Squat Form

Foundation Month – Week Four

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This week, we are going after the low squat. The low squat should not just be for the privileged few. It is one of the most useful and functional positions you can utilize. From picking up heavy things, to getting up and down from the floor, the low squat is a necessity in life. If you can’t get down there, try using some support to get down (and then stay down for a while). For starters, don’t worry about getting back up. Let your muscles and joints get used to the new position first.⁠

We are finishing up Foundations Month with the staple exercise of the dipping bird. We have been working all month on our hinging and strengthening our posterior chain. Now, let’s challenge it with this single leg balance move.⁠

Foundation Month – Week Two

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For our 2nd week of Foundations Month we are moving from the spine to the feet and we are going to progress our hinge. ⁠ ⁠

Having a good connection of our feet with the ground is important for proper movement. If our feet our stiff, our movement above can be stiff and/or sloppy. Whether you are trying to generate force from the ground up, the pedal up, or maybe the rollerblade up, you need your feet to connect to generate power. ⁠

Also, let’s progress our foundational move, the hinge, to a squat. Same concepts as last week, but with a bit of a knee-bend.

Is Your Squat Helping or Hurting You?

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The Squat – it is the epitome of a gym exercise, the king move amongst gym rats, the foundational move for all athletes.  Anyone can do a squat.  It should be a no-brainer, right?  Sorry, not so fast.

When we were kids, squatting was a part of life (think of the kid in the diaper who you know is doing his business because of the squat position he is holding).  As we get older and we spend more time sitting and working and trying to squeeze in a workout here or there, the tighter our hips become, the more our squat goes awry.  Once our hips have become off-kilter, the squat work we were hoping would sculpt our hammy’s and glutes is actually putting pressure into our low back, knees, and other vulnerable joints.

Focusing on the position of your pelvis and hips during a squat, can not only help you get stronger in the areas your are trying to target, but it can also help you retrain your hips into a balanced position.  Watch this short video and learn how to squat to help you balance your pelvis, remain injury-free, and get the most out of your squat.