Exercise Misconceptions
by Craig Rasmussen
It never fails to amaze me how much misinformation you can find
floating around a gym. Misconceptions of how or why to perform an
exercise are touted as truth by so-called trainers and coaches, and
bald-faced error is passed on from trainee to trainee as if it were
sacred ritual. Most of these misconceptions seem to be based on
pronouncements of that dangerously ill-informed and ubiquitous group
known as "they." You can always tell when someone doesn't know
what he's talking about, because he peppers his speech with the phrase
"that's what they say." I've found, in my experience, that these they folks are pretty much full of shit. For example, we've all heard this canard, I'm sure: "They
say that you should never bend your knees past 90 degrees when you
squat, because it's bad for your knees." This type of statement is
pretty common among trainees who have never had proper coaching. They
also probably train in commercial gyms, where misinformation spreads
like herpes in a Bangkok brothel, and proper form is the exception, not
the rule. There's a unique conceit among many weight trainees,
a weird mix of ignorance and pride that makes them think they can
manage just fine without a coach (everyone needs a coach). Perhaps they're too proud to admit they need coaching (everyone needs a coach), or they think they're being adequately coached by their buddies and training partners (everyone needs a coach). More
than likely, they figure that with all the great information available
for little or no cost on internet sites and in glossy bodybuilding
magazines, who needs a coach?
"Everyone needs a coach." In
any case, in this 2-part series of articles, I'm going to clear up some
of the more pungent misconceptions of the weight training world, in
hopes of helping you accelerate your progress, and get the most out of
every exercise. I've grouped the misconceptions by exercise, so we'll begin with everyone's favorite two exercises.

SQUAT & DEADLIFT
Misconception #1:
"Keeping your back straight means keeping your back/torso vertical." This
is a major pet peeve of mine so I placed it first on my list. This one
isn't really a "they say" type of thing, but it's something that's
misunderstood all the time. How many times has somebody told you to
"keep your back straight" when lifting something heavy? More times than
you can count, probably. It's not bad advice, as long as you understand that keeping your back straight doesn't
mean keeping your spine absolutely perpendicular to the ground. First
of all, it can't be done. Especially not when you're squatting with a
bar on your back or deadlifting a heavy weight off the floor. To
prove it to yourself, sit on the toilet (make sure the seat is down).
Straighten your torso so that it's completely perpendicular to the
floor, and without tilting your upper body or moving your feet, try to
stand up. Bet you can't do it. If you were able to do it, I bet
you cheated. You either leaned forward, or else you moved your feet way
back underneath your body to accomplish the task.
You probably won't be able to stand up at all. Many people also mistakenly think that keeping the spine completely vertical is always safer than allowing their torso to be inclined forward to a certain degree. Of course, excessive
forward lean can be dangerous, but keeping the torso ramrod-stiff and
vertical isn't much safer at all. As with most things, it's a matter of
extremes. Trying to deadlift a heavy weight with the torso completely
vertical can actually be moredangerous than leaning forward
properly, because you can't maintain the proper position of your spinal
curves (more on this in another section below). You can also
put excessive stress on the knees when back squatting in this "jack in
the box" manner. Somehow, forward lean became something that many
equate with being dangerous or altogether "bad," and something to
avoid. Quite the contrary. Not only is it not bad, it's necessary in some movements. The
idea of trying to stay vertical comes from a desire to minimize the
shear forces on the spine, since the spine itself handles compressive
forces very well. You need to understand that the shear forces that
come from any degree of forward lean are countered by the muscular
forces that keep the spine neutral. It's critically important
to understand that there's a big difference between spinal flexion
(moving from the spine) and hip flexion (moving from the hip joint).
