Monday morning squat tips

For the workout reminder today, we wanted to re-emphasize a couple of points when it comes to the squat movement. First and foremost, make sure that you have your legs about hip width apart. You’re not spreading wide, nor are you attempting to keep your knees together. You’re standing in what most people refer to as an “athletic position”. When you squat, don’t just “drop down”. Dropping down will cause your knees to come forward and cause a lot of strain on the front of your knee (the patella tendon). This is “no good”! (If you wonder what a good squat looks like, look at the half-squat for the resting position!) To counteract this, think of a squat as if you’re sitting down on a long-bowl toilet. Obviously, in this situation, you wouldn’t drop down with your knees forward. Instead, you’re almost reaching for the seat of the toilet with your butt. This means you’re hinging at the hip and reaching backwards towards the porcelain throne. The same biomechanics have to be used when doing a squat as an exercise. This will keep the front of your knee behind the big toe and protect your patella tendon from stress. That, in turns means less pain when you squat. Easy peasy. We all have goals Now that we’ve got a week under our belt, it’s time to put on our thinkin’ cap for a moment. We need to be thinking about what your goals are. If you’ve been able to finish the Welcome Survey, you’ve already spent some time thinking about this; The reasons why you signed up with us and joined this program. The goals you have at this stage. You know this; The thing about goals is, they change.  All the time. Those changing goals means we’re dynamic beings with shifting priorities. But as those priorities shift, we need you to tell us about them. We hit on goals somewhat regularly in this program’s daily reminders. And we ask you questions pretty much every month about what’s working for you and what isn’t. Those shifting priorities are also one of the reasons we have the “Contact your coach” page, so you can tell us about changes in your life or priorities that may affect your training, or you ask us whatever’s on your mind when it comes to fitness. About those goals of yours Obviously, you signed up for a reason. You have something that compelled you to take action and join this program. Maybe it was the sweet website (sure..), the luring copy, or – way more likely – something you’ve decided to change in your life when it comes to your health and fitness. Perhaps today signifies the eighth day of your very first fitness journey. Maybe you’re a pro at this training thing ’cause you’ve been doing it for years. Whatever the reason, we’d like to understand what your specific fitness goals are, so we included a few questions below. Please take your time and answer them. Let us know what you’re thinking when comes to your fitness goals. Are you training for some event or some race? Something you’d like to be able to do, physically? Maybe something you’ve wanted to and in a fit of personal “insanity”, you signed up and about 8 days ago, you panicked a little? (Know that feeling very well, we started training Parkour at age 44/45). Think of it this way; The world is your fitness oyster! (badly mangled proverb). So what do you want to do tomorrow, that you have to start training for today? Back to basics Speaking of “tomorrow”; In tomorrow’s reminder, we’ll talk more about goals. But not your training goals. Instead, we’re going to be hitting on any overall changes you may have had in mind when you started this program. If you haven’t thought about it yet, today’s a great day to let a couple of tiny little brain cycles mull that question over: What change am I pursuing? Now, hit the gym Bucky, get through that warm-up, and have some fun! Then indicate you have read this reminder and remember to record your workout on this site, for today. We’re watching… (cue semi-sinister music) … This content is only available to active members who have logged in. Required membership(s): Online Personal Training...