The Deep Squat Progression
by GRP strength coach Will Ruth
The deep squat progression is the final movement in my full-body warm-up routine from last month’s MOTM, and I feel that it is worthy of a MOTM feature by itself. I learned this movement during my very first undergrad coaching experience, a year-long internship with the varsity track and field team, and have been using it myself and in my coaching ever since.
Here is the deep squat progression in all its glory.
It’s the final move of my warm-up routine, as well as a useful movement by itself whenever an occasion calls for mobilizing and light bodyweight strength training. All in one move, we practice the hip hinge, stretch the hamstrings, mobilize the ankles, stretch the groin muscles, and activate the quads and mid-back muscles for performance.
Key technique pointers:
Stick each position for a second before moving to the next position in the progression.
Hinge position: Hands on thighs, knees unlocked but not deeply bent, push hips backwards for the hinge-based dynamic hamstring stretch.
Bottom position: Hands over midfoot and elbows inside knees, lightly pushing out to stretch the groin muscles and sink deeper into the squat with chest up, shoulders down, and weight balanced between forefoot and hindfoot.
Hands up: Stay in the bottom squat position while raising hands up, keeping the shoulders down to feel the mid-back muscles activating.
Stand up: Stand up straight with no rounding of the back or early rising of the hips. Feel this primarily in the quadriceps muscles.
A single set of 10 reps with a good pause in each position should get a light sweat beginning, muscles pliable for performance, and a bit of muscular effort in before transitioning to the actual training session. I recommend doing the rest of the full-body warm-up as well, but if you only have time or desire for one thing, this is the one.