates the whole system.

– It is a functional movement that carries over to everyday movement patterns. How do you sit on the toilet? You squat. How do you stand up from your office chair? You squat. Can you see how this transfers over now?

– Squats can help you gain strength or lose weight depending on how you train and your nutritional habits. The better your power to weight ratio (think about being lighter and stronger) the better your body will cope with moving around your mass when running.

– Running requires good muscular endurance. The longer your muscles can produce force for without tiring, the longer you can run and the better your performance. When you utilise the squat into your programming it is a great way to help improve your muscular endurance.

– Squatting can help improve hip, knee and ankle stability, midline (core) strength, leg strength and awareness which will greatly reduce your chances of injury.

If you’ve never squatted before then we understand why this can be an intimidating exercise to perform in the weights area of the gym.

NEVER fear, as we are about to break down pretty much everything to do with the squat!

We even have a video below that breaks down the squat in its entirety.

REASONS TO SQUAT

1. Functional

Since day one, when we were babies we were squatting. We developed the movement pattern early on because it was an efficient and strong way to lower ourselves down and to stand up again. As we develop and spend more time sitting in a chair then the time spent in a squat dramatically reduces. Our squat goes from perfect to forgetting how to squat.

Prior to chairs, sofa’s and seated toilets; humans spent a lot of time at the bottom of a squat and continued this behaviour throughout their life. The squat helped keep us mobile and strong. When was the last time you sat in the bottom of the squat for more than 30 seconds?

2. Good for your knee’s

Not only is the squat not detrimental to the knees, but it is also the ideal exercise to rehabilitate and fix so many acute & chronic problems that arise here. For instance, many people suffer from patellofemoral pain (pain around the knee cap). The patella (knee cap) is dynamically controlled and stabilised mostly by the quadriceps (thigh) muscle and if the quadriceps are weak and imbalanced, then there is a high probability that dysfunction at the patellofemoral joint will occur.

Squatting meanwhile can help strengthen the quadriceps and stabilise the knee because it is the best exercise to activate this group of muscles. This can help avoid loading in specific areas of the knee.

3. Strength increases and weight loss

When we squat with heavyweight, the body has a large anabolic hormone response, which helps our muscles grow and get stronger. Due to the squat utilising so much of the body, more energy is required to recover from squatting and therefore consumes more calories. This in turn can help reduce body fat.

4. Squats are a compound movement

This means it uses more than one joint to complete the task. Think about it, when squatting you are using your ankles, knee’s and hips just in the lower extremity. Nothing is left untouched in this great exercise.

There are many ways to perform the squat. We will be going through the air squat and the goblet.

The bodyweight squat (air squat)

This is the best exercise for people who are new to squatting. In this type of squat, we have to perfect the mechanics of movement here, then add consistency before any intensity is added (eg, weight). If you’re a runner or new to squatting LET’S START HERE!

Set up

1. Feet are around hip width with toes either facing forward or rotating out slightly.
2. Whatever direction your toes go, your knees will track over them when you squat.
3. Eyes focused straight ahead,
4. Maintain this position throughout the full movement.

I go over the full movement in the video below:

Key steps:

1. Never surrender your lumbar curve (keep a straight lower and upper back)
2. Keep your midsection tight and activated
3. Keep your head looking straight ahead
4. Don’t let your knees roll inside the foot
5. Put your arms out in front of you to counterbalance
6. Keep your weight through the balls of your feet and your heel
7. Now take a deep breath in and break at your hips
8. As you descend, your hips go back and down

And remember… no squat is the same. People are built differently, have different mechanics/flexibility, have had different injuries etc. so you are likely to move a little differently to your friend. This is not a bad thing. The most important thing is that you are comfortable and safe.

The goblet squat

Now that you have mastered the air squat, it’s time to shake things up a little and start adding some weight.

If we can overload the system by adding weight that our body is not used to lifting, then our body will adapt and become stronger once it has recovered.

