First Insights in the Relationship between Lower Limb Anatomy and Back Squat Performance in Resistance-Trained Males and Females

Abstract

Identifying key criteria of squat performance is essential to avoiding injuries and optimizing strength training outcomes. To work towards this goal, this study aimed to assess the correlation between lower limb anatomy and back squat performance during a set-to-exhaustion in resistance-trained males and females. Optical motion captures of squat performance and data from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lower limbs were acquired in eight healthy participants (average: 28.4 years, four men, four women). It was hypothesized that there is a correlation between subject-specific musculoskeletal and squat-specific parameters. The results of our study indicate a high correlation between the summed volume of the hamstrings and quadriceps and squat depth normalized to thigh length (r = −0.86), and a high correlation between leg size and one-repetition maximum load (r = 0.81), respectively. Thereby, a marked difference was found in muscle volume and one-repetition maximum load between males and females, with a trend of females squatting deeper. The present study offers new insights for trainers and athletes for targeted musculoskeletal conditioning using the squat exercise. It can be inferred that greater muscle volume is essential to achieving enhanced power potential, and, consequently, a higher 1RM value, especially for female athletes that tend to squat deeper than their male counterparts.

Feasibility of Using Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging Technology for Contactless 3D Body Scanning and Anthropometric Assessment of Athletes

“…This pilot study was part of a larger study to improve the safety and efficiency of strength training by means of mobile technology [ 9 , 10 ]. These results indicate a degree of reliability ( Table 1 ), but further validation studies with a repeated measurement design and larger sample sizes are needed to draw decisive conclusions regarding the validity and reliability of LiDAR technology for contactless anthropometric assessment.…”

Comparing Video Analysis to Computerized Detection of Limb Position for the Diagnosis of Movement Control during Back Squat Exercise with Overload

“…Moreover, while the selected sample of participants (ten males) supported the development of the HMM to analyse of back squat execution, additional limitations of the current model are its application to the analysis of sex-related particularities during squatting execution or its variants (e.g., trunk alignment, ankle-knee-hip kinematic chain, knee forward movement in sagittal plane, and squat depth) [ 33 , 68 , 69 , 70 ] and the application of the HMM to the analysis of other mechanical features of exercise execution, such as the ability to perform (e.g., novice vs. advanced) [ 71 ], and the level of motor disability during the movement (e.g., neural dysfunctions) [ 72 ], since all these conditions require a large sample of participants to achieve an ideal reference for each movement condition for HMM analysis. On the other hand, evaluators performing visual observation of the performance might perceive (and evaluate) this variation in back squat execution as incorrect due to the lack of an appropriate reference or even perceive small functional motion variability as disarrangements [ 62 , 63 ].…”

Sex differences in cardiometabolic risk factors and in response to lifestyle intervention in prepubertal and pubertal subjects with obesity

“…A study on the effect of a 12-week lifestyle intervention in Latino adolescents with obesity, had results like ours showing that males compared to females had greater reduction in fat mass and gained more fat-free mass ( 27 ). A multidisciplinary inpatient program carried out in Switzerland in a small group of adolescents with severe obesity, showed that boys lowered their BMI by a greater extent than girls ( 28 ). A recent review analyzed the effect of gender on response to lifestyle intervention among children and adolescent and concluded that boys and girls did not demonstrate a differential response to the treatment for weight, BMI z score or waist circumference ( 29 ).…”