The Activation of Gluteal, Thigh, and Lower Back Muscles in Different Squat Variations Performed by Competitive Bodybuilders: Implications for Resistance Training

Giuseppe Coratella, Gianpaolo Tornatore, Francesca Caccavale, Stefano Longo, Fabio Esposito and Emiliano Cè
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Giuseppe Coratella: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Giuseppe Colombo 71, 20133 Milano, Italy
Gianpaolo Tornatore: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Giuseppe Colombo 71, 20133 Milano, Italy
Francesca Caccavale: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Giuseppe Colombo 71, 20133 Milano, Italy
Stefano Longo: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Giuseppe Colombo 71, 20133 Milano, Italy
Fabio Esposito: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Giuseppe Colombo 71, 20133 Milano, Italy
Emiliano Cè: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Giuseppe Colombo 71, 20133 Milano, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-11

Abstract: The present study investigated the activation of gluteal, thigh, and lower back muscles in different squat variations. Ten male competitive bodybuilders perform back-squat at full (full-BS) or parallel (parallel-BS) depth, using large feet-stance (sumo-BS), and enhancing the feet external rotation (external-rotated-sumo-BS) and front-squat (FS) at 80% 1-RM. The normalized surface electromyographic root-mean-square (sEMG RMS) amplitude of gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, adductor longus, longissimus, and iliocostalis was recorded during both the ascending and descending phase of each exercise. During the descending phase, greater sEMG RMS amplitude of gluteus maximus and gluteus medius was found in FS vs. all other exercises ( p < 0.05). Additionally, FS elicited iliocostalis more than all other exercises. During the ascending phase, both sumo-BS and external-rotated-sumo-BS showed greater vastus lateralis and adductor longus activation compared to all other exercises ( p < 0.05). Moreover, rectus femoris activation was greater in FS compared to full-BS ( p < 0.05). No between-exercise difference was found in vastus medialis and longissimus showed no between-exercise difference. FS needs more backward stabilization during the descending phase. Larger feet-stance increases thigh muscles activity, possibly because of their longer length. These findings show how bodybuilders uniquely recruit muscles when performing different squat variations.

Keywords: EMG; quadriceps; gluteus maximus; adductor longus; weight training; strength training; front squat; back squat; feet stance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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