Ultimate Sandbag Exercises to Raise The Squat!

I can laugh about it because I was that trainer. You know, the one that thinks they are giving great insightful cues about training but they are actually meaningless sounds? Like when people talk about you should squat and they throw out pointless cues like “activate your core”, or “use your glutes more”! What does that even mean? It reminds me of a great scene from the movie “I Love You Man” where the guy squatting his buddy is shouting out not just annoying, but completely pointless cheering!

Should we squat? Yes! How do we get people to squat well should really be the question rather than arguing should be people squat! Interestingly enough people spend time telling people why they can’t squat right or what’s wrong with them. In reality, so many things are actually easy fixes if we understand how the body works and address what’s going on rather than the outcome.

I realize sometimes you see a pretty rough bodyweight squat and the LAST thing you think about is putting weight on a person. You hear about ankles being a problem, hips being an issue, gluteal amnesia, go on and on. However, it could just be that they aren’t taught to squat well and don’t have feedback to know how to move their bodies in a squat.

This woman went from not squatting in 5 years because of knee pain to doing her first squat at a conference we were teaching in Australia. 

The reality is that a few cues can go a long ways in developing a good healthy squat that can be progressed pretty easily. Sure, I say it is easy, but let’s see how so?

First off we can work with our baseline DVRT Press Out Squat that helps give feedback, teaches how to use the core correctly, and helps us learn how to move our bodies properly. Simple looking but important to do well. DVRT coach at Envision Fitness, Conner Henry breaking the movement down.