Hi Guys ! If your looking for the best overall exercise to improve mobility, then this post is for you!
As far as improving mobility goes, the squat hold exercise is probably the absolute best bang for your buck for overall improvements. Although its been popularized recently by one of my favourite coaches Kelly Starrett, the full squat position has been around since the beginning of human evolution. Its a position we used on a daily basis to socialize (before chairs), go to the bathroom (before toilets), and do other various tasks such as food prep.
This position is not lost however, if you look at how babies and young children play and move, they easily have access to a full range, well organized squat position. So what happened if you find achieving this position quite challenging ?
Well one factor is human innovations such as chairs, toilets, high heels, modes of transportation that require sitting such as planes, trains and automobiles. The other main factor is a lack of movement. Ask yourself, when was the last time you actually got into the bottom of the squat position? The good news is, this exercise if done consistently can yield huge returns on how you move, feel, and perform !
So challenge yourself to accumulate 10 minutes a day. One strategy is breaking it into small chunks throughout the day. For example, on TV commercial breaks or holding it while playing with your kids or petting your dog (thats what I do :)... just get a couple minutes in at a time... just work within your capacity and keep it pain free ! As mentioned in the video, Dr. Kelly Starrett is the expert on mobility and has a tone of extra resources that can be found at https://thereadystate.com/blog/
Thanks for reading and I hope you found this exercise useful! Please reach out with any questions or comments and let us know how your training and nutrition is going!
You can also book in for a free consultation and assessment to set up a personalized plan that works for you! I specialize in helping busy professionals in the st. Lawrence Market, Distillery district, and Corktown neighbourhoods of Toronto. I also offer online coaching and virtual sessions for those outside the downtown Toronto area.