The 'Resting Squat' - Mobility with Franziska Lancaster
Hi, I'm Franziska Lancaster and I'm a movement and mobility coach. In the coming time I will go over with you basic movements and stretches that really everyone should do regularly for a healthy body and to maintain or improve your mobility and flexibility. This is very important for athletes but also for anyone who spends several hours a day at their desk or computer.
The first movement we will cover is the Resting Squat.
Resting Squat
The 'Resting Squat' is a movement that is the basis for a healthy and strong body. What you do in this is to sink down through your knees until you can go no further and your legs are completely bent. Meanwhile, you keep your back straight but relaxed as much as possible. There should not be too much pressure on your back. Practicing and spending time daily in this posture offers many health benefits for everyone.
You may wonder why that is. The explanation lies in the fact that we have become very accustomed to sitting on chairs and couches. The sitting position on a chair is actually very unnatural and causes us to stop using certain muscles altogether while overusing others. This negatively affects our stature. In prehistoric times, man was used to the squat position to, for example, pick something up, relax, go to the toilet, etc.
In large parts of Asia, the squat is still widely used in daily life. And have you ever noticed that small children also squat when they want to examine something lying on the ground? But enough about the background, what will this movement bring you now?
Health benefits
Sitting on a chair causes our digestion and calorie consumption to slow down immediately. As a result, you may gain insulin resistance and develop a higher susceptibility to diabetes. In addition, sitting on a chair has a very negative effect on your stature and spinal position.
Frequent sitting will cause you to develop stiffness in the hip, knees, and ankle. In addition, it will also lead to stiff muscles, trouble in your joints, and significantly less flexibility and mobility. The body will try to compensate for all of these symptoms by adjusting your running style, among other things.
Practicing squats on a daily basis ensures that much of these symptoms can be counteracted. It causes you to improve your stature, flexibility, mobility, digestion and calorie consumption. In addition, the lower body and core will become stronger, making you less prone to injury and disease.
Benefits when exercising
In any sport, squats should be part of the standard routine. Make it part of the warm up and cool down. The legs, hips and core are the center of your body. Without training them properly, you are unstable and have little strength for peak performance. So practice squats often, long and well. If your hips or ankles are not flexible enough, do exercises to work on them until you can do a good Resting Squat.
How exactly do you do a Resting Squat?
As shown in the video, it's best to put on comfortable clothes and take off your shoes. Then perform the following steps one at a time.
- stand up straight and place your feet shoulder-width apart directly under you
- place your feet so that they point outward about 45 degrees (not straight ahead)
- Sink down until you can go no further
- keep your back straight and relaxed
- Place both arms on the inside of your legs
- Hold this position for 30 seconds (if easy, add 30 seconds until it gets harder)
- repeat 3 times
If you have mastered all the above steps do the same but now place your elbows against the inside of your knees and push your knees out with your elbows (see video and below). This helps to create more hip flexibility.
As an additional step, you can rotate your upper body during the movement pointing upward with the upper arm. Then turn the other way and point upward with your other arm. This creates additional spinal and hip flexibility.
If all of the above is manageable at any point add extra time to each round. I recommend increasing the time by 30 seconds each time until you are lord and master of this exercise.
Results
After one week you will already notice a difference and an improvement in mobility and flexibility. In addition, you will eventually notice a difference when walking or moving in general.
Get started with the Resting Squat and experience the great benefits of this approachable exercise.
Next time I will cover the ". So keep an eye on the website.
For more interesting training related articles check out our blog.
By the way, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
