Why all men should deep squat for 5 minutes a day

Just a few years ago, American fitness experts were telling people that deep squatting was dangerous. 

This despite the fact that entire cultures of people – see India and China, for instance – actually relax while in a deep squat. Yes, people in those countries have been known to literally have long conversations in that position – by choice.

Read more: Everything you need to know about building muscle

But here in the US, we prefer to sit in a chair. And maybe that’s why so many of us have trouble squatting. From my experience, even most fit Americans can’t stay in a bodyweight squat for more than a minute or two without collapsing.

So while the advice I’m about to give you might sound strange, it’s also completely strange to people in other countries that you’re not already doing it.

Here it is: I want you to spend at least 5 to 10 minutes per day in a deep squat position.

The purpose: 1) to get you some much needed mobility work for your tight and stiff ankles, knees and hips; 2) to help you prevent lower back pain; and 3) to naturally improve your squat mechanics for the gym.

Read more: Increase size and strength with bodyweight exercises

I can say with a pretty high-degree of confidence that you’ll benefit in all three ways.

Chances are, you’ll have a hard time following my recommendation – especially if you have a sedentary job where you spend hours sitting on your butt.

But you can make it easier to spend more time in the deep squat by using any combination of the hacks in the Instagram video below.

#TransformationTuesday Struggling with your squat? Try these 5 DEEP SQUAT MOBILITY HACKS from our fitness director BJ Gaddour (@bjgaddour)! It's commonplace for top fitness experts around the world to recommend to their clients that they spend at least 5-10 minutes per day in a deep squat position. The purpose is to get some much needed mobility work for the often tight and stiff ankles, knees, and hips, prevent lower back pain, and naturally, improve your squat mechanics. But the problem is even most fit people can't stay in a squat without collapsing after just a minute or two. This is especially difficult if you have a sedentary job where you spend hours sitting on your tush. Make it easier to spend more time in the deep squat by using any combination of these hacks from BJ. A few you can do without the need for any additional equipment, like placing your hands on the back of a bench, chair, or ottoman for assistance or holding onto a pole or power rack for counter-balance. Other options require the use of a heavy duty resistance band or a load like a weight plate or barbell to help set you in the right position for an extended period of time. Be sure to mix between wider and closer foot positions and between a passive deep squat and an active parallel squat hold for best results. DOUBLE-TAP if this helps you and tag some #Swolemates who really could use these hacks! #Fitness #Mobility #Squats #Stretching #MHFit #THeBetterManProject #Legs #LegDay #??

A post shared by Men's Health (@menshealthmag) on Sep 15, 2015 at 5:14am PDT

Have you built up your legs with deeps squats yet? Maybe it’s time to shred your core, use this science backed method to carve a killer core.

This article was originally published on www.mh.co.za

Images credit: iStock