RKC News - October 2013

The Kettlebell Goblet Squat is an incredibly simple yet very effective squat variation that helps you learn the fundamental movement pattern of the squat safely. The Goblet Squat opens the hip joints, making them more mobile, strengthens the core-stabilizing, thigh, and glute muscles, and effectively prepares you for more complex and heavier squat variations.

Dan John (Master RKC) popularized the Goblet Squat, and the mere fact that he is a strong advocate of this exercise should motivate you to incorporate it into your workout routines.

Most people who try to go into a deep squat without having done so for an extended period find that they often encounter various difficulties in execution halfway down. Often, the knees collapse inward, the upper body rounds, or the heels lift off the ground, to name just a few weaknesses.

Many then immediately claim it is solely due to a lack of mobility.

It could indeed be due to a lack of dorsiflexion in the ankle, tense or tight muscles in the upper back, tight hip flexors, or a combination of these factors. However, it could also be that your body compensates or avoids certain joints and muscles because it wants to protect you from injury due to a lack of stability.

This is where the Kettlebell Goblet Squat comes into play: By holding the kettlebell in front of your body, you are forced to engage your core-stabilizing muscles, which in turn helps you keep your body stable during the movement. Thus, even someone with very poor squat technique can achieve a proper squat with a straight back, stable knees, and heels on the ground within minutes.

With the ability to practice the squat safely and the specifics during execution, you also work on improving your mobility with every repetition.

What to pay attention to during execution:

• Back is straight, chest is puffed out (proud posture), about shoulder-width stance, feet slightly turned out, knees move towards the toes

• Weight is on the heels, the entire foot is in contact with the ground, shoulders and hips rise simultaneously

... the HARDSTYLE SWING is the only kettlebell exercise whose energy expenditure increases the better you learn and perform it?

In comparative studies, only one activity was found to be as intense as the kettlebell swing: cross-country skiing uphill at a fast pace.