Overhead Squat Assessments are a gold standard of personal training, and for good reason. The OHS is one of many forms of dynamic postural assessment utilized by personal trainers to inform exercise programs that will increase performance and decrease injury. Proper interpretation of this transitional movement has potential to expose weaknesses in flexibility, core strength, stability/balance, and even neuromuscular control.
The Importance of Optimal Posture
Let’s take a step back for a minute, because if you’re anything like me, you may be asking “why” at this moment. Why does it matter so long as I’m performing well and am not in pain? Why should I care about my posture if it’s “clearly” not holding me back?
Well, here’s the thing. It is holding you back. Even if you’re not in pain (yet) and you’re climbing hard (everything is reportedly “fine”), poor posture is preventing you from reaching your full potential.
If you can maintain ideal posture, the posture our human bodies were designed to move through, you will reach higher levels of functional strength. I think we can all agree that having an all access pass to our bodies’ full strength stores would be beneficial for our climbing. Even if “everything is fine.”
Furthermore, at a degree greater than any other sport, climbing demands an infinite variety of movement from our bodies. It’s not as mechanically simple as swinging a tennis racket or riding a bike. This has the potential to expose us to more injurious positions and circumstances. Consistently poor posture puts you at greater risk of injury.
Here’s how it works:
- Proper posture = proper length-tension relationships between muscles. Without getting too science-y, there is an optimal length for your muscles. Stimulate the muscle when its resting length is too short or too long, and your force output will be lessened.
- Proper length-tension relationships = efficient functioning of force-couples. Simply put, force-couples are muscles working synergistically to create movement around a joint.
- Efficient functioning of force-couples = proper arthrokinematics. This just means that you have proper joint motion. This allows for proper force distribution and absorption and decreases excess stress on your joints.
In summary, proper posture means greater force production and less injury, because, well, biomechanics.
The Overhead Squat Assessment
The Set Up
In order to perform this assessment on yourself, you will need to set up your phone or have a partner film you so that you may observe your movements.
- Take off your shoes and socks. This allows clearer observation of the foot and ankle complex.
- Stand with your feet shoulders-width apart and your toes pointing straight ahead. In other words, your feet should be parallel to one another.
- Raise your arms overhead with elbows fully extended.
- Squat down to about the height of a chair seat.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat for 5-10 reps, being sure to obtain video from anterior (from the front) and lateral (from the side) views.
Identifying Compensations
Identify standard compensations by observing the feet and knees from the anterior view and the lumbo-pelvic-hip (LPH) complex and shoulders from the lateral view.
Here’s what you’re looking for:
- Feet: Do they turn out and/or flatten?
- Knees: Do they move inward? In other words, do they adduct and internally rotate?
- LPH Complex: Does the lower back arch? Does the torso lean forward excessively (such that the torso is not parallel to the lower leg)?
- Shoulders: Do the arms fall forward (such that they are no longer parallel with the torso)?
If you answered “yes” to any of these, then it is likely that you have some form of movement impairment. Faulty movements are generally a result of altered available joint motion, improper muscle activation, decreased neuromuscular control, or any combination thereof. Note that you may observe compensations not included in this list. These are just the basic ones. You may also observe compensations occurring at different degrees from right to left. For example, a unilateral shoulder injury (old or recent) may cause one arm to fall forward while the other remains in proper alignment.
Interpreting Your Compensations
Believe it or not, you can strengthen, stretch, or mobilize the wrong muscles. As a general rule, strengthening muscles that are already overactive will make things even more angry, and stretching muscles that are already lengthened beyond where they should be for optimal joint mechanics isn’t going to help either. Instead, static stretch and self-myofascial release (SMR) the muscles that are potentially overactive according to your compensation(s). Probable underactive muscles would benefit from strengthening.
Now What?
Address your compensations at the beginning of each typical training session. Perform 1 round of SMR and/or static stretching for your overactive muscles. Choose 1-2 exercises to strengthen your underactive muscles and work them into your warmup routine. These exercises should be done with low resistance (think bodyweight to 50-70% of 1-rep max) and high reps (12-20). Perform 1-3 sets.
The Basics of Stretching and SMR Pre-Session
We have definitely all heard that you shouldn’t static stretch before activity, but you don’t need to write it off entirely. While there is some evidence that static stretching may decrease maximal strength and power for a short window following it, a consistent stretching program for corrective purposes is going to benefit you in the long run.
Be sure to perform some light cardio before engaging in these warmup activities in order to raise your body temperature and get blood circulating at a faster rate.
Keep it light pre-session. When you are static stretching or performing SMR with trigger point release tools or a foam roller, move into a position or apply pressure at a level where you feel tension and slight discomfort. If it’s painful, back off to where it’s not.
Hold each stretch/tender area for at least 30 seconds. This is how long it takes for mechanoreceptors in your muscles and tendons to respond to the tension and pressure created and release. Keep an eye out for a more in depth blog post on the mechanics of flexibility in the next couple of weeks!
Note: Do not roll over your joints with a foam roller! If you do not know how to foam roll properly, seek advice from a fitness professional.
Strengthening as a Corrective Strategy
After performing stretching and SMR, you can target your underactive muscles with some light strengthening. Go for 1-3 sets of 12-20 reps performed at a slow tempo. Focus on maintaining good form and engaging the proper muscles. Chances are your movement patterns may have you compensating through synergist muscles that should be supporting the movement rather than driving it. So make sure you are feeling the burn in the right place!
Keep in mind that you don’t want to choose exercises that are going to target the overactive muscles as defined by your OHS assessment. This will only have the potential to further exacerbate your compensations.
Moving Forward
After 4 weeks of employing these corrective strategies, perform the overhead squat assessment again to check in on your compensations and adjust your program appropriately. You are likely to observe some changes after this first cycle if you addressed your compensations effectively.
Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to target every probable over or underactive muscle, especially if you suspect that one in particular may be the culprit. For example, if you exhibit a low back arch during the OHS and you have a solid core routine in place but struggle with moves that require lower body engagement, then you may choose to target the glutes and hamstrings in your corrective strength program. Once you reassess, you will be able to determine whether your approach was effective or not.
Even if you a reassess and have no compensations, it can still be beneficial to check back in with this test every 4 weeks or so to stay informed. Happy training!
Disclaimer: This article provides a basic understanding of common movement compensations and strategies to correct them. The information herein is not meant to diagnose or treat injuries. Seek the guidance of a medical professional if you suspect an injury.