Why Everyone Needs to Squat

5/26 - The hot tub and Stick did absolutely nothing. Stairs are challenging and I demonstrated a squat for a client and nearly ripped my inner thigh in half. Another lost day at a critical time.

5/25 – Horrendously sore. So out of practice. Hot Tub and using TheStick!

5/24 – For a large part of my training I have been more active in my recovery, which includes rest, foam rolling, and some stretching. I would have thought that this kept me loose and that I would hopefully increase my flexibility as a result. I was dead wrong. Brian A posted a challenge on facebook to squat 15,000 pounds in one week. I thought this was a lot, until I talked to Tony. Tony helped me realized, that at my level, this was not an inordinate task. So, I decided I could just do it all in one day. My first squat felt like I was ripping my quadriceps down an imaginary seem running from my knee to my hip. I am not even sure I got all the way down for my first few simply because my muscles were not loose enough to do so. I have NEVER had this kind of tightness before. Needless to say, I continued on and got looser as I kept squatting. But this goes to show that running is not enough. Well, to be more fair to running and runners screaming in anger, running on flat roads is not enough. Running on a continually flat surface (and a little hill is still a flat surface) limits the range of motion that the legs cover, simply out of necessity. Even running at a very fast pace does bring the knee much past the hip or decrease the angle of the knee to less than 90 degrees. The Boston Marathon has the famous Heartbreak Hill. In the world trail running and ultraendurance racing, the change in elevation of Heartbreak Hill does not even cause a blip on the screen. Running up some craggly hill with rock and trees makes the legs function in a much more dynamic way. It also creates a fair amount of lateral movement not needed or used in most peoples day to day running. So for those of you that trail run (and a well paved trail through the woods does NOT count), keep doing it. For those of you that love the roads, add some squats in to make sure you stay flexible. If you need to learn how to squat look of Squats and Mark Rippetoe. Taking advice from anyone else is usually a far cry from what a real squat should be. Oh, and using those stupid little smith squat racks doesn’t count either. I see a lot of people doing squats on those these days. Get a pair, but a barbell on your back, and move up and down!

Squat 15000 lbs.

Mostly sets of 10 @ 105.