Squat Like a Kid Again

Have you ever watched a little kid squat down to the ground, play for 10 minutes or so, get back up like it was nothing, and wonder, “how the heck did they just do that?”

I was watching my two-year-old play the other day, and was thinking about how something that is so easy for a child to do can become so difficult for an adult. So difficult, in fact, that we had to turn it into an actual exercise. Have you ever thought about this?

Assuming that we all had the same basic mobility as your average two-year-old, it is safe to assume that we probably spent the same amount of time squatting down to play with our toys too. So how did we get so far removed from the mobility and control that we had in our two-year-old bodies?

The answer lies in the old adage, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” As we slowly transitioned throughout our lives to the more sedentary lifestyles that are standard for the average American adult, we spent less and less time squatting down, which allowed us to slowly lose the mobility and movement patterns that let us hang out in a full ATG squat easily.

If you look at other cultures, especially in third-world countries, where squatting over a hole in the ground to go poop is common practice, you will find people who maintain the mobility and control needed to do so out of necessity. If you don’t have the option of sitting on an elevated toilet seat, you figure out pretty quickly how to squat down.

So why does this matter?

Our joints are made to move. Movement is what allows them to recirculate all of the fluids inside of our joint capsules, which brings in the nourishment needed to maintain our cartilage and keep our joint surfaces healthy.

Movement through full range of motion regularly also prevents adhesions within our joints and keeps joints that are meant to last, like our knees (which are hinge joints-how often do you see door hinges completely wear out?), moving through the full motion that they are intended to. This limits wear and tear along those joint surfaces by evenly distributing pressure throughout the cartilage. It also allows us to maintain the mobility needed for basic human functions, such as getting up and down from the floor safely (an ability which has been linked to mortality rates), or squatting to take a poop in the woods.

So we know why it’s important to be able to squat now, but what about if we have already lost the ability?

One of the best things that we can do to regain our ability to squat is, wait for it…to squat. Seriously, just squat. As many opportunities as you can find during the day, squat down to do things.

Instead of sitting on the ground to work on your flower bed, or bending down to reach in a low cabinet, just squat. Set your hips at about shoulder width, keep your feet as straight forward as you’re able, drive your knees apart, sit your butt back a little, and squat down as low as you can control it (without your heels coming up), and then try to hold it while doing whatever you need to do.

Kelly Starrett, who was one of the first performance physical therapists and is the founder of The Ready State (look it up, it’s pretty freaking awesome), came up with a 10 minute squat challenge. Basically this entails squatting every day for a cumulative 10 minutes. This is a great starting point if you are new to squatting. If you don’t have the mobility to get down in a good full squat, then you can hold onto a doorframe to help stabilize you so that you can keep that good position and allow your body to adjust to that deep squat position.

Just. Keep. Squatting.

Try it out and let us know what you think!