READ VIDEO TEXT BELOW:
In this video, I'm going to teach you an exercise we call the WeckMethod 45 Squat. This is a foundational [Tensional Balance Training] exercise to enhance ground base movement, improve speed, power and agility on the ground, and it forms the basis for new application to kettlebell lifts, trap bar deadlifts, barbell squats, dumbbell lifts, BOSU Elite, and RMT Club exercises, and a whole host of bodyweight exercise. Two key aspects for the WeckMethod 45 Squat: 1. Stance. 2. Angle of your spine.
To get started: Turn your feet out 45 degrees. 45 degrees means that your feet turned out to what is most comfortable and balanced for you. It doesn't have to be exactly 45 degrees. You're going to position your weight, find your balance and load the ground through the green circles in the diagram on the screen. That's where you're loading the ground. That's the fourth and fifth metatarsals. They connect directly to the heel bone, which gives us the connection of our "glutes" and upper hamstrings through the balls of our feet (where you need to be if you want to move most athletically). That's the stance. Now, when we perform the squat, we're going to match the angle of the spine with the angle of your shins. The angle of the spine maintains a congruency with the angle of your shins that looks like 'this.' I'm balanced on the green circles, and I match my spine with my shin angles. You can use a mirror first, but once you find it, you can feel it. You feel the connection to the posterior, and it feels very balanced and very powerful.
Here's how you begin to prime the movement so that you can find the position: You're in your stance, you're matching your spine and your shins (your knees are going to travel wide). You begin by pushing out, and trying to spread the earth gently squeezing the "glutes." You have that outward force with the feet. You're squeezing your "glutes" to activate them. To go down, you pull the ground in, a pulling force in, (still thinking "glute" connection, spine and shins congruent, and then to come out, you push up squeezing "glutes." This inward pressure on the way down, outward pressure on the way up, will help you find the balance through the position, and it will reinforce the connection of the "glutes" through the balls of the feet. Once you've mastered that, you will no longer need to put the inward or outward pressure because you will have the balance. What I would recommend, is pick a number (10 repetitions is the number I like), you want to perform. 10 repetitions very slowly and mindfully making that connection. You can pulse the bottom so that you really make that connection to the "glutes." Make sure that the spine and the shins are congruent in their angles, and boom, 10 repetitions. Then rest, let it sink in, and 10 more repetitions. If you can do 100 in a day, that's great. The key is finding the position, and then you can tune into more videos for application to kettlebells, trap bar deadlifts, barbell squats, dumbbell lifts, BOSU Elite, RMT Club, and bodyweight exercise.
That's the WeckMethod 45 Squat. Enjoy.