This Strange Squat Fixes 97% Of Your Problems — Transcript

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1. 0:00You might think that stiffness and joint
2. 0:02pain are a normal part of aging. But, if
3. 0:05you put your feet like this, and you
4. 0:07sink your hips down like this, and then
5. 0:10you hold it, something amazing starts to
6. 0:13happen. I've had thousands of my clients
7. 0:15in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond all
8. 0:19say the same thing. It feels strange,
9. 0:22but my body feels better than it did in
10. 0:24my 20s. So, in this video, I'm going to
11. 0:26show you this amazing movement and 10
12. 0:29others that you can do to make your body
13. 0:31feel decades younger. These are all easy
14. 0:33to do, proven by science, and can fix
15. 0:3697% of your problems in under 11 minutes
16. 0:39a day. But, what is this strange squat,
17. 0:42and why is it so good? This is called
18. 0:44the horse stance. Normally, when you do
19. 0:46a squat, you go down and you come back
20. 0:49up, and you count that as a rep. But,
21. 0:51when you do this squat, much like the
22. 0:53primal or the Asian squat, you just stay
23. 0:56there in one position, and your legs do
24. 0:58the work by holding you up. The horse
25. 1:00stance comes from Chinese martial arts
26. 1:03training. In Chinese martial arts, power
27. 1:06doesn't just come from your arms. It
28. 1:08starts in the ground, it travels up
29. 1:10through your legs, and is guided by your
30. 1:12waist, and finally, it comes out through
31. 1:14your hands. When you master the horse
32. 1:17stance, you turn your body into a solid
33. 1:19bridge. This lets you put the weight of
34. 1:22your entire body into every punch or
35. 1:24strike, making it much stronger than if
36. 1:27you just used your arm muscles. That's
37. 1:29why fighters would hold this for several
38. 1:32minutes at a time. But, leg strength is
39. 1:34just one of the many amazing things that
40. 1:36this squat does to your body. The horse
41. 1:39stance also helps you to build mental
42. 1:41strength, which is especially important
43. 1:43when you're in your 50s, 60s, or even
44. 1:4570s, because it helps you build better
45. 1:48cognition and lower your chances of
46. 1:50dementia. Staying in that position for
47. 1:53long periods of time trains the nervous
48. 1:55system to remain calm and breathe
49. 1:57steadily under physical distress. And
50. 2:00once you are comfortable in that
51. 2:01position, you also overcome the urge to
52. 2:04quit because your brain releases
53. 2:06dopamine every time you complete
54. 2:08something challenging. But that's not
55. 2:10all. Holding this position also builds
56. 2:13your balance. Every second that you stay
57. 2:15in the stance, your feet, ankles, and
58. 2:18hips are working together to keep you
59. 2:20centered. And it also opens up your
60. 2:22hips, which matters more than most
61. 2:24people realize. Because sitting 6 to 10
62. 2:27hours every day pulls your hips into a
63. 2:29shortened position, and it keeps them
64. 2:32there. And this stance pushes them the
65. 2:34other way every single time you hold it.
66. 2:36It strengthens your joints, and it
67. 2:38builds your core. And eventually, it
68. 2:40improves your posture.
69. 2:42So, how do we do the horse stance
70. 2:44properly? To set up, you are going to
71. 2:46stand with your feet wider than hip
72. 2:49width. Toes pointing forward or slightly
73. 2:51turned out. And then, you are going to
74. 2:54sink your hips down until your thighs
75. 2:56are parallel to the floor or as low as
76. 2:58you can go. Keep your spine tall, chest
77. 3:02up, and your knees tracking over your
78. 3:04toes.
