Squat Skills and Running

Mastering a squat is one the best things you can do to improve your running ability. Consider learning to squat as a new skill that will have immediate transferability over to you on the road, trail or track. Besides, if you only run, you need to build in opportunities to take your hips, knees and ankles through full range of motion. Running alone won’t complete that task, but squatting will.

When running in a good position your trunk is braced and you’re stabilizing your spine, you get movement from certain areas and ideally not compensating through others, just like squatting.

You need to be able to do that over the entire duration of your run. Mile after mile no matter the distance or intensity. When you can no longer maintain the proper positions, you risk injury or develop compensatory patterns, that may lead to injury in the future. If that isn’t good enough reason for you, you will also lose power and speed. Resulting in slower times and harder runs.

Here’s where the ability to properly squat comes in. Doing box squats or goblet squats or even bodyweight squats will allow you to spot any mechanical breakdowns that may happen in your running technique. If you always turn your feet out on the last few reps of goblet squats, you can bet that you turn your feet out when running. Missing hip extension? We can see that at the top of your squat too.

As mentioned earlier, while running, you need proper spinal bracing. If you arch your back as you lower yourself to squat, you may be run in an over extended position. That also shows that you don’t know how to properly keep yourself in a strong, braced core position. Proper squatting, with guidance from a knowledgeable coach, requires you to brace your core to move your extremities, just like running.

We can spot potential breakdowns but we can also practice good positions. Let’s say your workout consists of 4 sets of 8 goblet box squats, you get 32 chances to practice proper alignment and form, that will have carryover to your run.

After you build up the basic movement knowledge to properly squat, whichever variation is best for you, we can challenge it in several different ways. This makes you aware of positions and helps maintain technique over a certain intensity or duration. It’s skill practice to make you a better runner.

Justin Miner

@justinminergain