03-31-16 06:25 PM - Post#834848    

Below is link to a recent article on T Nation about a drill to improve squat mobility. It looks easy, but I can't drop more than 8-10 inches without starting to fall over backwards.

I'm not going to lose any sleep over this. Just wondering if it's just me.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-hone-you r-technique-with-wall-squ ats

Wall Squat Drill
03-31-16 06:58 PM - Post#834849    

What I learned, not with this but the martial arts horse stance, is that femur length impacts the depth you can squat before it makes a too big of a lever. The only way to counter that lever (with the horse stance) was to be more flexible in the legs to allow your knees to be further out to each side.

I have a student that is super flexible, she has long femurs so when she does the stance at its lowest point you can see how wide she needs to be, I linked below, very first picture. She also competes in strongman(woman) :)
https://jhsmartialartsaca demy.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/tabata-hor se-stance/

King Arthur: "A scratch? Your arm's off!" Black Knight: "No, it isn't!"

Edited by John Strangeway on 03-31-16 07:05 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

04-01-16 12:53 AM - Post#834863    

Overhead squats for the win!

But don't do them as a strength exercise (trying to keep adding load) but as a mobility one (trying to explore the full range of movement and pausing at the bottom).

You don't need to do fifteen reps with your bodyweight loaded on the barbell (it's a nice goal anyway), but you should be able to do a few slow, effortess, beautiful reps with an unloaded barbell.

"I think we often spend too much time focusing on max fitness and not nearly enough on maintaining our minimums. It seems we need to think sustainable rather than obtainable. Meaning whatever we do today, we can do it again tomorrow. Never taking so much from ourselves that we can't." Dan Martin

04-01-16 03:37 AM - Post#834870    

I wouldn't go anywhere near overhead squats personally if the wall squat is beyond you. but maybe that's just me, I know nothing.

Im in the same boat, I also cant do the wall squat very well. I watched a youtube seminar with Boris Sheiko and the Russian strongman Klokyev (not sure that's spelt right) and Boris recommended the wall squat to work on flexibility. He guarantees if you do it every day for a month youll be able to do it.

Ive started further away from the wall, hands against the wall in an overhead squat type position and doing the drill daily. im still not ready to move closer to the wall, but its suprising how many things this drill lights up. for me it seems to be the ankles, upper back and shoulders that are preventing a decent effort.

I will keep working at it. its a great little drill and surprisingly hard if like me youre tight all over.

04-01-16 05:56 AM - Post#834876    

Upwind, have you folloed the authors advice and actually done them daily for a minimum of 2 weeks? I "discovered" the wall squat drill with my hands in an overhead squat position last year and saw a lot of improvement within a few short weeks. In my experience 30-50 reps 2-3 times a week are plenty. But if you do them daily for a few weeks you will probably see faster progress.

04-01-16 12:36 PM - Post#834903    

Upwind, (a good place to be when camping with bean eaters)

Wall squats are actually an old skiers drill where your back is against the wall and you slide downward until the hip and knee joints are bent at 90° (thighs parallel to floor and shins vertical). You sit here for time. Yes it will work your legs harder than you think. While skiing you spend most of the time sort of "sitting into the hips/legs while the legs extend and re-bend with the flow of the terrain.

SO, just to be clear, what we are talking about here is the face-the-wall-squat. I recall the drill from my RKC back in 2004. And I noticed that with proper instruction and three days of morning practice everyone was able to perform the movement satisfactorily. And this across a spectrum of 50 different body types.

Yes it is often a combination of ankle, hip and thoracic mobility issues and movement control. Yes each individual is unique. But you are still human and not that unique. You just need the right cues and technique.

No need to go into a horse stance to do face-the-wall-squats (FTWS). No disrespect to anyone who does it horse-stance style, but that is way easier and is a cheat.

I have very long femurs and tibia/fibula. I do not have wide hips. I can do face the wall squats with my toes against the wall and I do not use a horse stance. I measured the space between my big toes when I FTWS and the distance is 18-20 inches.

And I'm no young buck at 54 and sporting a host of old injuries. Injuries and age are no excuse for not being able to move well.

Perhaps I will do a video on this. I know a few hacks that will get your FTWS rockin real quick.

04-01-16 01:50 PM - Post#834913    

Goblet squats and front squats have been magically fixing everything for me, to the point where I can FTWS squat and overhead squat without working on them specifically. I don't know how well it will work for anyone else, but I feel pretty lucky to have had such great benefits from it.

