So, how did you do on the squat test? Was it an eye opener? For most people the squat test is going to SUCK. It will be difficult or impossible just to get low enough into the squatting position, let alone the core control needed to remain in a good position, or even the ability to hold that position for 10 freaking minutes!
But then again, hold ANY position for 10 minutes and see what happens.
That is because in stillness, your core will do most of the work. Stillness will highlight your breathing in relation to your core, allowing you to feel how they interrelate. You will also be able to detect micro corrections better in stillness than you would in movement. But most importantly, you will have nothing else to do but focus your mind. Perhaps the most difficult task of all! Spending routine time in stillness makes a weak mind wander, allowing you to be more aware of your thoughts! Stillness is an excellent tool for sharpening the mind body kinection!
As the world steadily drives forward into the CrossFit style formula of high intensity workouts, it will be paramount to improve the quality of your movement through stillness. The quality of your fitness movements can, and should be, tested and improved (regularly) by performing those movements in stillness. Not only will this highlight for you where your movement faults are, but it will help you connect to your body where there is minimal external load or goal, allowing you to experience and improve yourself in safety.
Go ahead, hold a PVC deadlift with perfect form for 10 minutes…. I’ll wait.
10 minute tests like these shouldn’t be the exception, but should be the goal. We should be prizing them before trying to load the self-regenerating-organic-machine (the body) down with external weight or high repetitions of the movement. Quality of movement should always be held in higher regard than quantity of movement. What is the point of increasing quantity of movement without increasing quality?
Short answer: ego service.
Look how much weight I can lift!
Look how far I can run!
Look how fast my Murph time is!
I’m awesome! But, wait... are you?
And while biomechanical improvements such as increased efficiency of glycogen storage and use, and muscle fiber count have increased, chances are quality of movement has not. Why? Because we’re creatures of habit; creatures of auto-pilot. It takes 100 times more attention and effort to RE-learn something than it does to learn it the right way the first time.
How many of us could squat perfectly the first time? None.
We’re constantly on that path of perfection in movement. While that might be expressed outwardly as increased work capacity, the real barometer for success is quality. Quality defined as the degree of excellence of something. Quality should never fall by the wayside in an attempt to satisfy someone’s ego. The fundamentals of movement are precious gifts that we can nurture through “high intensity stillness”, allowing the time for our mind to wrap around the concept of the position and learn it before demanding increased work capacity through that same movement.
Mobility is a wonderful trend now that is pressing through the fitness world, mainly stemming from CrossFit gyms looking at how to squeeze efficiency and safety into the same movement. The blessing of the CrossFit revolution has been astronomical as far as fitness is concerned and mobility is preached regularly within the community. Yet the prize in a general CrossFit community is not perfection in form, but increased work capacity shown by a high score. For most people this high score will come, more often than not, in the absence of good form.
What is the point of increasing quantity of work, without increasing quality?
*Soapbox alert*
If you are a CrossFitter cranking out 10,000 squats per year, loaded/unloaded/ high volume etc… chasing increased work capacity for fitness without first chasing proper movement capability, reprioritize right now. Every single repetition can be a chance to learn something new. Don’t waste it by catering to your ego in an effort to get a faster time or a heavier lift. That's not the real prize!
Increased work capacity spawns from good biomechanics, not the other way around!
Look to high intensity stillness as a great barometer and tool to improve the quality of a movement. Don’t waste energy squatting 10,000 times poorly. Instead, add up the time it takes to squat 10,000 times then spend that exact amount of time in the fewest possible perfect squat-holds performed with total awareness. I guarantee you can learn more about the quality of your movement in stillness than all the time you’ve spent loading yourself down from fatigue and weight into bad biomechanical repetitions.
After all, excellence in fundamentals is the sign of a master of any craft.
Stillness is simply the fundamentals of a single repetition.
So go ahead, I double dare you to hold a PVC deadlift for 10 minutes…
Your Homework:
Attempt to hold any one of these positions for 10 minutes.
Standing Tall (like we learned before)
PVC Overhead Press (completely locked, not relaxed!)
PVC Deadlift
PVC Overhead Squat
PVC Front Squat
Plank
Bottom of a Pushup position
Bridge (yoga version)
Gymnastics Bridge
Handstand
L-Hang
Top of a Pullup
Bottom of a Pullup
Straight Leg Raise
Lunge
Superman
Downward Dog
Upward Dog
Samson Stretch
Low Lunge
Standing Forward Bend
Side Bend
ANY other yoga position…
ANY other barbell position… (replacing the barbell with a PVC pipe)
Let’s take the “10 minute squat test” implemented by the wonderful Kelly Starrett, and broaden it to include every possible movement we can.
And continue to:
1. Play; both inside the gym and outside.
2. Learn new skills or continue to master known ones (or both!)
3. Grow tall at least once a day for 5 consecutive minutes.
4. Perform core workouts daily.
5. Get breath!
6. Wake up!7. Perform the 10 minute Squat test regularly!
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