Developing strong and sturdy legs isn’t only about putting more weight on that barbell. It’s about utilizing your biomechanical leverages to their full range of motion. This is the main philosophy behind the Knees-over-toes style of training. That’s where heel-elevated squatting, and by extension, the squat wedges come into play.
If you ever performed a squat (any type) with your heels raised, you know that there’s that special feeling of “finally utilizing your glutes and quads the right way” feeling that goes with it.
So, what gives? Let’s dig in our heels to see what squat wedges are all about.
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Glutes and Quads Disengagement - A Common Squatting Issue
Why should you even consider getting squat wedges if all you need is your feet and a level surface to squat, right? Well, there’s more to heel-elevated squatting than you might think.
In the KOT training methodology, getting strong in the ROM position is the key to getting strong in general. Now, to get to that stretched ROM position, we need to consider the biomechanics of squatting.
While you squat, it’s important to keep your glutes and quads activated (as the dominant muscle groups). However, the deeper you go, the harder it is to keep these muscles under balanced tension. This results in your smaller stabilizer muscles taking the load, which leads to injury and muscle imbalances. You know – the infamous but wink.
The first region to take that load when the glutes disengage is the lumbar region, aka your lower back. And we are all familiar with where things go from there.
Heel-Elevated Squatting as The Cure For Bad Squats
Squat wedges give you the option to raise your heels while you squat, in a safe way.
Now, a few things happen with the biomechanics of the lower body when we do heel-elevated squatting. When you use the squat wedges under your heels while you squat, you:
- Go deeper while keeping your glutes and quads activated
- Alleviate the pressure off your lumbar (lower back) region
- Allow your knees to go over the toes, which unlocks an even more stable squatting depth
Squat Wedges vs Slant Board
If you’re familiar with slant board exercises, and how a slant board works, you must’ve seen the similarities it shares with the squat wedges.
However, the wedges pack a different set of benefits, even though the slant board lets you do heel-elevated exercises as well.
Compared to the slant board, the squat wedges have the following benefits:
- Industrial high-quality rubber construction, so you can load more weight (for barbell squatting)
- The separate design (a squat wedge for each foot) allows for easier unilateral training
- Due to size (and a free bag with the Hybrid Athlete Squat Wedges), the wedges are easier to carry around
You can look at it like this – the slant board shines best as a mobility tool, while you can use the squat wedges to train under more load. Of course, most slant board exercises transfer easily to the squat wedges, so make sure to try them out.
How to use the Squat Wedges for glutes and quads?
There are two main ways to utilize squat wedges:
- With your heel on the squat wedge
- With your whole foot on the squat wedge
The former will allow for more glute activation, at the cost of some depth, while the latter is used for a quad-centric deep squat.
For example, if you place your whole feet on the squat wedges, you get a perfect set-up for front squats. You can also use a single squat wedge to practice some badass pistol squats. Just be careful when you start, because you will get surprised by the knee-hip placement that comes with using the squat wedges.
Squat Wedges - The Verdict
It’s simple, the squat wedges give you the opportunity to squat deep, with your major muscle groups activated, all while allowing your knees to go over your toes.
It takes a session or two to get used to the new ROM, but it’s a guaranteed way to practice those deep squats while sparing your lower back and knees. And if that’s not injury-prevention, then nothing is.
Get a pair of your very own Hybrid Athlete Squat Wedges, and start squatting deep right now:
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