The Role Of The Functional Squat
Western civilization considers squatting as a primitive movement pattern that is highly coveted and viewed as remarkable; whereas the rest of the world views squatting as a way of life. There has become a misconception about the role of squatting.
Take a look at these pictures, look similar? We were all designed for squatting, but we have lost our capacity to do so. This revolves around the fact that our environment tends to be over-stimulating and we operate with a mindset that more is better. As a result we tend to rush about our lives, driving ourselves into an overly extended pattern with a sympathetic autonomic shift.
Functional squatting is not meant to be a performance measure as a lot of today’s society views it, but rather a position of relief promoting recovery. When performed correctly squatting can powerfully affect our autonomic nervous system, but it is reliant on our position. Being able to functionally squat means we can move from a state of purposeful extension (sympathetic) into a state of flexion (parasympathetic). This is beneficial because as we descend into our squat the pelvic floor moves under our posteriorly titled pelvis, synchronizing our thoracic and pelvic diaphragms within the zone of apposition (ZOA). This creates postural relief and allows respiration to occur sufficiently in the posterior mediastinum. The ability to breathe in this position with maximal diaphragm ascension not only creates ownership of our thoracic and pelvis regions, but also enhances recovery potential.
If we want to experience this postural and respiratory relief, we need to look at what is required by the functional squat. To be able to functionally squat we not only need an effective ZOA, but also need to have appropriate joint mobility and muscle tension to be able to comfortably maintain our squatted position. If we break down the phases of the functional squat it is easier to understand what constraints exist.
Start Position Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Step 1: Initiate knee flexion with a flexed spinal column and posteriorly tilt pelvis. This represents our ability to begin shutting off our extensor tone in our paraspinals via Posterior Pelvic Tilt (IOs/TAs and hamstrings).
Step 2: Increase hip/knee flexion and maintain posterior tilt and spinal flexion. At this point we should be able achieve gluteal descent at or below knee level while maintaining our foot posture. In addition to the extensor inhibition in our paraspinals, we now must also inhibit our triceps surae to be grounded through our heels.
Step 3: Descent into maximal hip/knee flexion and full inhibition of extensor tone. Reflects the ability to maximally squat while maintaining spinal flexion, a posterior pelvic tilt, and heel ground contact. This is indicative of synchronized diaphragms and a state of full flexion (parasympathetic).
With the power the functional squat holds it should be integrated into our training programs. The hallmark of any well-designed training program is going to include a loaded squat variation and/or hinge pattern. These movements rely on our ability to extend our systems to overcome an external load and the effects of gravity. However, I often notice clients perform well on their first set of an exercise, but their performance steadily declines with each subsequent set. As a client progresses through their working sets, fatigue occurs naturally causing an increase in accessory motion of their spines. It has been noted that a 2 degree increase in extension can increase spinal compressive forces by 16%. However, if a client can better recover between sets the compounding effects of fatigue can be limited. This is where the functional squat can be utilized both appropriately and effectively.
As noted earlier the loaded squat and hinge pattern help to extend our system or rather kick on our sympathetic nervous system, whereas the functional squat is our “off switch”. By hitting this “off switch” in between our sets we move away from the sympathetic threshold of overtraining/stimulation (i.e excessive fatigue development) and increase our training capacity during the next set.
Now, with that said, if we lose our ability to recover between sets it can be indicative of a shift in our autonomics into a heightened sympathetic state. At this point we can either consider the stimulus was too great or additional recovery time is needed to improve our readiness.
In the end, performance is about capacity and the ability to maintain power output across a given period of time. If recovery is optimal, a larger physiological buffer zone is created allowing greater amounts of stress to be endured and performance to be enhanced. One way to do this, FUNCTIONALLY SQUAT!
Reference:
Postural Restoration: Myokinematic Restoration, Postural Respiration, and Pelvis Restoration.
Robert Sapolsky: Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers
Joel Jamieson: Ultimate Guide to HRV Training