The goblet squat involves the use of a kettlebell and it’s a great movement to master before heading into the barbell squat. We can start with a light kettlebell to ensure our movement and technique stay exactly the same. Regardless of how much weight we use, it’s important that our form is perfect the entire time. This will help:

1. Reduce the risk of injuries
2. Decrease stress on certain areas
3. Target the areas you are aiming to target

Set up

The technique for the goblet squat is exactly the one we use when performing an air squat (see above). However, instead of holding our arms out in front of us, we will be holding a kettlebell. This can also help us stay upright, as there is a counterweight against our body.

Finally, the globet squat can help us get a little deeper in the squat, which is PERFECT (providing we don’t surrender a straight lower back).

To perform the globet, we can hold the kettlebell as in the picture (holding it by the handles) or we can flip it upside down and hold it from the bottom. Whatever is easiest for your grip!

Key steps

1. Never surrender your lumbar curve (keep a straight lower and upper back)
2. Keep your midsection tight and activated
3. Keep your head looking straight ahead.
4. Don’t let your knees roll inside the foot
5. Hold the kettlebell just under the chin
6. Keep your weight through the balls of your feet and your heel
7. Now take a deep breath in and break at your hips sending your bum back.
8. As you descend, your hips go back and down.
9. Hit the depth you are aiming for (just below parallel ideally)
10. Drive the floor away from you by pressing into the ground with your legs and stand up.

Let’s answer some questions now!

What squat variation should I start with?

As a newbie to squatting, we always want you to perfect the basics first so let’s start with the bodyweight squat (air squat). Once you have mastered this, you will then move onto adding some weight by using the goblet squat and a kettlebell.

Only once your mechanics are perfect and then the weight becomes easy then you can consider the barbell squat. We say this because initially we will be spending a lot of time under tension using the goblet squat and even with a 12kg kettlebell, it can be extremely challenging even for an experienced lifter.
For example, we might get you to goblet squat for 12 reps, but each rep consists of 3 seconds on the lowering phase and 2 seconds pause in the bottom. It will then take you 1-2 seconds to stand up, so each rep takes 6-7 seconds. If you multiply this by the 12 reps you will perform, this equals 72-84 seconds of squatting with a 12kg kettlebell per set. That is NOT EASY!

The barbell squat does, however, allow you to add more weight because it will be on your back and you won’t have to hold this. Adding more weight with perfect form has great benefits, but we highly recommend you get your form correct firstly in the air squat and then the goblet squat.

If I use the goblet squat, what weight should I use?

This is entirely on an individual basis. Start with a light kettlebell to get used to this movement and then increase the weight as long as you can perform all of the reps with perfect form!

How many reps/sets?

When we follow a strength and conditioning programme the reps normally start high and then get lower as the weight increases. So taking this into account we would recommend starting with 4 x 15 air squats. Take 2 minutes rest between each set. Every 1-2 week’s you can reduce the reps by 3 when you hopefully can add some more weight through the goblet squat. We would advise you to work at a tempo for each rep. Each rep must consist of:

– 3 seconds on the lowering phase
– 2 seconds pause at the bottom of the squat
– 1-2 seconds standing up

This will help add valuable time under load for each rep rather than going as quick as you can and risk losing form.

How many times per week should I squat?

Let’s try squatting 1-2 times per week.

How can I incorporate this into my running programme?

If you are following a specific running programme, then adding some strength work in is so important. It would help you achieve a better running performance while keeping yourself injury-free.

To help runners achieve their maximum potential, we have designed a half marathon programme which incorporates strength work, plus mobility and stretching exercises.

WHAT’S IN THE GUIDE

– 12 week easy to follow training schedule
– Instructional photos and videos
– 3-week overview and motivational pages
– Journey support through our Facebook page

Our Facebook page

No matter what type of runner you are, feel free to message us on our Facebook Injury Active Running page with questions related to your training guide and personal progress. We really want to be a part of your journey, and would love for you to share your experiences within the community! JOIN OUR FACEBOOK PAGE BY CLICKING HERE:

GET THE GUIDE HERE:
https://injuryactive.com/marathon-guide/