It may have something to do with the fact that I've spent the last 2-3 years in squat remediation, just working on the movement and not worrying much about load.

Wall Squat Drill
04-01-16 02:19 PM - Post#834916    

• Walter J. Said:

My bad, I missed the mark on the post and went off on a tangent. The depth and stance got me thinking of a horse stance since it is not long after writing that article. I also pictured wall sit with back against the wall when I first read the title which probably put the stance in my head.

To clarify, long femurs make the horse stance difficult because you try to keep your back straight (I failed to mention). In a squat you counter the lever by leaning the uppber-body over to compensate.

Please note I wasn't suggesting taking a horse stance posture to do this or any other squat.

I now realize my reply was pointless to the PO's post, sorry guys :(

King Arthur: "A scratch? Your arm's off!" Black Knight: "No, it isn't!"

Edited by John Strangeway on 04-01-16 02:26 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

04-01-16 02:42 PM - Post#834919    

Hey John, no problem. I mess things up all the time. Not that you messed anything up, I think you were just adding some info no one looked at.

AS you said: "What I learned, not with this but the martial arts horse stance..." So, you said it didn't apply to the FTWS but I missed that, lol!

Yeah, horse-stance is difficult for some. I can do it but try not to, lol. I don't particularly care for that movement as it does not feel all that great to me and I have no need to move that way in my life.

I think a lot of this is like you hinted at, we are all built different and some things are just best left to others. Just because so-and-so can do the splits does not mean we need to. Just like Brain said about fronts squats and goblet squats, we may not need to mess with FTWS at all.

Of course, it never hurts to try to gain a semblance of mastery of something to see if it helps. If it seems detrimental for us as an individual, well then after experimenting with it for a while, ditch it.

I've learned some things are definitely genetic. And just because I said this: "Injuries and age are no excuse for not being able to move well", does not mean a person can't move well if they can't do some things others can within reason.

I can't do a back-spring but it doesn't mean I can't move well. I don't expect a 60 year old to learn how to do handstand pushups. There is no reason to. So, since he can't do handstand pushups does it mean he can't move well?

Though I do think FTWS are probably within nearly everyone's capability. Will they help everyone? I don't know. It depends.

04-01-16 07:53 PM - Post#834935    

With my surgeries etc I'm starting to think that way too Walter. Especially strongman stuff, is it really worth it???

I recall mentioning a couple of years ago, actually before my first surgery (and the start of the end), to a student I train in martial arts, "I did a PR deadlift of 505lb yesterday", his response; "why??". A very good question and I had no answer.

King Arthur: "A scratch? Your arm's off!" Black Knight: "No, it isn't!"

04-02-16 04:59 PM - Post#834978    

I appreciate the comments. Whenever I find something like the topic I linked to, there's a part of me that gets a little perturbed that something so simple looking is something I can't do well. However, in this case I can't even do it badly. Next comes the part of me that wants to spend time on it. Unfortunately, there's a long list of stuff I should spend time on. We all know where this leads.

I kind of like gummiadler's response.

• gummiadler Said:

I'll give his suggestion a try. I've got about a half a dozen of these kinds of things I try to do during the week at work. Being a teacher, students and staff have some peculiar reactions walking into my room during a planning period when I'm breaking up my time at a computer with one-arm planks or wall slides.

Wall Squat Drill
04-02-16 06:16 PM - Post#834981    

Don't forget Dan John's articles about free will. Once it's gone it is gone and if you are anything like me I would stick to a few things you actually will do :D

If you have other things to work on do that first. Once you are happy with your progress and want to work on something differnt you can always come back to the face the wall squat. It's great but it's not something that will completely turn your training around and put 50lbs of muscle on your frame. I didn't get a lot out of the Sumo DL version with your hands in front of your body. But straight arms over my head? Awesome! :)

Maybe try my idea and do 30 reps twice a week and see if you can manage to do that without too much trouble.

Edited by gummiadler on 04-02-16 06:17 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

Re: Wall Squat Drill
04-04-16 08:37 PM - Post#835085    

• gummiadler Said:

The overhead position is humbling. The hands in front of the body position is an invitation to instability.

01-31-22 02:23 PM - Post#916643    

I can do it with my toes touching or near touching the wall. I'm 6'2 with long femurs.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-hone-you r-technique-with-wall-squ ats