Squat The squat is said to be the ultimate test of leg strength. In this exercise, the lifter must place a loaded barbell on his or her back and, from a standing position, squat down to the point at which the femur is at least parallel, and must return to the initial locked out position. The lift requirements are the same for everyone however the lift can be performed in a variety of stances. The squat uses a variety of muscles such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, abdominals, and spinal erectors. Let's break the lift down in terms of physics: Form and Bar Path: Form is absolutely crucial in the squat because it can make the movement as efficient as possible while preventing injury. Since the bar has to be moved from a locked out position, to a parallel squat, and back, the most efficient way to perform the movement would be to keep the bar path as straight as possible to keep all of the work vertical. Any horizontal movement would place more work on the body and would make it more difficult to return the weight to the starting position. Therefore, A straight bar path as shown is most desirable. A lifters form can determine how long they will be able to continue performing the movement. Poor form can lead to a variety of injuries in places like the spine, hips, knees, and even ankles. Spinal injuries make up the majority of squat injuries and are a result of shear force upon the spine. When the spine is in a neutral position during the squat, most of the forces experienced by the spine are compression forces which the spine is built to endure. However, shear forces create an unnatural load to the spine when it isn't in a neutral position and will often result in herniated disks. When performing the squat, make sure to have good form. Click Here for additional information on all types of squat injuries due to poor form. Variations: The squat can be performed in a variety of different ways. Variations go from conventional back squats to front squats and other types. In powerlifting, only the back squat is used, but there are lots of different ways to perform the back squat. There are differences in how the bar is place on the back (high bar and low bar) and foot placement plays a large role as well. High bar allows the lifter to be more upright throughout the movement but creates a larger force demand on the quadriceps. Low bar demands that lifters torso be more bent over at the bottom of the movement, however, it allows more glute recruitment and distributes the load more evenly on the legs. In terms of leg placement, there are two main variations known as conventional and sumo squats. The two variations distribute the load upon the leg muscles differently and vary in terms of their range of motion. A wider stance means the weight has to travel a smaller distance but does not make the lift easier. The difference in difficulty is completely dependent on a person's hip structure and "is more a matter of individual strengths and weaknesses." Strengththeory This difference applies mostly to the dead lift but is equally applicable to the squat. If you are further interested in performing the squat and more there is to know about it please visit the website linked Here. It contains a great deal of knowledge and would greatly benefit anyone from a beginner to an advanced lifter.