Tutorial: Suspended Squat

Suspended squat is a functional exercise performed by standing and introducing a descending motion that follows one of the natural movement pillars.

Suspended squats allow you to execute vertical displacement of body mass with no locomotion associated. This exercise strengthens your legs and promotes hip and trunk stabilization (which is a specific type of strength). Besides that, it offers training in particular movements useful in sports and daily activities that require balance.

This exercise allows you to use upper-body, lower body and mixing both to lower or lift the body’s center of mass, involving movements such as squatting, lunging and climbing.

By moving up and down, you promote a vertical displacement on body center of mass which will require leg strength (quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes), and at the same time, it creates the need to activate the hip stabilization muscles and core muscles too, to rebalance and prevent falling. As you squat in a suspended way, you add to the equation the search for balance, which increases the challenge of the exercise.

WHAT

• The Suspended squat is a functional exercise performed on standing and level changing pillar.
• Strengthens your legs (quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes).
• Promotes hip and trunk stabilization.
• Activates all trunk muscles and train balance.

HOW

• With the bar suspended by the strips on the lower level, nearest to the floor, hold the strips with both hands and step up to the bar.
• Try to stabilize your hip and trunk maintaining your balance over the bar.
• Hold the strips at the height of your shoulder line and stabilize your scapula.
• Activate your abs.
• Perform a squat on the suspended bar.
• Notice the relation between your hip and knees (as your hip goes backwards and down, your knees go slightly to the front to maintain the balance).

WHY

• Allows you to control body’s center of mass on a vertical displacement and provides balance.
• Strengthen quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes.
• Activate the hip stabilization muscles and core muscles.
• Rebalance training prevents falls and injuries.

Did you like the suspended squat tutorial? Here are more exercises:

• Jump pull-up
• Inverted push-up
• Suspended lunge
• Kinesis low to high chop
• Kinesis twisting punches
• Kinesis row
• Kinesis lunge
• Roll out with step
• Hip extension
• Hanging twist
• Bunny hops
• Burpee pull-up
• Explosive push-up
• Glute bridge
• Kinesis lunge to chest press
• Kinesis reverse lunge to row
• Overhead squat
• Row with functional bar
• Push up on functional bar