79. 3:05You're going to start by holding this
80. 3:06for 30 seconds, and gradually building
81. 3:09up to 1, 2, and even 3 minutes. It
82. 3:12sounds easy, but wait until your legs
83. 3:14start shaking and your back starts
84. 3:16curling. That's why I'm going to show
85. 3:18you a small 10-minute warm-up routine to
86. 3:20help you ease into this horse stance
87. 3:22effortlessly. This routine will help you
88. 3:25build strength and stability in your
89. 3:27legs so that you stay still when you do
90. 3:30the horse stance. Stick around until the
91. 3:32end because that is when I'm going to do
92. 3:34the horse stance together with you for 1
93. 3:36minute. Exercise number one is the ankle
94. 3:39raises in a squat. So, you're going to
95. 3:42start with your squat position. You're
96. 3:44going to raise up onto your toes as high
97. 3:46as you can, and then you're going to
98. 3:47come down really slowly. If you are
99. 3:50struggling to hold that top position, or
100. 3:52if you're struggling to hold a squat
101. 3:54itself, then keep your hands on the
102. 3:56floor for support, or find a sturdy
103. 3:58chair to support on. You're going to do
104. 4:01this for 10 reps, and then on the last
105. 4:03rep, you're going to hold that top
106. 4:04position for 10 seconds. This trains
107. 4:07your ankle stability, which keeps your
108. 4:09feet planted once you're holding the
109. 4:11horse stance. Do not rush through this
110. 4:13to get in as many reps as you can. Go
111. 4:15slow and go as high onto your tippy-toes
112. 4:18as you can each time. Even if that means
113. 4:21fewer reps with full range instead of 10
114. 4:23sloppy ones. If that's too easy for you,
115. 4:26then add a 2-second hold at the top of
116. 4:28every rep instead of just the last one.
117. 4:31Exercise number two is the knee drive.
118. 4:33So, we're still going to stay in this
119. 4:35squat. We're going to pivot on the ball
120. 4:37of one foot and drive that knee forward
121. 4:40towards that floor. Then, you're going
122. 4:42to switch sides, making sure that you
123. 4:44use your hands if you need for
124. 4:46assistance, or again, supporting on the
125. 4:48chair if you need it. If you cannot go
126. 4:51all the way down with your knee, stop
127. 4:53wherever your range allows. Do six reps
128. 4:56on each side, aiming to open the hips as
129. 4:58much as possible.
130. 5:02Exercise three is the knee push-out.
131. 5:05Next, you're going to drive your knees
132. 5:07out to the side and then actively
133. 5:09squeeze them back together. Keep pushing
134. 5:12through those elbows and keep resisting
135. 5:14on your way back. Do 10 reps and then
136. 5:17hold out the final rep for 10 seconds.
137. 5:20This will help you open up your hips so
138. 5:22that when you sink into that horse
139. 5:24stance, the hips will be driving out
140. 5:26open and the knees will not collapse
141. 5:28inwards.
142. 5:30Exercise number four is the spine
143. 5:32extensions. Now, you're going to gently
144. 5:34place your hands on the floor in front
145. 5:36of you, and you will press your chest
146. 5:38forwards and down, extending your legs
147. 5:41as far up as you can. You're then going
148. 5:43to drive your armpits towards your
149. 5:45knees, hold it for a second or two, and
150. 5:48then you're going to drive your weight
151. 5:49over your wrists.
152. 5:51You're going to drive your armpits back
153. 5:53towards your knees, and then drive your
154. 5:55shoulders over your wrists.
155. 5:57You're going to complete that for 10
156. 5:59reps and hold the last position for 10
157. 6:01seconds.
158. 6:02If your mobility is limited, use two
159. 6:04yoga blocks to place your hands on it or
160. 6:07a low step to you can reduce that range
161. 6:09of motion slightly. This movement opens
162. 6:11up your thoracic and teaches your spine
163. 6:14to stay tall throughout the horse
164. 6:15stance. Now, we will build the strength
165. 6:17to hold the horse stance for a minute.
166. 6:20Exercise five is the chair squats. You
167. 6:23are going to start with your chair
168. 6:24squats. Go slow. Sit down with control
169. 6:28and stand back up with power. You're
170. 6:30going to do two to three sets of eight
171. 6:32to 12 reps. You are building control on
172. 6:35the way down and power on the way up.
173. 6:38The two things that chair squat is
174. 6:39designed to train together. Exercise six
175. 6:42is the split squats. Keep one foot
176. 6:45forward, one foot back. Lower down
177. 6:48slowly. You're going to do two to three
178. 6:50sets of eight to 12 reps on each side.
179. 6:53This one strengthens your quads and
180. 6:54glutes individually as well as opens up
181. 6:57your hips. Just make sure that you are
182. 6:59driving forwards like on an escalator
183. 7:02instead of down like an elevator. You
184. 7:04want to really get that long range of
185. 7:06motion throughout the movement. Exercise
186. 7:08seven, the step up. Now, you're going to
187. 7:11use a sturdy step or bench. You're going
188. 7:13to drive through your foot, control the
189. 7:15lowering. You're going to do two to
190. 7:17three sets of eight to 12 reps on each
191. 7:20side. Exercise eight, the single leg
192. 7:22balance. Next, you're going to stand
193. 7:24tall and shift your weight onto one
194. 7:26foot, lifting the other foot a few
195. 7:29inches off the ground. Hold onto
196. 7:30something if you need to, but try to
197. 7:32work your way up towards no support.
