The squat!!!!! You hear about it all the time. Many will argue back and forth that it’s safe or unsafe to do. Why?! I personally can’t argue there points for you, because I don’t have all the information about what they are referring to. Here at Core Principles, we believe that the squat is great and people should do it.
From strengthening your legs, to increasing fat loss, to giving you piece of mind when getting down and up off the floor; the squat is a great exercise for so many reasons. However, the squat can should be performed with some thought when it comes to getting strong and losing weight. Here at C.P. we like the Kettlebell variations for a lot of reasons.
Today, I want to talk about what the squat should look like and give some Kettlebell Variations to help you dial in some position, get your legs strong, and get you on your way to your health and fitness goals.
Ok, let’s break down the squat and what you should be doing when you perform it.
Dialing in squat starting position(Plate Squat): Standing tall with your feet about or slightly outside of hip width, toe out slightly or wherever most comfortable. From there sit your hips back slightly and break the knees. Sit your hips down until they are either below the knee or your hamstrings are covering your calf slightly.
In the video, I do a plate squat and explain why.
Goblet squat: Now that you have dialed in your squat position with the plate squat, lets go ahead and add some weight to get your body strong. Standing tall, hug the Kettlbell tight to the chest with your elbows locked tight to your body(thinking about squeezing million dollar check under each armpit). Squat till your hips go slightly below your knee or your hamstring covers your calf. Drive through your heels, stand up tall and tight, with you butt squeezed at the top. (note: after a few reps, you should start to feel the top of your legs working).
Single arm racked squat: Now that you have added some weight to your squat, lets play with a variation that will demand a little bit more thought and core. Grab your kettlebell with two hands let it hang between your legs. With both hand pull the Kettlebell to one shoulder pull it in tight to chest. Pull your thumb tight to your chest. Squat the same way you did with your goblet set up.
Double Racked Squat:The Mother of all Kettlebell squat variations. Now that you have mastered the squat with Goblet and single arm racked variations, its time to make things a bit more challenging. The Double racked can be used once you reached a goblet weight that is too hard to hold. My personal benchmark is 40 kilos of weight. You can cut the goblet weight in half with the double racked position. Grab two kettlebells, clean the weight up to your shoulders with your thumbs pressing firmly into your chest area. Perform squat the you would goblet and single arm racked variations. (quick note: this version of the squat demands the ability to swing/clean weight up to shoulders and also an extremely strong core. Work on the Kettlebell swing and Clean safely to learn how to do this correctly).
So there you have it. 3 Kettlebell variations to get your strong AF and get you lean as hell. I am going to go over and teach these variations along with the swing and turkish getup in the Kettlebell seminar/class I am having on the 16th of March from 11AM to 1PM. If you are interested in getting strong, in shape, lose weight, and have some fun, feel free to hit us up on facebook at Core Principles Strength and Conditioning or email us at info@coreprinciples-sc.com
