WODdoc Episode 103 Project365: 3 Front Squat Killers

October 13, 2014 11:54 pm

Did you get the front squat memo? The last couple of weeks a bunch of athletes have been in with hip flexor injuries and, all of them are doing some form of front squat program. I can’t lie, I’ve doing the same thing for a couple weeks too. Squat programs are tough. You’re under heavy load several times a week. All the more reason to take care of yourself.

It seems intuitive, right? Higher loads, shorter periods of rest. Recovery should be a priority…. yeeeetttt everyone forgets. That is, until there’s pain. Pain alllllllllways reminds us.

Lets prevent pain…. or at minimum… reduce the chances of causing pain during front squat programs.

3 Muscles You Must Mobilize To Reduce Chances Of Injury During Front Squats

1. Psoas

This sucker is your primary hip flexor and receives a beating due to the more upright torso position during front squats.

2. Tensor Fasciae Latae

This guy is your accessory hip flexor but is also involved with trunk stabilization. Yep, lots of that during front squats… and thats why it gets fried.

3. Vastus Lateralis

This baby is the meaty part that forms the outside of those thunder thighs. It has two jobs. To stabilize the knee and to extend the knee but gets burnt during front squatting. Not to mention the double whammy…. as the TFL shortens it pulls the Iliotibial Band (ITB) taught over the outside of the vastus lateralis … now this sucker rubs during leg movement… and we get a nice little friction syndrome firing up.