Hey guys!! I have a question concerning a squat assessment :)
I’ll try to keep this short!
My girlfriend has been doing crossfit for about three months now. She is an athlete, but mostly a runner, so she has very very strong legs. As you all know, deep squats are some of the primary movements in Crossfit (which I dislike because i NEVER make my clients squat that low with their knees turned out). My girlfriend told me the instructors keep telling her to squat lower and that her chest is falling forward. I told her to squat safely and that if she couldn’t squat that low with proper form–dont do it!
I put her through a workout yesterday that involved body weight squats–knees/hips 90 degrees, knees and toes in line with each other. I was surprised to see even with no weight, he knees falling INWARD, LACK OF BALANCE, and CHEST FALLING FORWARD.
Now, in a squat assessment with a new, de-conditioned client, I would know the causes of these improper movements. BUT, as mentioned, my girlfriend has good balance, strong legs, and is an athlete. WHAT COULD BE THE CAUSE OF THIS???
TIGHT HIPS?? OVERACTIVE ADDUCTORS? WEAK LOW BACK??
ANYTHING WILL HELP! I just want to make sure she is doing these exercises correctly, and not becoming injured.
THANK YOU!!!
Hi Rachel. I’ll preface my answer by saying that this is a very limited answer since I have not seen your girlfriend, nor do I know about her fitness and health condition – so this should not be taken as an ANSWER specific to your girlfriend.
Based on what you’re saying here, one of the issues with her knees collapsing inward (as you describe this it sounds like valgus) as she squats COULD BE weak gluteus medius muscles. I work with female athletes and one of my very early assessments is checking for this “valgus” position. Often that issue is addressed by strengthening the glute medius with such exercises as ankle cuff walks or “monster” walks.
I would recommend having her assessed by a physical therapist to see if in fact that, or something else is the issue before you start trying to address it.
I hope this helps.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
[email protected]