Form

Times they are changing. 

The squat is no womans' natural friend. You have to put your ass out there, so to speak. Really it is about these key elements:

neutral hips
planted feet - all three points- toes, heel and arch (mid)
veritcal 'over the ankle not past the toes' shins
knees outward
hips thrust in under the weight
straight back 

ugh. too much to keep track of. I have a fairly wide stance which tends to look stupid. get over it I say to myself. 


It used to be that I needed to just get "thru it." Whatever "it" was. 

This morning I went to my Tuesday morning HiiT class. My partner and I are in a pretty good spot. We have been regular participants in all things 'gym-y' for about 6 months. Initially,even being in so-so shape, we got thru the workouts, they were hard. As time as gone by... and our skills ad stamina have increased, they have gotten a bit easier to chew. HOWEVER, that was before we met Kevin. Kevin is a doctoral candidate in phyisiology and for him it is the form that is most important.  He incorporates yoga styling and pilates principles to his workouts. Form is very important. And it truly is. Incorrect form will yield injury or unnecessary muscle pulls. 

I have been on a form kick recently. Because of this I have dumped my previous weight on the squat. I was up to a reasonable weight (for me) but I was not getting low enough and I was leaning in and scooping upward to finish the lift instead of engaging my hip thrust. So, logically  I dropped all the weight off the bar an started bare again. The problem with this is that with no weight I feel no benefit. So I increase and lose form. This would be my greatest hurdle to overcome - stay patient and trust the process. 'It' will come. 


Video credit @bowflex

Everything you ever wanted to know about squatting is here.