It’s an issue near and dear to my heart: Hip health and the squat.  When I first started CrossFit I was trapped in the “white man” squat unable to squat below parallel without my heels lifting off the ground.  I was thirty three years old. 

With a lot of determination I began practicing every chance I got until squatting became the easiest thing in the world.  Over the next couple decades I began to take my ability to squat for granted but over the past year or so, with increasing hip stiffness and pain, I have begun to struggle to achieve depth without discomfort. 

It is not a range of motion I am willing to give up and neither should you.  Today’s reset will give you an opportunity to work on developing your squat mastery or reclaiming it if you’ve lost it.  Don’t worry if round one is difficult, as you move through rounds two and three your body will begin to warm up to the challenge. 

Of course, it would be a pretty boring day if all we did was squat so I’ve peppered in some other isometric holds to help you develop full body strength and mobility.  Mastering these positions can go a long way toward developing full body mastery and helping you age gracefully.

Isometrics are a safe and effective way to develop not only muscular strength but also tendon strength.  I’m not a fan of the isolation based movements presented in the video below but I do agree with the concept of using isometrics to preserve tendon health.  That’s what’s on the menu in today’s reset.

As far as the resting squat, we all did this naturally as children and much of the undeveloped world continues to use the resting squat throughout their lifespan.  A life of sitting has robbed us of the strength and mobility required to rest in this position but with only a couple minutes daily practice you can get the benefits of the resting squat.  

Friday Make Up Day

1) Empower Reset #51
1 min Belly Breathing in Frog Pose
30/30 sec Head Nods/Rotations in frog Pose

5 mins
20 Gait Bugs
20 Speed Skaters
10/10 Kickstand Rocks

5 mins
10 Ring Row Squats
10 Alt Reverse Ring Lunges
10 Alt Side Ring Lunges

3 Rounds (1 min each):
Resting Squat Hold
Pike Hold
Active Squat Hold
Bar Hang
Horse Stance
Table Pose
Goblet Squat Hold
Handstand Hold
Sissy Squat Hold
Ring Support
Box Squats
Wheel Pose

2) 5 Rund E6MOM
800m Run

3) 10 min AMRAP
5 Front Squats
10 Ring Dips