Sentences that start with the phrase “A guru once told me…” are, more often than not, eye-roll-inducing. But recently, while resting in malasana, or a deep squat, in an East London yoga class, I was struck by the second half of the instructor’s sentence: “A guru once told me that the problem with the West is they don’t squat.”
I noticed, while traveling in Asia, that their toilets required squatting. Also that many people squatted while waiting for the bus, or just anytime. And that during my month long internship that there were no cases of sacroiliac dysfunction, something that is common in NA. I decided to keep squatting on a regular basis. Now, much more recently, I’ve seen a “paper” regarding squats and blood glucose levels - the experimental group did 10 squats every 45 minutes during their work day/week, and had significantly lower BGL/ HbAIC by the end of the study. This was brought to my attention by Rhonda Patrick, Phd., if you wanted to go find the citation. No guru ever told me, “If one’s body is capable of a given range of motion, then one should do that range of motion regularly, so one doesn’t lose that ROM.” In fact, it’s entirely possible that I’ve never had a conversation with a guru. shrug
Squats, Lunges, Deadlifts, Pullups, Pushups, Dips - neither too much, nor too little.
That study you mentioned about squats and blood glucose is actually pretty fascinating. The researchers found that just 15 seconds of bodyweight squats every 30 mins reduced post-meal glucose spikes by around 40% compared to sitting continously. It’s crazy how such a small ammount of movement can have such a big impact on metabolic health. I’ve been implementing this at my desk job and it’s been a game changer.
What were they comparing against? If it was just your average office worker, it might just be the difference between moving and not moving in that time.
I simply don’t have the hamstring length to squat with my feet flat. No, I don’t just need to stretch, or try more often. I wish I could add squatting to my repertoire - it would be so useful when doing physical work for example, like bike maintenance. Instead, I carry around a stool.
Open your legs more maybe?
Have experimented with this, and pointing my feet outward more. It doesn’t seem to help. No matter what, if I get my feet flat, my center of gravity is too far back and I fall over.
and/or turn the hips/ feet outward. both help.
Have you tried lunges? They are also pretty danged useful.
Are the hamstrings stretched in a squat position? Are you sure it’s not hip or ankle mobility?
It may be ankle mobility. The hams definitely feel a stretch on the way down but at the full extremity of the squat I guess they aren’t the limitation.
Are you able to reach the same position when lying on your back?
So: I can squat flat-footed IF my back is up against a wall. I guess the main problem is that my center of gravity is just too far back for me to do it freestanding. I tip over backyard.
When I lay on my back and try bringing my knees in, I can’t really tell if I’m achieving the right position to have my center of gravity where it needs to be.
Ah, you probably just need to shift your weight on your feet and balance. Like a slav squat (track suit and cheap liquor optional).
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMyQA5NymdK/
Yeah, just can’t do it. Even with my arms extended all the way straight forward, I’m still tipping over backward. My ankles just won’t close to a tight enough angle.
How about doing a squat with your heels up? And/or while grabbing something stable in front of you to keep from falling over backwards?
I can squat on the balls of my feet with my heels up but that is a very different posture requiring a lot of active balancing, so it doesn’t afford the benefits of a flat foot squat. It is also less stable and fairly punishing on the balls of the feet. At that point I’d rather just kneel.
Active balancing is good for the brain. One could still use a hand on a post, counter, chair or some such to facilitate balance training. There are foam pads, which when you stand on them don’t allow a firm balance point, it’s a part of rehab for all sorts of things. And after using them, one’s balance improves. Here’s a review of them: https://activesilvers.com/best-foam-balance-pads-for-stability-training/
There’s lots of other ways to train, of course. And the choice, as always, is up to you.
Haha yeah I remember people squatting at the bus stop in China. You bet your ass I adopted it soon enough. I’m lucky enough that I have a good stretching ability and this was a great compromise to standing to attention. It was a nice stretch with all the walking I was doing during my commute.