If you’re an athlete, chances are you squat on a regular basis. That’s because the squat is one of the most common and important exercises in any routine. We often discuss how strengthening different muscles can help improve your squat performance. But, adjusting your squat stance can be one of the easiest ways to improve your squat performance. When athletes …
The squat butt wink is one of the most well known of all squat movement faults. If you haven’t heard of butt wink before, it is the term used to describe the excessive rounding of the lower back as an athlete drops down into the bottom of the squat. This puts the body in a sub-optimal position for developing and …
In the lower body, the glutes tend to get all the love. From strength coaches to the medical world, we all focus on improving glute strength for performance and rehab. But the quads are also vitally important to your athletic performance and the health of your knee joints. When your legs need some extra work, the following exercises are my …
For some athletes cranking out reps of pistol squats is no issue. But if you’re reading this, you are not likely in the lucky group of athletes. Instead, the combination of strength, balance, coordination, and mobility required for the pistol squat makes this a frustrating exercise. This pistol squat progression will help you improve both your strength and your balance …
Working on improving squat depth can be a long and frustrating journey. And while there are lots of available information on different mobility drills, it can be difficult to determine where to start. Often, I see athletes working a variety of random movements with no laid out plan for improving squat depth. For example, they are stretching their hips because …
The term squat butt wink refers to an athlete’s low back rounding as they reach the bottom position of their squat. Often, this is considered a movement fault as some low back injuries can occur when the low back rounds under heavy loads. If you are dealing with squat butt wink issues, then there few treatment strategies that can help improve your …
You walk into your gym and on the white board there it is…the overhead squat. While a few athletes will be thrilled to see this movement most of us won’t. The combination of mobility, strength, control, and coordination needed for this exercise makes it one of the most difficult for many CrossFit athletes. But there is hope. With the assessments …
The pistol squat is a challenging bodyweight strength exercise. It not only requires strength but significant control and mobility. Quite often the extreme mobility demands of the pistol squat are overlooked. So, we will start with the most commonly limited mobility deficits for the squat and then discuss a progression of strength exercises you can use to build up to …
Good coaches have an excellent eye for watching an athlete move and knowing what needs to be corrected. Excellent coaches take that a step further by then giving that athlete great cues that produce the desired outcome rapidly. We’ve all heard the cues “sit back” and “screw your feet into the ground” but having a more diverse set of cues …