Running is a repetitive activity in the sagittal plane, a moving surface that moves back and forth. Therefore, at first, it may not make sense to incorporate the left and right exercises into your routine. After all, isn’t it better that your strength work more closely mimics your running?
Not exactly.Work through your body all If you want to be a stronger and more elastic runner, athletic aspects are very important. Doing so will target more muscles and challenge your body in a way that rewards you on the road. And one of the easiest ways to get a more balanced movement? Lateral or lateral movement that works at the frontal plane. Please choose the one that works for your lower body. You have a recipe for a powerful running success. Input: Horizontal squat.
We leveraged two certified personal trainers to get the essential information about lateral squats, including form tips, benefits, variations, and how to incorporate this movement into your routine. Keep scrolling for everything you need to know.
How to do horizontal squats, the right way
To perform a lateral squat safely and accurately, follow these steps: Natascha Grief, Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of Inner Shift Fitness in Easton, PA, will also be demonstrating the move to mimic the proper form.
- Keep your feet about 3-4 feet apart, with your toes facing forward, your heels firmly on the ground, your arms side by side, and tall. This is the starting position.
- Bend your right knee while sinking your weight to your right hip and push your hips back as if you were sitting in a chair. Straighten her left foot and turn her chest up. When you sit down, hold your hands in front of your chest.
- Sit down as long as your mobility allows. You should feel the inside of the left thigh stretch and the gluteal muscles, hamstrings, and inside of the right leg activated. Make sure your right knee does not extend beyond your toes.
- When you reach the limit of mobility, push your right foot to return to the starting position. It’s one person in charge.
- Repeat on the other side.
Are there any common mistakes when doing horizontal squats?
Kaila DeRienzo, a certified personal trainer and RRCA-certified run coach in Orlando, Florida, said that a common form error in lateral squats is that the bent knee goes over the toes. To avoid this mistake, which can overstress the knee joint, sit on the heel and monitor the knee to make sure the knee is behind and aligned with the toes. It is also not desirable to point or point inward, which can stress the knee joint.
Another mistake is to get your feet too close or too far apart. DeRienzo explains that if your feet are too close together, you won’t feel that all your muscles are functioning properly. If you’re too far away, your hips will start to bend outwards, and your torso is likely to bend outwards, explains Cristravis, a certified personal trainer and owner of Seattle Strength and Performance. The proper distance between the legs varies from person to person, but a general rule of thumb is to aim for 3-4 feet, he says.
When doing a rep, make sure your hips and torso are at right angles to the front, your crouched knees are directly above your ankles, and your toes are facing forward. Travis says that if your crouched knees are off your ankles, it’s another sign that your stance can be too wide or too narrow.
Finally, Travis says that when doing a lateral squat, some people accidentally bend their legs instead of sinking to one hip and keeping the other leg straight. Since you want to focus on one leg at a time, keeping the other leg straight will allow you to more accurately target the moving leg.
Perform the move in front of the mirror to avoid common form mistakes, De Rienzo suggests. This allows you to monitor the form and adjust its position as needed.
What are the benefits of lateral squats?
According to DeRienzo, the biggest advantage of lateral squats is that you can work on different athletic aspects. Much of our daily lives occur in the sagittal plane, such as walking dogs, cycling to grocery stores, and engaging in training runs. However, DeRienzo says that the more you train your movements in different aspects, the better you will be able to adapt to your surroundings. For runners, this is useful if you need to cut sideways to avoid obstacles such as puddles, rocks and pedestrians.
What are the other benefits of lateral squats? They function the gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and inner thighs (or hip adductor muscles). These muscles are very important in running, but they can be ignored. “There are a lot of runners with very strong quadriceps, but the rest of the legs also need to be rounded,” says De Rienzo. This is because in a proper running form, not only one muscle group, such as the quadriceps, but the lower body muscles work together as a team.
By regularly moving your lower body muscles in a lateral squat-like motion, not just your quadriceps, you can run harder and reduce your risk of injury.
How often do you need to do horizontal squats?
De Rienzo says he does a weekly lateral squat as part of his lower body strength training. She suggests starting with the weight version of the movement and doing 3 sets of 8-10 iterations on each side. If you find it easy, try one of the steps described below to increase the difficulty.
How do you modify or advance a lateral squat?
First of all: DeRienzo warns that the left-right movement of the lateral squat will not feel natural in the first few attempts at this movement. This is especially true if you spend most of your time on the planes before and after it. .. You may also find that your mobility is limited so that you can’t sit that far. It’s okay — just focus on moving correctly within your range of motion. “Slowly, you’ll notice that the range of motion begins to improve a bit,” says De Rienzo.
Here’s a variation of the horizontal squat to try:
Horizontal squats with support
Why it works: If you find lateral squats of your weight too difficult, grab a stick, barbell with rack, TRX strap, or the side of the bench to balance and improve stability, Travis says. You can also grab the foam roller in front of you.
How to do: Keep your feet about 3-4 feet apart, with your toes facing forward, your heels firmly on the ground, and your hands on the front support to make you taller. This is the starting position. Bend your right knee while sinking your weight to your right hip and push your hips back as if you were sitting in a chair. Straighten your left foot and turn your chest up. Keep support handy. Sit down as long as your mobility allows. When you reach the limit of mobility, push your right foot to return to the starting position. Repeat and then switch sides.
Lateral lunge
Why it works: This lunge variation adds movement to the lateral squat and takes the lateral squat to the next level.
How to do: Stand with your legs separated by the width of your hips. Step on your right foot about 3-4 feet, bend your knees, sink your weight into your right hip, and push your hips back as if you were sitting in a chair. Straighten your left foot and turn your chest up. Hold your hand in front of your chest. Sit down as long as your mobility allows. When you reach the limit of mobility, push your right foot to return to the starting position. Repeat and then switch sides. Continue alternately.
Weighted lateral lunge
Why it works: If you want to build strength and strength, you can use a kettlebell or dumbbell to resist this movement and you can do just that.
How to do: Stand with your legs separated by the width of your hips. Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell in your chest. Step on her right foot about 3-4 feet, bend her knees to sink her weight into her right hip, and push her back as if she were sitting in a chair. Straighten your left foot and turn your chest up. Sit down as long as your mobility allows. When you reach the limit of mobility, push your right foot to return to the starting position. Repeat and then switch sides. Continue alternately.
Glider lateral lunge
Why it works: This creates a stability challenge, but given that you need to fire the inner thigh muscles to get the slider back, tap the inner thigh muscles a bit more.
How to do: Stand with your right foot on the glider, with your feet separated by hip width. Bend your left knee while sinking your weight to your right hip and push your hips back as if you were sitting in a chair. At the same time, keep your right foot straight and move it sideways. Hold your hand in front of your chest. Sit down as long as your mobility allows. When you reach the limit of mobility, push your left foot to grab your inner thigh and put your right foot back in the starting position. Repeat and then switch sides.
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