So it always inevitably comes up...."What is your favorite exercise?" or perhaps "If you were stranded on an island, what one exercise would you want?" (which makes no sense, I know. What hypothetical situation would you be in where you could do a burpee, but not a pushup?). Well luckily for me, there is no internal debate when I am posed this question, for the answer for me is simple. SQUATS. Squats, squats, squats, all day every day squats. It is such a feared and avoided movement to the general masses. But what is a squat really?
TheFreeDictionary.com defines the squat as such: "To sit in a crouching position with knees bent and the buttocks on or near the heels." Wikipedia uses a fairly extensive definition, including strengthening the different muscles in the legs, something about tendons and ligaments, etc. (check it out here). Let me explain what a squat means to me. The Woody definition (and I'm sure someone else in the world would say this) is:
Lowering, and then raising, your center of gravity, using your legs.
That's it! It's a beautifully divine, irrevocably functional basic movement of the human body. You CANNOT function with any quality of life without performing this movement. Getting up this morning? Better stand up. Woo, first squat of the day! Going to the bathroom? Bet you do a squat. Sitting, standing, out of the car, into your chair, picking up a heavy object. You are a squatting machine! Imagine (briefly, for it is a scary, scary thought) of a life in which you could not perform this basic movement (let me know when you are done shivering with fear).
So if you do them every day, you may wonder, why do you need to do them as an exercise?
I am a devoted advocate of functional movement. Do in your workout what you will do in your life. By squatting in a workout, you are developing the neuromuscular efficiency, strength, and mobility to perform this movement WELL. And when you can do it well, repeatedly, with great form at different loads, speeds, repetitions, and depths, then when life throws you a random act of squatting (or a RAS, which isn't a thing...yet) your body, and by that I mean your neuromuscular system and muscular strength, will be able to handle it. And that's what it's all about people. Being able to handle what life throws your way, and being able to handle it well.
Don't think this means a great squat comes naturally. It did when we were young and basically made of rubber muscles. Later in life, it takes work to perform a squat. I am still working on the mobility necessary to perform the perfect squat. But don't make that an excuse not to do it. "Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might as well put that passing time to the best possible use." - Earl Nightingale. And trust me, if anything is worth taking time to work on, it is the ability to lift your own body up and down. Want to know how to do it perfectly? Just ask my little friend below. And while you're doing that, do me one more favor.
Stay Fit.
 |
| The ability to perform this squat is in all humans. It is not your age, but your dysfuctional movement that keeps you from it. Work on your mobility, and you can be here too! |
No comments:
Post a Comment