Tight hips – check. Tight back – check. All manner of facial expressions pulled when required to sit in your squat for more than a nano second – check. Wondering who you should be blaming or if it’s just part of life? Look no further than the office, your car, your living room or your dining table. The culprit – your chairs.
Tight lower back and hips is a modern and largely western problem. Why? Because we spend the vast majority of our time slumped in a chair. Sit to eat breakfast? Sit in the car / on the bus to work? Sit at work? Sit and watch television all evening? Sit in the pub at the weekend or maybe at the cinema?
Our bodies are not designed to and will punish us for constant sitting. Our joints and muscles work on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis and if a range of motion is not explored regularly our body will restrict it.
Looking to improve your squat mechanics? Want a loosey-goosey lower body? Tired of having a stiff lower back?
Stop slouching and start squatting. The more time you find to spend in the bottom of your squat the more comfortable you will begin to feel. Arrive early at the box – squat. Waiting for the kettle to boil – squat. It’s raining and the seat at the bus stop is drenched – you guessed it – squat!
If you can get in 3+ minutes a day sitting in the bottom of your squat I guarantee you will notice a carry over into your lower body mobility and squat position. So sell your sofa, fuck off your desk chair and spend some time in natures seat – the squat!