Let me just start
by saying when I say MAX range, I mean MAXIMUM
range! With this exercise, you are going to
be using a bench and dumbells to achieve a range
of motion in the squat far greater than what
you normally would use.
Keeping that in
mind, if your knees give you trouble on a full
squat, this might be a good one to skip. For
healthy knees, it's totally fine and can even
help strengthen them in that extreme range of
motion. Full squats are NOT bad for the knees.
But because the range of motion is so great,
it does put more tension on the area and it's
something to be aware of.
That being said,
your quads are in for a trashing!
First, you need
to get a couple of moderate-weight dumbells
and a flat bench. Nothing too extreme about
the equipment. Start lighter than you think
you'll need to.
Pick up both dumbells
and walk over to your bench. To do this exercise,
you're basically going to stand on the flat
bench and do a dumbell squat. But because you're
standing on a bench, you can squat down VERY
far without the dumbells hitting the ground.
In fact, you will bring them several inches
below the level of the bench at the bottom of
the squat!
This will allow
you to achieve that maximum range of motion
I was talking about.
So walk up to
your bench, set one dumbell on the bench (still
gripping it) then step up onto the bench, holding
the other dumbell. Keeping that one dumbell
on the bench is easier than trying to do a step
up with both dumbells. Save the work for the
exercise itself.
Once you've got
both feet on the bench, stand up and get yourself
ready - top position of the squat.
Now start squatting
down, keeping the dumbells at your side. The
picture below shows you about how far down you
can get with a normal dumbell squat - this is
the point where the floor would normally stop
the dumbells.
But for THIS exercise,
you're going to going until you're down in a
full crouch - glutes to heels, as far down as
you can possibly go. Let the dumbells pull down
into that deep bottom position.
Note in the picture
above that I've brought the dumbells a litle
forward rather than letting them hang straight
down. By bringing them forward, you keep better
balance on the bench. If they're hanging straight
down, you'll tend to lose balance backwards.
CRITICAL: at the
bottom, do not lose tension in your quads. Keep
those muscles tight! We want to keep the tension
on the muscles and not have it go to the knee
joints.
When you're in
this very bottom position, you can let your
shoulders hunch forward over your knees, as
you move the dumbells forward. Since you're
not using extremely heavy weights, it's not
going to injure you.
Now, using muscle
power only, squat back up! DO NOT bounce out
of this bottom position.
Like I said above,
use a lighter weight than you think you'll need
the first time you do this one. It'll really
show you what full range of motion is all about!
This type of squat
is a great option if you're training at a gym
(or at home) where you're limited to lighter
dumbells. You can great some great training
for the entire lower body by extending the range
of motion to the extreme bottom position.
