Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 5, 2025
Muscle Imbalances: Testing and Training Functional Eccentric Hamstring Strength in Athletic Populations
Published on: May 1, 2018
Differences in the muscle activities of the quadriceps femoris and hamstrings while performing various squat
Joo-Hyun Lee1, Soojin Kim1,2, Jihye Heo1
1College of Arts and Sports, Department of Kinesiology, Inha University, 5W555B, 100 Inha-ro, Michuhol-gu, Incheon, 22212, South Korea.
Background:
Knee injuries in the lower limbs frequently occur, and lower limb muscles need to be strengthened to reduce injuries. Activating muscles can help strengthen muscles.. This study aimed to determine the squat exercises [general squat (GS), wall squat (WS), and Spanish squat (SS)] that effectively increased muscle activity using electromyography (EMG).
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, 22 participants performed three different squat exercises with EMG attached to the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare thigh muscle activities among the various squat exercises.
Results:
During SS, RF showed greater muscle activation compared to WS and GS (RF: χ2 = 21.523, p = 0.000, η2 = 0.333). VL also showed greater muscle activation during SS compared to WS (VL: χ2 = 7.101, p = 0.029, η2 = 0.109).
Conclusions:
The results from this study indicate that SS shows more activation in the RF and VL muscles compared to GS and WS. These findings suggest that SS can provide more muscle activation for the RF and VL muscles and will greatly help those who lack muscle activation in these muscles.
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