The sensation of the squat, if you can hit one deep enough, is luxurious. As a rest position it is as soft and relaxing as my warm evening drink, and as an exercise as harsh and invigorating as my cold morning shower. Both are salubrious, in their own ways. One will assuage you, loosen you, and cause you to expand like wine does. The other will hit you like a hangover.
I do not take my squat mobility for granted. I earned it the hard way, the long way, the only way it can be earned: by taking liberties to squat where it is most likely to fetch me the attention of people I’d rather have pay me an indifference.
So be prepared to have people look at you with interest when you squat where most others stand. But let me give you this, first.
If you are to do it in line at the post office, inquire of the fellow in front of you if he’s yet had his morning dose of Metabolic and take the precaution of making your company known before you descend below the level of perception, else he might permit himself an indulgence, imaging nobody around to be alarmed or offended by it, and afford you the unpleasant insight as to how his eggs were seasoned.
I taught two Becoming Minimalist* workshops this weekend with Som. One in New Jersey at Escape Fitness, the other in PA, at The River of Life, in Montgomery county, hosted by John Bair of Bair Knuckle Strength. You can tell a lot about a person’s movement by how they squat.
(*If you have a facility and would like to host a one (or two) day Becoming Minimalist workshop, please email us at PatFlynn@ChroniclesOfStrength.com with the subject line of “workshop”).
Are you only as old as your squat is deep? I’d like to think there’s some merit to that, sure. Saw two women in their mid and late sixties with deep, luscious squats over the weekend. Would have guessed them to be in their forties, hadn’t they already made their ages known to me. Women of iron, really—very athletes!
Then saw many younger folks with wretched, abominable squats. There are many reasons for it, some remediable, some not.
Ok, so mobilization in the squat is great—IF YOU CAN GET THERE.
If not, then what do you do?
The answer, of course, is to get there—however you can. For some this may be on all fours, and done from a quadruped rocking position (pushing your butt back towards the heels while on your hands, knees, and feet). Frog stretch works damnably well, too. For others it can be done simply and easily from the goblet squat, while holding onto a light kettlebell or some other object not too overly cumbrous.
If I were to give you a minimalist squat mobility routine—and I’m going to venture some sweeping generalizations here; but we MUST make generalizations, from time to time, otherwise we lurk in that dark, nebulous void of “it all depends”, where no good or useful ideas are ever submitted for the fear of public disapproval. Could care less, myself.
Do the frog stretch, and do it everyday. Here’s one of our more archaic videos, pulled from the deepest back corner of my Youtube Channel. It’s Som doing a “two-minute to do” (we should really bring this series back…).
Next, rock and crawl and much as possible to mimic the squat from a horizontal position and developmental perspective. Just keep your back flat when you do it, ok?
And I don’t want to hear any bitching about this video. I can see it, and I’ve got the eyesight of an earthworm.
And finally, from the goblet squat:
If you have any questions, which I’m sure you probably do, I welcome them in the comment section.
– Pat
PS – Check out One Meal a Day : – )
I’m 62. I was diagnosed with arthritis in my left hip after my second IronMan in September. I’m doing K bells three times a week including squats to strengthen the hip and glutes. Seems to be helping. I will try the frog stretch and your squat stretch to see if that helps loosen the joint. Thanks.
Scott Richardson
USAT level 1 coach
I have been trying to incorporate the frog stretch. Frustrating at times. I’ve thought about having my wife stand on my hips to drive them deeper but she has declined my request.
Hey Pat, was just wondering if its ok to squat often even though it might not look very good (I’m able to go deep but my back is totally rounded…I’m a 2 on the FMS screen)which might improve it? or its preferable to only squat as deep as I can whilst maintaining a straight back? thanks for the great post once again!
Go DEEP, Pierre, deep as you can. Rounding is OK so long as you are not under load. When under load, only go as deep as you can while maintaining neutral spine
What’s the difference between this frog stretch and the version where you keep your back arched and rock your hips forward?
Thanks,
Jon
Having a hard time imagining what you’re referencing here Jon. If you have a video, that would help….
Even if you don’t have the flexibility just yet, I think it’s important to also point out that having proper shoes (weightlifting shoes with a firm heal) will also help you to get deeper squat. Your back will begin to arch (called “butt wink”) when you go below your range of flexibility increasing the amount of pressure on your lower back. My coach informed me of this as he was watch my front squat form. I was having trouble getting below parallel and was asking for tips on how to improve. Along with stretching, he pointed out that my shoes (Nike Free) didn’t provide the proper support for heavy lifting. He gave me a spare strip of firm rubberized flooring to place under my heels. This immediately corrected my form and allowed me to get a deeper squat without weightlifting shoes. It’s a temporary fix, but was a good lesson to learn. Stretching and proper shoes are now part of my plan. Thanks for these additional stretches to try out!
Your weightlifting shoes just allow you to go deeper because of the heal lift…they just hide the symptom but in no way they make you “earn” your squat pattern. My opinion, best squatting shoes = no shoes then you can really see what’s going on! Sorry I couldn’t resist speaking my mind 🙂
I have been working all of these drills. I have no problem being in a deep squat as long as I’m holding a kettle bell. However, as soon as I put down the bell I fall over backwards. I have the same issue trying to descend below parallel with out any kettle bell counterbalance. Any ideas?
Get an FMS screen done and find your weak link. From there you can identify where to focus your mobility/stability efforts.
Gone down the FMS road, with not much luck. My current score is a 14, with my weak links being shoulder mobility and TSPU (due to a shoulder surgery). I get a 2 on the squat test, since I can do it fine with elevated heals.
My problem is that I have pretty much zero ankle mobility. Therefore, I cannot squat without excessive forward lean lest I topple over backwards. I’ve been holding a deep squat for 30 total minutes a day for two weeks. I have to either balance on my toes, lean forward and put my hands on the floor or balance my back against the wall to even hold the position. Is there any way to unlock or unstick my ankles, or is this my lot in life? I actually have great mobility in all my other various and sundry body parts, so I guess having just one tight area is not so bad. However, it is very frustrating when it comes to attempting any type of squat.
Tami, how sure are you that it’s your ankles. Have you isolated the ankle and tested ROM outside the squat? It may very well be your ankles, I do not deny the possibility, just making it known that everything is connected and everything matters in the human system, and when it comes to complex systems (the human body) causes are not so easily identifiable. If your ankle mob is truly restricted, then it should be restricted in all other facets as well–is it?
I’m relatively sure. My heels come off the floor in this test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3XjNiT2nME . I can easily touch my toes or even put my hands flat on the floor in a toe touch (so probably not hammies.) When I did martial arts I could do butterflies and the splits (so probably not hips?)