10 Minute Squat Test
By Sandy Sommer RKC on in Training Tips & Tricks
As some of you may know I have a “man crush” on Kelly Starrett , DPT. He is one of the brightest minds in the world of strength and conditioning, plus he is very entertaining.
If you want to perform your best, then his website should be bookmarked in your browser. What does perform your best mean? Well to me what it means is that you get optimal performance from your mind and body….pain free.
Pain is not the same thing is discomfort associated with effort. If you can’t tell the difference that would be the first thing you need to discover for yourself before going on further.
I’ve titled this post “10 Minute Squat Test” since that is one of the baselines KStar uses to check out our mobility. When I discovered MobilityWod I was able to do 3:50 in the test. Not awful but not great. In less than 90 days, I can easily do the full 10 minutes. Please click the link above to find out how to safely do this test.
One thing that Starrett mentions in the episode is that there is very little back or hip disease in countries in the Third World. Moving there won’t ensure that your cranky hip problem will go away but I really can’t urge you strongly enough to get to MobilityWOD and find out how the information available on the site will help you in the sport of life.
To get the most out of the material shared you will need some tools. 3 lacrosse balls, a Rumble roller, a Grid and some bands.
Please take the squat test. Report your results in the comments. Retest every month or so.
Train with purpose,
Sandy Sommer RKC
PS use the search function on KStar’s site to find info on your balky bits.
11 Comment(s)
By Roland on Jun 12, 2011 | Reply
It’s really hard to go with ANY amount of minutes, when I have so much trouble getting into the full squat position. I tried it, and after some wiggling and Kelly’s “hang onto the wall” tip, I was able to get there, but it was not pretty. I suspect things will get prettier, the more I do this…
Be that as it may, after my prying and warmup, I was able to hang down there (with the wall, mind you) for only 2 minutes or so. There’s work to be done here! Thanks for the reminder!
By Sandy Sommer RKC on Jun 12, 2011 | Reply
Roland, Glad to hear that you found the link useful. KStar’s stuff can be life changing if applied. I love all the hip stuff especially. Good luck!
Train with purpose,
Sandy Sommer RKC
By Michael Suggs on Jun 12, 2011 | Reply
What a great site. Haven’t checked it in a few weeks. This is one area where I need help, getting into a full squat. I’ll take this challenge, and it will definitely be one. The knees bark at me when I get into a deep squat for too long, but I find that the more I squat (stretch that direction) the less it bothers me. Need to loosen the hips up anyway!
By Sandy Sommer RKC on Jun 13, 2011 | Reply
Michael,
I can’t urge you enough to invest some real time at KStar’s site. The payoff is huge.
Train with purpose,
Sandy Sommer RKC
By Shanon Bean on Jun 21, 2011 | Reply
Ive done some of KStars hip mobility stuff off the sight and plan on doing even more of the hip and lower back mobility stuff..his site and knowledge is heaven sent for a former athlete trying to regain some of my speed and agility. I am gonna try the squat test tonight and see how it works. KStar is legit for sure.
By Sandy Sommer RKC on Jun 21, 2011 | Reply
Good to hear Shanon. He is an amazing resource for all of us. I just took up rugby and at 48 I’m still able to get one foot in front of the other and turn some motor on. I thank him for helping me immensely.
Train with purpose,
Sandy Sommer RKC
By Shanon on Jun 28, 2011 | Reply
Sandy, Ive been doing the mobility stuff nightly and whenever i get a moment during my day i hit the squat position or couch stretch for a few minutes, it is helping with my training as i went from 30 sets of vwc to 4 sets since ive started the mobility. now i am going to hammer my hamstrings with the ball and tack stretch thanks for all your info.
By Sandy Sommer RKC on Jun 28, 2011 | Reply
Shanon,
Great to hear about your success with VWC. I love the info at http://www.mobilitywod.com and do it all I can.
Train with purpose,
Sandy Sommer RKC
By Dan Plant on May 18, 2012 | Reply
Thanks for introducing me to this site, I’ve taken a look and its got some quality info which will rub off on me and my clients. I wasn’t a massive fan of kettlebells but this site has slowly pushed me towards using them more
Keep up the good posts.
Dan
By Tim Maddox on Aug 30, 2012 | Reply
I did the 10 minute test at lunch today. It kinda hurt and I had to flair my feet, but I tried to keep my weight on my heels, but my back did start to ache and I felt what I imagine is a shin-splint type pain @ minute 7. I’ll go check the site now and see what I was doing wrong.
By Marko C on Sep 9, 2012 | Reply
I heard about the benefits of sitting in a deep squat, and that there was some sort of 10 minute squat test on the internet from a friend of mine a while ago, but never looked much more into it. I just stumbled upon your site and saw the article, and took the test.
First time test, did all 10 minutes with no issues. I did have some tingling in my feet for about a minute afterwards.
Great site,
Thanx!