Should Runners Squat?

What's the point? If you're a runner, what benefit would squatting give you?  You're not frog leaping from point to point, you're utilizing a small window of your hip range of motion to propel you forward.  From that point of view, squatting seems arbitrary and a waste of time.

Unfortunately, that point of view is fairly myopic.  Runners should perform squats; They challenge the hip, knee, ankle, and spine to perform a high-demand function.  This provides a protective effect to the joints and makes them stronger and more durable.  I encourage all of my runners to squat, and in fact I prescribe some form of squatting to probably 99% of my runners - regardless of their injury.

So the next question is "How much?"  Specifically, "to what depth?"

Thankfully we've got some research to answer that.  In 2016, Rhea et al published in Human Movement an article titled "Joint-Angle Specific Strength Adaptations Influence Improvements in Power in Highly Trained Athletes."  That's a mouthful.  But they essentially measured performance from men who squatted at full-depth, half-depth, and quarter-depth.  Which depth would provide a performance boost in the runners - the answer?

Quarter depth!  

I found this interesting since I hardly ever prescribe quarter depth squats, unless there is a limiting factor along in their rehab (pain, anatomical hindrance, etc).  The authors suggest that the small amount of motion seen in the quarter-depth squat provided specific resistance or challenges that are commonly seen in the same amount of motion in running.  Maybe I was the one being myopic!

However, in the rehab world, I'm still going to challenge your depth.  It still provides that protective mechanism when you challenge a joint through its full range of motion.  But if you're wanting to take some time off that 5k, you should consider doing some quarter-depth squats on your cross-train days.

Credit to Yann Le Meur (@YLMSportScience)
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