SQUATS! How low should you go?

Posted on September 3, 2018 By Artemis Scantalides

Today is the last day to get 20% off all Iron Body Training Systems single sale online training programs on Exercise.com with code “LABORDAY20”! This includes the Wedding Shred program. So if you missed the intro launch price of 30% off you can still get 20% off the Wedding Shred Program with this Labor Day Sale. Sale ends TONIGHT at 11:59 PM PST, September 3, 2018.

Use code “LABORDAY20” and purchase your online training program ==> HERE <==

(*Labor Day Sale NOT VALID on subscriptions and/or on past sales.)

NOW, onto SQUATS!

Recently I received a message from a follower who stated that she once heard that one should not squat below parallel. I had never heard this myth before. So, to clarify squat depth, here is my response:

You should squat as low as your mobility will allow you to squat, without training a “butt wink”, as long as your strength will support you to return from that depth with an efficient movement pattern (e.g. No stripper squats. Hips ascend at the same rate as the shoulders, not faster).

For those of you wondering, “What the hell is a butt wink??” a “butt wink” is when your lumbar spine goes into flexion when you hit a certain depth with your squat. Some people have a “butt wink”, some do not, and building strength over time can reduce or eliminate the “butt wink” all together.

StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor standards state to squat below parallel, preferably rock bottom, when “below parallel” is defined by powerlifting squat rules, which define “parallel” as the “top surface of the leg at the hip join lower than the top of the knee.”

Note that depth for goblet squats and front squats may be deeper than a back squat because of where the weight is positioned on the body.

SO, squat ass to the grass if you can as long as you don’t have a butt wink or a stripper squat.

Learn all about hardstyle kettlebell squats, how to identify the butt wink, as well as drills, tips, and cues to improve the squat at my StrongFirst Kettlebell Course on September 23, 2018 in Las Vegas at Life Time Athletic – Summerlin as well as all of the kettlebell basics listed below:

Deadlift
Two Hand Swing
Turkish Get Up
Single Leg Deadlift
Goblet Squat
Military Press
One Hand Swing
High Pull

Deadline to sign up for this course is 11:59 PM PDT on September 19, 2018.

Yours in Strength,

Artemis

*****

See more StrongFirst Kettlebell Course info below…

Hey HEY Las Vegas!! Get ready! We’re doing it again! I will be teaching a StrongFirst Kettlebell Course at Life Time Athletic in Summerlin on September 23, 2018. Sign up ==> HERE <==

This course is appropriate for both fitness professionals AND fitness enthusiasts. As well as an excellent pre-requisite if you are preparing to attend your StrongFirst Level I Kettlebell Certification, ESPECIALLY the one in Las Vegas February 2018 with Master Jon Engum! That’s right! You heard it first here! There will be the very first Las Vegas StrongFirst kettlebell certification coming to Syndicate MMA on February 8-10, 2019! SO start your prep NOW with my StrongFirst Kettlebell Course on September 23, 2018.

Deadline to sign up for this course is 11:59 PM PDT on September 19, 2018.

Details:

I will teach the following fundamental kettlebell movements.*

Deadlift
Two Hand Swing
One Hand Swing
High Pull
Turkish Get Up
Goblet Squat
Military Press
Single Leg Deadlift

(*Although not part of the Kettlebell Course set curriculum, if time, I will also cover the single kettlebell clean and how a solid clean pertains to the set up of a strong kettlebell military press.)

I will also cover hardstyle, diaphragmatic power breathing as it relates to optimal results with kettlebell training, as well as programming and two key principles of programming:

– Continuity of the training process
– Waving the loads

All students will also receive an in-depth course manual, and the course provides .8 CEU credits through NASM (others upon petition).

I look forward to learning and lifting with you!