198. 7:35You're going to find a point on the
199. 7:36floor and you're going to touch each
200. 7:37point with control. Keep your standing
201. 7:40knee soft and pick a spot in front of
202. 7:42you to focus on to help you stay steady.
203. 7:45Try it with the eyes open and then try
204. 7:47with the eyes closed. Complete each side
205. 7:49for 30 to 60 seconds and repeat two to
206. 7:51three times. Exercise nine, heel-to-toe
207. 7:55walk. Once you're done, you're going to
208. 7:57stand with your feet together. Then
209. 7:59you're going to step forward by placing
210. 8:01the heel of one foot directly against
211. 8:04the toes of the other. Sort of like
212. 8:05you're walking on a straight line.
213. 8:08You're going to make this slow and
214. 8:09deliberate. Keep your eyes forward
215. 8:11rather than looking down at your feet
216. 8:13and also take about 10 to 15 steps
217. 8:16forward before turning around and
218. 8:18walking back. This will really test your
219. 8:20stability and your balance. Do this for
220. 8:2230 to 60 seconds. Exercise 10, the
221. 8:25tightrope walk. Now, similar to the
222. 8:27heel-to-toe walk, imagine that you are
223. 8:30walking along a narrow beam a few inches
224. 8:32wide. Arms out to your sides for
225. 8:35balance. This is a favorite amongst most
226. 8:37of my students because it is so
227. 8:39difficult but so fun to do at the same
228. 8:41time. If you can't do it in a squat, you
229. 8:43can prop yourself up slightly. Take slow
230. 8:46deliberate steps for 30 to 60 seconds.
231. 8:49Exercise 11, the horse stance. Now,
232. 8:52let's finally do the exercise that this
233. 8:53whole video has been about. For the next
234. 8:56whole minute, we are going to hold a
235. 8:58horse stance together.
236. 9:00Now, this is one position that is going
237. 9:02to solve 97% of your physical and
238. 9:05emotional problems. Keep your feet wider
239. 9:07than hip width. Toes pointing forward or
240. 9:10slightly turned out. Sink your hips
241. 9:13until your thighs are parallel to the
242. 9:15ground or as low as you can comfortably
243. 9:16go. I want you to keep your spine tall,
244. 9:19chest up, knees tracking directly over
245. 9:22your toes. Hold it right there.
246. 9:24Notice how much steadier your legs
247. 9:26already feel compared to before the
248. 9:28warm-up. That strength and balance work
249. 9:30that you just did is exactly what makes
250. 9:33this hold possible. This should already
251. 9:35feel a little bit easier than it would
252. 9:36have been 7 minutes ago. Now, a couple
253. 9:39of mistakes to watch for while you hold
254. 9:41this. The first one is letting your
255. 9:43knees cave inwards. If that happens,
256. 9:46stop, reset your feet, and actively push
257. 9:49your knees back out in line with your
258. 9:51toes. That inward cave is what puts
259. 9:53stress on the wrong part of your knee
260. 9:55joint instead of building strength
261. 9:57around it. The second is leaning your
262. 9:59torso forward instead of dropping your
263. 10:01hips straight down. If you catch
264. 10:03yourself doing this, pull your chest
265. 10:05back up, tuck your hips underneath you,
266. 10:08drive your knees out, and push your hips
267. 10:10forward. Stay with it, you're almost
268. 10:12there. Your legs might be shaking, but
269. 10:14you have got to push through that
270. 10:16feeling. Don't give up, you're almost
271. 10:18there.
272. 10:21And done.
273. 10:23So, there you have it. This is a squat
274. 10:26that can help you build shallowing level
275. 10:28leg strength. It's also going to open up
276. 10:30hips that have gone stiff from sitting
277. 10:32all day, and steady the balance that
278. 10:34keeps you from stumbling on uneven
279. 10:36ground. I do this movement two to three
280. 10:39times a week. If this helped, drop a
281. 10:41like and subscribe for more. I'll see
282. 10:43you in the next one.