WHAT THE HECK IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SQUAT AND A HINGE

Now I was in the class the other day, and I went up to a gentleman & told him to think less of a squat more of a Hinge now he immediately dropped the weights he was using and looked at me and he said “everybody keeps telling me to hinge. What the heck is a hinge?”

I immediately felt so bad! Generally in group fitness, there’s almost no time to chat however, this guy had dropped his weights and he was ready for an answer, and I was ready to give it to him.

Here's what I told him:

The definition of a squat is when you bend your knees keep your chest high and your knees come in line with your hips, so there should be a straight line across from your knee to your hip and the movement pattern here is generally up and down.

So I always tell people to keep their chest up, if you had a logo on your chest, I would be able to see it or you'd be able to see it in the mirror. Now if your chest is tall and eyes are looking up, you’re going to go up. If your chest is down and you’re looking down your upper body is generally going to stay looking down while your lower body does something else.

A Hinge, is a completely different but still a fundamental movement pattern. The definition of a hinge is when your shoulders are above your hips and your hips are above your knees. In this one, the primary movers are going to be your hips and you’re thinking a back-to-forward motion.

Review:

- A squat is a knee-dominant and anterior chain-focused movement. Hips go nice and low to produce vertical energy.

- The hinge is a hip-dominant and posterior chain-focused movement and your energy goes horizontally.

Give them both a try and let me know what you think. I’ll see you next time.

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