Best Squats That Build Strength, Stability, & Mobility

Jessica Bento, Physical Therapist (Creator DVRT Restoration Certification, DVRT Rx Shoulder, Knees, Pelvic Control, & Gait Courses)

I love coming to fitness from a physical therapy side. I say this because I always look at the health of a person when it comes to which exercises, programs, and workouts to use. In other words, does what you are doing in your workout fit ALL our goals of strength training while minimizing the risks. That is what choosing the RIGHT Ultimate Sandbag squat can also mean for your fitness. Answer, does your squat make you…

-You stronger

-More mobile

-Increase stability

-Train in different planes of motion

-Help identify weaknesses

You might be surprised I said “risk”, but honestly, EVERY exercise has a risk. What we look for is how we can minimize those risks and get HUGE benefits. That is why one of my favorite types of Ultimate Sandbag squat isn’t what you might think.

I’ve presented tons of research to coaches and therapists all over the world to help them understand that not all squats are equal!

When most people squat, they think about bad backs and knees, they think about how much they often are going to hurt, not how good they could feel.

You also have those that want you to never really move to squat, that the only way to get “strong” is to just move up and down. Which never has made much sense as many injuries are due to an inability to move laterally with strength. Funny how we are told to be strong moving up and down, but many back and knee problems have more to do with lack of lateral strength. Why this Ultimate Sandbag squat comes out as a champion!

Enter the Cossack Squat. Many of you might know it, but few make it a regular staple in their training. Probably because it is so much darn work, it will expose your flexibility issues quickly, but wow, it works so well!

I’ve never heard of anyone hurting their back or knees or a Cossack Squat (not saying it isn’t possible if you do it badly, but far less than your typical heavy back squat, sometimes not even that heavy!). A lot of the reasons why is because you need many of the components that make for healthy knees and backs. Such squats require ankle mobility, hip mobility, foot/lower leg strength, hip and thigh power, and good core stability.

To be honest, the problem with the Cossack Squat is that men are often typically  too tight and ladies are too flexible (flexibility without control is still an issue, just a different one). Yes, being too flexible can cause you to load the wrong structures just like being too tight, that is why Ultimate Sandbag squats needs a balance of mobility, strength, and stability.

 

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Interestingly, squats like these can provide all these benefits, but they do humble many people. Instead of feeling badly though that you discover things that you need to work upon, it SHOULD be exciting to find that you can still make SO much progress in your training. The key though is how you get there as if you try some of these squats and find out you can’t do them well, what do you do?! You can start working through some lateral squats and Josh shows below. Progressing holding position will not only build greater strength, but key in helping you build the mobility and stability to progress into Cossack squats.

Once we can move with confidence through these lateral squats, performing Cossack squats is much more attainable. However, building progression is still important and that is what we show with these DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training and kettlebell Cossack Squat progressions. Strategically applying load and progressing holding pattern you will be surprised how quickly you get good at the Cossack Squat. Best of all, you will feel your legs and hips really get the powerful benefit of this wonderful exercise.

Squatting is awesome for you, however, knowing how to progress the squat and what squat is right for you is even better!

Save 25% ALL throughout DVRT including our Ultimate Sandbags/Water Bags, Online Workouts, and Online Certifications/Courses like Physical Therapist, Jessica Bento’s Restoration and DVRT Rx Programs (only excludes live events). Just use code “summer25” HERE

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