This is where the confusion arises. Basically, lumbar (lower back)
spinal flexion under load can potentially be a very bad thing, as it
can lead to possible disc problems due to the shearing forces from the movements that occur at the intervertebral joints. This is obviously not what you want when performing these two movements. The
spine itself must be kept "straight" which really means it's locked in
its normal/natural curves while some degree of forward torso lean
(coming from the hip joint, not the spine) naturally must occur to
allow proper lifting biomechanics. This means keeping the middle of the
barbell centered over the middle of the base of support on the ground
(the middle of the foot). To sum up, the concept of keeping
your back straight means to keep the spine neutral (normal spinal
curves) and allow some natural torso lean to occur from the hip joint
as you descend in a squat or as you start a deadlift. Understand that
you should lean forward to some degree; you should not round your spine on either movement.
Straight back, bending at the hip: good.
Rounded back and shoulders, curving spine: bad. Now,
don't interpret this to mean that it's okay to lean forward as far as
you can on your squats and deadlifts. I'm saying the problem isn't
forward lean itself, but improper technique and/or loading. Remember, it's a matter of extremes.
For example, if one descends in a squat, but ascends with the hips
rising first (without the barbell moving and without keeping the chest
up), you will probably exceed the ability of the spinal extensors to
maintain neutral extension. Can you really perform the concentric phase
of a good morning with as much weight as you can do the eccentric phase
of a back squat? I don't think so. A certain amount of forward lean is
safe, natural and efficient, but you have to find the optimal amount of lean for you. This
is one of the holy grails of training and coaching: finding the optimal
position for each individual performing each exercise. In his book Starting Strength, Mark Rippetoe makes the simple but excellent point that bar position on the body determines back angle for the exercise.
This is a key lesson, and it ties in with what I said earlier: to
perform any kind of pull or squat efficiently and safely with a heavy
weight, the center of mass of the bar must be over the middle of the
feet. When you examine this you will see and understand why a
front squat (bar in front of the spine) has more vertical back angle
than a back squat or a deadlift. The relationship to be examined from a
coaching perspective isn't how upright the torso position is, but
rather the relationship of the middle of the bar to the middle of the
feet and the spinal position. Take a look at the pictures below, noting how the angle of the torso changes as the bar position changes in each exercise.
Front squat
High bar, Olympic-style back squat
Low bar, powerlifting-style back squat
Deadlift Proper
form has as much to do with individual anthropometry and biomechanical
factors as it does with "textbook" technique. A critical lesson for all
of us to learn is to not try to fit individuals into our preconceived
notions of what their form should look like. We must take
each person on a case-by-case basis and determine the most efficient
and safe biomechanical technique for them based on some universal
criteria for safe exercise performance. (For more information on this,
consult Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe and Lon
Kilgore, listed in the references at the end of this article). The art
of coaching and performing weight training exercises is all about this
key concept. The
lesson to learn here, once again, is that forward lean isn't dangerous
when performing squats and deadlifts. Forward lean is OK as long as you
can maintain the proper position of your spine to counter the shear
forces that occur. Critical factors to consider are the following:
1) Ensuring that the bar is placed on the body so that it's over the middle of the feet.
2) Maintaining a rigid spine position while leaning forward and squatting and deadlifting.
3) Ensuring the hips and shoulders rise at the same rate on the ascent of the squat and deadlift. Problems or incorrect technique with one or more of the above can be potentially dangerous.
Misconception #2:
"They say that 90 degrees of knee flexion equals a parallel squat." At
the risk of starting a flame-fest, I'll assert here that a real
parallel squat (or slightly below parallel) is actually a pretty deep
squat. "Parallel" means different things to different people: let's
define our terms so that we all know what we're talking about. The
question is, "What is parallel to what?" I define
parallel as a position in which the crease formed by the upper leg and
hip joint is even with the top of the knee joint at the bottom of a
squat in reference to the floor. If you prefer, you can define it as the topsurface of the thighs being parallel to the ground. Powerlifting rules state that the crease in the hip must be belowthe top surface of the knee to obtain legal depth. So,
real powerlifting depth is actually slightly below parallel. Let's say
someone truly goes to the parallel position (or slightly below) using
the criteria we established above. If you were to get out a goniometer
to measure the knee angle, you would find that the knee angle is, in
fact, significantly greater than 90 degrees of knee flexion.