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UNHack squats.
Love em!
Pendulums too. I love the fact that they give us the ability to hit crazy depths that the vast majority of us could on dream of with any conventional squat pattern.
This allows us to really challenge the quads in the lengthened (stretched) range when there is a huge amount of flexion at the knee.
This is great, and the whole idea of programming hacks/pendulums in the first place.
But just as the quads are at full stretch at the bottom in the ass to the grass position, so are the associated tendons and with heavier loads, over time, this can spell disaster.
I’ve literally lost count of the number of times I’ve really aggravated patella tendons on very heavy, very deep hacks.
Some people like to use bands, which I sort of get, but it’s not really my thing.
I think a very slightly shorter range of motion is the answer. Deep enough to still challenge the quads substantially in the lengthened range but not so deep that you rocket the tendons, too. Maybe a 10 degree reduction at the knee is a good starting point.
So with hacks it’s either a little lighter with plenty of depth or heavier with a band or a slightly shorter range.
The option that I didn’t mention is performing them tired, later on in the session to make them feel heavier than they really are….but that’s tomorrows reel.
Tune in for less knee pain.
@unstagedcoaching
