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Biomechanical Analysis to Determine the Most Effective Posture During Squats and Shallow Squats While Lifting Weights in Women

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to identify the most appropriate squat posture for women by analyzing different squatting methods and weights.

Methods

Twelve healthy women were recruited as subjects (age: 20.1 ± 1.2 years, height: 163.4 ± 3.7 cm, weight: 57.9 ± 4.9 kg). The 10-camera Vicon MX13 + motion capture system was used to collect squat and shallow squat motion images at 250 Hz sample rate and a Kistler force plate was used to collect ground reaction force at a 1000 Hz sample rate. The two-way ANOVA (α = .05) was applied to assess for significance.

Results

The knee joint torque increased as the weight increased (p < .001). The weight affects maximum knee flexion and joint torque during extension, but no difference was found between the squat and shallow squat methods. Greater knee maximum adduction/abduction and internal/external rotation torque were found in squat lifting.

Conclusion

The squat and shallow squat had a similar knee loading under the same weight. Shallow squatting yielded better knee stability, which makes it more suitable for the general female population. Squat training was found to be more suitable for well-trained athletes.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Yo Chen and Zheng-Yang Xie contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physical Education and Health, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China

    Yo Chen

  2. Department of Physical Education, Nanjing Sport Institute University, Nanjing, China

    Zheng-Yang Xie

  3. Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 88, Sec. 4, Tingzhou Rd., Wenshan Dist., Taipei City 116, Taiwan, ROC

    Ko-Yin Huang & Jia-Hao Chang

  4. Department of Physical Therapy, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

    Hui-Ting Lin

Authors
  1. Yo Chen
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  2. Zheng-Yang Xie
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  3. Ko-Yin Huang
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  4. Hui-Ting Lin
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  5. Jia-Hao Chang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jia-Hao Chang.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Chen, Y., Xie, ZY., Huang, KY. et al. Biomechanical Analysis to Determine the Most Effective Posture During Squats and Shallow Squats While Lifting Weights in Women. J. Med. Biol. Eng. 40, 334–339 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40846-020-00513-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40846-020-00513-y

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