It’s just so difficult to guess where the name of this kind of squats came from. However, his “author” is a Russian athlete Georg Gakkenshmidt. Exercise can be performed both with free weight, and in a special gaque machine. Accordingly, in the second case, work is more isolated, but part of the load is distributed to the back.
Gakk-squats: musclesFirst of all, gak squats are designed for quadriceps training. But as a stabilizer works several groups at once:
for the trunk: the muscles of the press, the rectifiers of the back, the square muscle;
for the thighs: rotatory muscles of the thigh, gluteus muscles that lead the muscles of the thigh;
legs (lower part): muscles of the ankle joint, calves.
How to properly do gak squats?
Starting position: the bar holds behind in the lowered hands. Hvat – straight from above. Legs shoulder width apart.
Squatting with the straightened back up to that position when femurs form a parallel with a floor is made. You can stay for 1-2 seconds in squatting to feel the tension of the muscles. Then return to the starting position.
During the entire cycle of movement, care must be taken to keep the body straight and the shoulders high.
There are also special so-called gak-simulators. As already mentioned, when working on them, some of the load is distributed to the back. Simulators can be executed as simply in the form of an inclined plane, when the athlete leans back on it, and in the form of a movable platform. In this case, the athlete additionally gets the opportunity to lean on his shoulders. And restrictors reduce the risk of injury during gak squatting.
Recommendations
Here are a few recommendations that will allow you to perform gak squats correctly:
When working on the simulator, you need to ensure that the back is constantly tightly pressed against the pillow. Do not bend the case forward or sideways;
while working with free weight, you need to carefully monitor that the back is slightly bent, and also a smooth posture was observed. Bent back during squats is the right way to injury;
Shoulders must be kept high, in no case should they be rounded;
do not allow the knees to come out of the line of socks;
The body weight should be transferred to the heels and the middle part of the foot. The same goes for work in a gak-simulator;
in case, for some reason, to maintain a natural smooth posture is not obtained – you can try to bend your legs at an angle less than a straight. For example, at 45 degrees;
the breath is made while moving down, and the exhalation – while moving upwards;
The simulator should be used only when the muscles of the legs and back are strong enough. Therefore, beginners are recommended to use squats only with free weight.
To work out the correct technique at first will help the gak squat with an empty neck. And only after this you can proceed to a gradual increase in weights. Side mirrors help to monitor the observance of the squat technique. If they are available in the hall – you must certainly use them. If they are not – you can ask your partner to follow the technique. In extreme cases, you use the recording of the execution of the exercise on the video, followed by viewing and analyzing the errors.