What does it mean if you can't do it?

What does it mean if you can do it?

What are the benefits of the Asian squat?

And if you can't primal squat right now, should you really work on being able to do it?

Let's talk about all of those things in this video.

The Asian squat is sometimes known as the primal squat and it's basically when you are sitting down with your butt all the way down towards the ground,

your feet are still planted on the floor, your knees are really bent, your hips are really flexed and you just comfortably hang out here.

Sometimes people call this the rest squad.

You'll find people all over Asia just hanging out in this position regardless of how old they are or how young they are.

They'll be eating, talking, playing games or smoking cigarettes.

For many Westerners, this Asian squat position seems horribly uncomfortable and completely impossible.

So what does it mean if you have trouble Asian squatting and what are you missing out on if you can't Asian squat?

In order to Asian squat, you need have enough flexibility in your hamstrings and in your glutes and in all those tiny little hip muscles like your adapters and the deeper little rotators too.

Your hip flexor muscles, your anterior tib, meaning these muscles that are on the front of your shin also need to be strong enough to maintain this position.

You have to have enough flexibility in your calf muscles so that they can lengthen enough to allow you to let the knee sit forward.

And you need to have spinal muscles that can control your spine enough to help you balance and position yourself comfortably.

That way you're not stuck in a hunch.

Being able to do the Asian squat or primal squat comfortably for long periods of time doesn't make you a better person necessarily.

It just means that you have better flexibility than the average Westerner who lives his or her life in a chair all day.

So what does it mean if you can't Asian squat right now?

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Let's get back to it.

First of all, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're not Asian.

There are many Asians who have grown up in Western countries who cannot do the Asian squad.

Second, if you can't do the Asian squad, it doesn't mean that you are genetically blocked from being able to do the Asian squad.

And I also want to let you in on a little secret, but you have to promise that it stays between you and me.

The thing is I'm Asian.

You can see that, but there was a time in my life where I couldn't Asian squat and it was kind of embarrassing.

But the lesson that you can learn from my experience is that you too can Asian squat if you just put in the time to teach your body how to do it.

Whenever you're confronted with a movement or position or posture that you cannot achieve, it's very important that you ATM; always think muscles.

the positions of our bones in space is directly controlled by our muscles.

Our muscles get really good at positioning our bodies in specific places and positions based on what we practice.

More succinctly, we call this RPP; repeated position practice.

If you never practice being in the Asian squat position, you're not going to be good at it.

If you practice being in a chair with your hips at 90 degrees, your knees at 90 degrees and your muscles being weakened and atrophied in those positions, you are only going to be good at those positions.

So now you might be thinking, what are the benefits of the Asian squat or the primal squad?

Is there any reason I really wanna be able to do the Asian squat?

One of the key benefits of being able to do the Asian squat is that you can literally rest anywhere.

You will no longer need a chair of any kind to just hang out and relax with your friends.

Dude, come on, have a seat, make yourself comfortable.

The act of getting in and out of the Asian squat position will also help you avoid rapid decline of leg strength as you get older.

Regularly putting yourself in the Asian squat position is also going to help you maintain the flexibility you need to be in the Asian squat position.

Again, RPP.

Finally, having this kind of hip mobility and leg strength will help you in all kinds of athletic activities.

It will also help you be that really cool aunt or uncle or grandparent who's able to get down to the same level as the kids and really just hang out and play,

without resorting to the standard grown-up line of "Well, my knees aren't so good anymore. Oh, my back, my back, my back, my back."

So if you like the idea of having good hip mobility and leg strength and being able to be the cool aunt, uncle or grandparent, then being able to Asian squat is a really good thing to strive for.

Oh, and did I mention it will also increase your ability to focus and your IQ by at least 20%?

That's not actually true.

So you might be saying to yourself, "I'd like to be able to Asian squat. What should I start doing?"

There are three things you should do right now, if you want to improve your Asian squat.

The first thing you need to do is recognize that it may not be a comfortable process.

The second thing you need to do is commit to the process regardless of how uncomfortable it gets.

That doesn't mean being stupid about it and pushing yourself into really painful, horrible positions.

It means knowing that there's gonna be some discomfort as you adjust and improve your flexibility and strength to get to that Asian squat position.

The third thing you need to do is work on the Asian squat every single day.

That means actually working on getting into the position, even if that means right now that it's only a shallow version of the Asian squat.

Just practicing, getting closer and closer to it will be building leg strength and we will be building the flexibility in your hips to help you get down into the Asian squat.

A simple way to do this daily challenge is to just try to get into the Asian squat with assistance if necessary for five minutes a day.

That doesn't even have to be five minutes all at once.

That can be five minutes broken up across one single day.

It's also a really good idea to do specific exercises to help you get deeper into your primal Asian squat.

I've made a video on three really key exercises that will help you get deeper into your primal squatl, so be sure to check that out.

I'm going to link it up above.

Remember to ATM, always think muscles and that RPP is gonna get you into that primal squat.

If you found this video helpful and you'd like to support this channel with a monetary donation, Hit that thanks button or use that Paypal link in the description box to leave me a tip.

And I promise I will not use your money to buy a really tall office chair that makes my hips too weak to Asian squat.

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I'm Matt Xu from Upright Health, reminding you that pain sucks; life shouldn't.