I got to thinking today amid reading an article about squats, it sort of got me thinking. It seems the popular trend today in the fitness world is elevating squats above pretty much every other exercise as one that everyone must be doing or they’re not really “lifting”. Dr. John Rusin pretty much emphasizes that a lot of the population “can’t squat”., or at least not properly and are setting themselves up for big time problems down the road. And go on any internet related comment section of someone doing a squat (or a lot of other exercises, but squat primarily) and you’ll get loads of people saying bad form or doing it incorrectly. It just really got me thinking…should would be recommending squats above all else?
I’m reminded of reading many, many articles regarding cardio beginners and experts about what’s the “best” form of cardio exercise. While they factor many variables into account, the general consensus in many of what I’ve read is running is the most effective, but do what you enjoy as it will keep you participating in the exercise. Also they tend to state that ____ (blank) might be better for some because of ______ . Why don’t we advocate a similar policy when it comes to weight training?
The reason I’m stating this is because while squats might be the best exercise in a sense, they don’t really take other factors into account. Personal note - squats were causing major hip pain (along with deadlifts, which I think initially caused the problem) for some time before i really pinpointed my issue and since I have quit them for the time being by problems have subsided significantly. I still do other leg exercises without problems. I started lifting in my late teens and then started squatting/deadlifting shortly thereafter. I have been off and on and now am mid 30s, but I just now realize - I never really enjoyed either of them either. Perhaps I was one with bad form and that’s the main reason, but doing them on a consistent basis made me generally feel achy and run down, moreso than any other exercise.
So the reason I’m posting is wondering if anyone else finds the dichotomy of YOU MUST SQUAT while also knowing full well that many butcher the movement? “Many” also does not just include beginners if experts writing on the subject is any indication. And I know the response - “Learn from a professional”. How many people do you really think are going to shell out the $ for a professional (and I don’t just mean personal trainer at random commerical gym) to actually learn how to do it? And since ego is also a primary motivator - aren’t we really compounding the problem with perhaps the 2nd biggest ego driven exercise next to bench press?