The Squat..

Mom and daughter double kettlebell front squats..

SQUAT....

you do it, I do it, we do it...everyday in some form or another we are some squatting sonsofbitches, so we might as well learn to do it right. At PSKC we focus a lot of time and attention on how to do a proper squat. It's not something you master overnight, every time you squat you will always need to make conscious reminders so that you don't look like a dog dropping a steamy load.

Is this what your squat looks like? Ever wonder why dog's always have that sad look on their face when taking a crap? It's because they know they don't look cool and neither do you if you squat like this...

 Whether you realize it or not, every time you sit down to a chair or the crapper and stand back up you are doing a squat. Now ask yourself...do you look like a dog taking a dump?

The real question is are you maintaining spinal integrity over the 1000s of times a year you sit down and stand back up...one day try to keep count of how many times you sit down in a chair and stand up...it will add up quickly. Now times that by 365 over the course of a lifetime and it comes out to somewhere around a gazillion. If you have piss poor posture, rounding at the lowback, not keeping your shoulders pulled back and a proud chest, it's no wonder that you'll be spending some quality time in the Chiropractor's office.

So how do you do a proper squat? Here are some tips from the Primal Blueprint's Squat Technique

How to Do the Basic Squat

1. Stand with a comfortable stance. Most will prefer their feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart with toes turned out at a slight angle.
2. Lower yourself by reaching back with your butt while maintaining a strong lower back. Keep your knees aligned with your toes and your toes on the ground.
3. Chest up, upper back tight, eyes looking forward and slightly down, head in a neutral position. Maintain a nice cohesive line along your spine.
4. Go just below parallel, so that your butt drops below your knees.
5. Come back up by pushing through the heel.

Things to Remember

1. Don’t let your knees bow inward, or risk potential injury. Think of actively shoving your knees outward on the descent so that they track over your toes.
2. To visualize driving through the heel, try lifting your toes off the ground the first few reps.
3. Thirty seconds or so of the Grok squat stretch is a great way to prime the pump for your squat workout.

Below you'll find a good demo on the air squat (forgive the awful music)


Now, if you're a super squat nerd and really want to know the mechanical physiology behind the squat..please click HERE. Seriously click the link and do yourself a favor and read in depth  and learn why I'm always screaming "HIPS BACK, KNEES OUT, HEELS DOWN!" It's science...and you can't mess with science.

So squat, squat often, squat freely, squat with some heavy weight, squat with barbells, kettlebells, sandbags, your kid...put do it the right way.

We've got in some great workouts...tonight we focused on heavy front squats and ring dips.. and finished with a nice little triple triplet workout.

20 seconds of each movement, repeat for 3 rounds total at each station, rest 1 minute in between the rounds

snatch weakhand, snatch stronghand, mountains

Two hand clean, squat, press

Weighted Situp, Russian twist, V-Up

This is the end result...

Don't forget, bring a friend to the kettlebell intro tomorrow at 5pm...followed up by the regular class at 6pm!