How can I improve my squat?
The Squat- This is an important movement because it’s a movement most of us have to do daily- sitting on a chair, going to the bathroom, picking up objects from the floor. It’s a primal movement (see previous blog about primal movement patterns) meaning it’s essential for optimal movement. At times it’s not a movement at all. It’s a position of rest. Think of kids squatting while watching something of interest like bugs in the garden or cultures that squat while eating, smoking or chatting etc. For most of us though we find it’s a hard movement to achieve as we’ve been limited in our natural movement for years by excessive sitting in chairs, shoes with elevated heels, injuries etc so our body has adapted to restrict our movement (tight joints and muscles).
The squat is an especially hard movement to perform correctly because it involves a lot of the body to be functioning well all at the same time. If you have tight joints or muscles or both, or like me you’ve had an old injury ( I got hit by a speeding car on my bicycle when I was 14) to any one of the following joints then things start to get tricky:
1. Spine
2. Hips
3. Knees
4. Ankles.
It doesn’t even have to be an injury. Remember sitting in a poor position and shoes with heels (even running shoes can have elevated heels) are probably the 2 biggest culprits to ruining your squat as they’re shortening your calves, hamstrings and hip flexors to name a few.
Remember that most us were lucky enough to have a pretty good squat when we were toddlers. I looked at my 2 year old boy squatting while playing with a toy and longed for that kind of ease of movement again in that position. I know I will never get there but I’m always looking to improve my mobility each day rather than just say “well I’m past 40 now so I’m just getting old”! I move better now than I did 20 years ago.
If you’re not squatting well your knees and your back can take most of the load which is less than ideal when you’re trying to keep fit and healthy!
So how do we improve our squat? Check out this article for some great tips.
Thanks for reading!
Rich
