Re: Tabata Workout
Erica,
Your observation is primary to how we teach. Movement is movement. If you are teaching someone to squat there is a right way to do it. Doesn’t matter if they are 5 years old or 75. Same with punching, kicking etc.
Further thinking on your question and the idea of the squats at that speed being injurious to the joint. When you see an untrained person squatting that fast, what is generally happening? First they unlock their knees, then they relax their hamstrings and glutes and plunge to the bottom. Their knees shoot forward, often their chest drops. As they reach the bottom the rebound of the tension in their knees. Can this be harmful? Sure it can.
Look at the difference in Annie and Nicole. Their movement starts with the hip (the squat is a hip, hamstring and glute exercise) the hamstrings pull them to the bottom. We know their hamstrings are engaged because their knees don’t shoot forward, way past the toes. One of the functions of an engaged hamstring at the bottom of the squat is to keep the knees from shooting over the toes (if you dont believe it squat down and relax your hammies, see what happens to your knees).
Back to Annie and Nicole their hamstrings are pull ing them towards the bottom. There is a point where they rebound back up. That point has nothing to do with the knee, but rather the limit of their hamstring flexibility. Since there is constant flexion during the movement, and because they have trained and adapted there is little stress on the knee joint.
