YOUR LACK OF SQUAT RUINING YOUR ABILITY TO SQUAT (ON THE TOILET)

Before you read this article, you may want to go watch National Geographic for a minute. Or just dig through your memory bank of really old indigenous guys squatted around a camp fire. Where am I going with this? Just picture him (we will call him Steve...a very indigenous name, I know) squatted down with his ass resting on his heels. Do you think every time he gets up he goes "oh man my knees are killing me...I gotta stop sitting like this". I don't think so! Because if it was causing him pain, I seriously doubt he would do it day after campfire sitting day. And how do you think Steve goes to the bathroom?? I'll give you a hint...he doesn't grab the Sunday paper and stroll off to the bathroom where he sits with a 90 degree bend in his legs on a toilet. So what does Steve do?? He wanders off into the jungle and finds a nice place to squat...again with his glutenous Maximus resting against or somewhere near his heels. Again you ask, "WHERE are you going with this"? I'm sure you know someone who has said this or maybe you've uttered this sacrilege..."I don't do squats man, those ruin you knees", or "you should never go below parallel when squatting". If you believe this, you probably also believe that the world is flat. These statements are complete bro science, spoken by guys with terrible muscular imbalances, bad technique and I doubt a good stretching and soft tissue rehab routine is part of their gym time. So I've already established that deep squats are natural and safe. Let's move forward to the next question...

Why should you be doing squats?

1. If you have any interest in building muscle, strength, better athletic performance, weight loss or better posture. YOU SHOULD BE SQUATTING! 

2. There is a much greater hormonal response from compound movements (squats, deadlifts, bench press, barbell rows) which creates a better environment in your body for muscle building, strength and fat loss.

3. With compound movements the whole muscular system is involved in the movement, this not only produces much more natural movements but is also way more time efficient that wandering from machine to machine, slogging away at one muscle at a time for hours on end.

4. Possibly one of the most overlooked and the reason for the title of this article is, squats help you physiologically. When you you get down into that deep squat, that we have all but abandoned in modern life, it helps facilitate Imbibition which is essentially your thighs massaging your Colon allowing water and nutrients to be extracted from your poop. Yes I just said poop...let's all giggle. But seriously, if you value digestion you need to squat deep. Our modern style of living wreaks all kinds of havoc on the digestive system and this is just a small part of that, but trust me, it is effecting your digestion. Shallow squats don't work for taking a dump and they don't work for building muscle either!

Now don't get me wrong...if you have knee problems, muscular imbalances or injuries that are preventing you from squatting, YOU SHOULD NOT just dive into deep squats haphazardly, YOU WILL INJURE YOURSELF FURTHER! You need the help of a qualified professional who can assist in your rehabilitation.

If you are already squatting, but doing those silly little 1/4 squats and not going anywhere near parallel...pull a lot of weight off the bar...I'm talking 50% of what you normally squat or more, and start really going deep, I'm talkin Steve sitting around the camp fire deep!

In conclusion, squat deep, squat frequently and don't listen to anyone who says otherwise.