Differences of thigh muscle activation during various squat exercise on stable and unstable surfaces

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare thigh muscle activities and muscle co-activation when performing squats, wall squats, and Spanish squats on stable and unstable ground. METHODS: Twenty-two healthy male subjects (age: 22.50±2.70 years, height: 178.72±6.04 cm, mass: 76.50±6.80 kg, body mass index: 24.00±2.10 kg/m2, and Godin activity questionnaire: 56.30±24.10) voluntarily participated in the study.All of the participants performed three different squat exercises on the floor and the BOSU ball with an electromyograph attached to each participant’s quadriceps (rectus femoris, RF; vastus lateralis, VL; and vastus medialis, VM) and hamstrings (biceps femoris, BF; semitendinosus, ST; and semimembranosus, SM). Repeated measures of analysis of variance were utilized to compare muscle activity during the three squats exercises by floor type. RESULTS: RF (p