The Catcher's Squat Hold

Holding a near ass-to-grass squat can be very beneficial to ensure healthy hips, legs and the spine. Taking the pressure off the lower back, this specific squat also promotes incredible flexibility and a test to strengthening your structure.

It has been called by many names but Catcher's Squat seems very fitting especially to those who understand sports like Baseball. Catchers in the big leagues have incredible explosiveness and endurance to withstand holding a position like this for 9 straight innings day in and day out. The best catchers such as Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Mike Piazza and Jorge Posada were a dominant force at their position for a reason and arguably had loads of flexibility and explosive strength to just jump up and throw the ball to a base with incredible accuracy. It's awesome how long their careers lasted considering not one has yet hit 500 Homeruns.

As toddlers, we almost have stupid flexibility and can hold this for several minutes without feeling a damn thing. As we age, it becomes less important to us to stay that limber and we get caught up in the rigors of life and forgetting what it was like to be very mobile, flexible and strong. Often times we have to use a reset button and start over, learning mechanics and body reassessment to understand the ways of living without pain or stiff muscles/joints. When I was rehabbing after my accident, just doing the Hindu Squats were more than I can bare, I couldn't hold the low squat for more than a few seconds because of the stiffness I had not just from not being able to walk for almost 3 months but not understanding how important it was when I was going to the gym and training beforehand. Now, I can hold this Squat for 10 minutes and feel great. I have a profound respect for farm workers who have to plant, pick and water fruits and vegetables in that position for hours on end. 

In qi gong circles, being able to do this is a basic testament of how good your health is and being able to transition fluidly from a low squat to standing or kicking. Russian Dancers have powerful legs being able to kick in front and sideways in the lowest squat possible. Some of the strongest squatters in the world have flexibility that can't be matched. Some don't think it's relevant at all in how it determines health but just a thing you can do to build flexibility and nothing else coms of it, I humbly can't agree with this but I can understand why. 

You don't have to squat for hours to get the benefits of it but a few minutes a day or a few times during the day can really aid in how you can strengthen your spine through realignment and building supple yet pain-free hips. Many of us sit in a chair way too long and put too much compression on the spine so doing this squat takes away the compression and just sink in and breathe. Even when we go to the bathroom, we're not squatting properly, for best elimination of waste, we need to squat as low as possible, elevate your feet onto a stepstool and relax. 

The body was meant to squat and the universe gave us legs for a reason. Train those legs not just for stamina and strength but like every other part of the body, become supple, flexible and mobile.