| EliteFTS

There wasn’t a single course I taught in which about 10% of the registered students, most of whom were coaches, didn’t claim they couldn’t squat or couldn’t squat deeper than something very high. They usually told me that:

- “I have a shortened Achilles tendon” (these are the ones that “need” a small plate under their heels)

- “I have a piriformis deficiency” (rare but I had one case, which I published about here)

- “My knees can’t bend that much”

- “It just doesn’t go that deep”

There’s no systematic study on this, probably because it doesn’t deserve much attention and grants. Considering my own experience, understanding (and long study) of evolution, biomechanics but mostly the concept of “body alienation” (I promise to discuss that in-depth later: it means one’s “estrangement” from their own body, in a nutshell), a lot of people fear squatting because they lost the automatic motor response of full flexion of the lower limbs. It becomes a strange movement for people who sit in chairs instead of the floor.

Some things I learned that instantly fix the problem (and their awe-struck expression is priceless):

“Let’s do frog jumps: jump as high as you can and then let your body squat where it lands” (you must jump with them)

“Let’s go down together and talk a bit” (these are the scared ones: I usually hold their hands and went slowly down together, mirror-like; keep talking with them at the squatted position)

Bodyweight paused squats

Paused squats with an empty bar

Squats from pins with an empty bar (yes, let them struggle as they crawl under the bar)

Are there people who actually can’t or shouldn’t squat deep? Absolutely! Each person will squat according to their anatomic structure but 90% of the “deficiency” cases are imaginary and can be fixed in a very short time.

Here are some pictures of older adults doing something (cooking, talking) in a squatted position. They are all from traditional societies in Africa, Asia or South America.

Enjoy