Movement Guide::Air Squat

You don’t know squat! But you will.

The air squat is one of the the most foundational movements. Who among us hasn’t sat in a chair? Picked something up from the ground? Gotten into and out of their car? Everyone squats hundreds of times everyday. In fact, the squat is a ‘resting’ position for most of human race:

That babies do instinctively:

(image from accelerationiowa.com)

Can you do it? Try it.

If you can’t get into this position, you should work daily to get there. There are tons of ways to improve your range of motion. This routine is great:

So is this stretch…

So is everything else from www.mobilityWOD.com

Mark, from Marksdailyapple.com even discusses possible solutions.

All in all, I think the most important thing is to just do it. If you can’t get into that “Paleo Chair” then work on it everyday. 10 minutes a day of sitting in the deep squat is a great goal.

If you don’t have that range of motion quite yet, no worries! The good news is you can still squat. Here’s a basic description:

– Put your feet slightly outside shoulder width.

– Turn your toes out about 10-15 degrees.

– Start the movement by pushing your butt back like you’re sitting on a bench.

– Try to keep your chest as vertical as possible.

– Once your hip crease is below your knees, simply stand back up!

There are plenty of more detailed descriptions available. Here are a couple I really like:

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_SquatClinic_Dec02.pdf

http://gymnasticswod.com/content/squat

http://gymnasticswod.com/content/air-squat-progression-pt1

http://gymnasticswod.com/content/air-squat-progression-pt2

http://gymnasticswod.com/content/air-squat-progression-pt3