Asian squats are a type of lower-body exercise that is designed to help improve mobility in your hips, thighs, and ankles. They have been used as an alternative treatment for knee pain due to their amazing ability to stretch the muscles and joints in your legs. Asian squats require you to bend down with your hands on the floor in front of you, then push back up again. This is different than regular squats because they place more emphasis on stretching out the muscle tissue rather than strengthening it like traditional squats do.
Asian Squats: What Are They?
Asian squats are a type of deep squat. The buttocks almost touch the ground and the feet need to stay on the ground. Exercise is good for you, so this is a good exercise for people of many ages.
The Asian squat is a traditional exercise that many people do not know about. It can be done anywhere without any equipment which makes it perfect for people who need to make their workout routine more mobile!
Below are pictures of the Asian squat. With their pros and cons, and how to do them so you can make progress.
Performing The Asian Squat?
It is easy once you get the hang of it, but below are the basic instructions on how to perform the Asian squat:
-Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart and toes turned outwards.
-Bending at the knees, lower yourself down to a squat position so that the buttocks almost touch the ground while keeping your heels on the ground.
-Return back to standing position and complete again until you cannot do it anymore.
When doing any type of exercise, there are always precautions that can be taken to reduce risk to injury:
*Do not perform these when pregnant or recovering from an illness without consulting a doctor.*Instead do them after pregnancy or when well again!*If you
Benefits Of The Asian Squat
Asian squats are full of many benefits that include:
*Improved mobility.
*Great for people with stiff joints or injured knees.
*Can be done anytime and anywhere, without any equipment needed!
Even if you can't do the Asian squat, there are other exercises that help improve your lower body's stability until you are able to do so:
-Lunges. What is a lunge? How to perform one correctly? Read more here: (link).
-Steps/stairs exercise. How do they work? Why should I try them out today?: (link)
As in all things fitness related, it's important to always consult a doctor before starting anything new so don't forget to check yours first! It will only take a minute but could save you from an injury later.
Why Is The Asian Squat So Popular?
One of the reasons the Asian squat is so popular is because a lot of people can't do it . The other reason is because it can be done anytime and anywhere, without any equipment needed!
Other Reasons for being popular:
-Improves stability in the pelvis region
-Lengthens hip flexor muscles that have become shortened due to prolonged sitting or standing.
Sitting for long periods at a desk will shorten your hip flexors which leads to lower back pain when bending over. Doing an Asian squat regularly helps stretch these out so when going on with regular life, there's less chance of injury or discomfort.
Try Out The Asian squat
If you've never done an Asian squat, it's easy to do! It can be a great workout for your thighs and butt. Find something sturdy to hold onto like a chair or the wall (with both hands!) and come into a deep lunge position with one leg in front of the other while bending forward at the waist as far as possible without rounding your back.
It may seem uncomfortable at first but doing Asian squats will strengthen pelvic stabilizers which help keep things aligned during pregnancy . The increased range of motion gained from stretching these muscles is just another way that they benefit pregnant women.
Other Frequently Asked Questions On Asian Squat
Is The Asian Squat Healthy?
Asian Squats are great for overall mobility, and it helps tighten your stomach muscles. If done correctly that can be a great asset to your everyday life especially if you have kids to keep up with.
Can I Do Asian Squats If I Have A Herniated Disc?
Yes! You can do Asian squats if you have a herniated disc but they may be uncomfortable at first. It's important to consult with your doctor before starting any new exercise routine or doing Asian squats while pregnant just to be on the safe side!
How Often Should I Be Doing The Asian Squat?
There is no set number of days per week that you need to perform this move because everyone will recover differently from workouts and injuries . Whether its once a day or three times a week, make sure to give yourself enough time in between each session.
Why Can't Everyone Do An Asian Squat?
It's important to note that everyone has different levels of mobility and flexibility which can make it difficult for some people to do an Asian squat. If you're unsure on how your body will react, try performing a half-squat or go very gently at first!
Why Is It Called Asian Squat?
It is call an Asian squat because the actual pose is used in everyday life in Asian cultures starting with India. They perform a lot of activities that include resting, eating, going to the bathroom, etc. in this position. Where around 15% of people outside of Asia can get into this position leaving it impossible for 85% to do so without working at it.
Asian squats can help improve mobility, but it's not just the movement of your body that does this. It is also about what you are thinking and doing while in this squatting position. When we have a strong intention behind an action or idea – even something as simple as sitting on the ground with our legs crossed – we tend to get more out of it than if we don't (even though physically speaking there may be little difference).
What exactly do Asian Squats actually do for us? They activate certain muscles to support joint stability around the knees and ankles. This will make walking easier, give you better balance, reduce knee pain by strengthening stabilizing muscles like hamstrings and quads without increasing pressure on these joints.
Can You Asian Squat?
There are many factors that can make it difficult to do Asian Squats. If you have back or knee problems, if your legs aren't flexible enough for deep squatting, or if you just don't know how to do them there is no shame in not being able to perform this exercise.
We will explore some of the ways people might be unable to perform an asian squat below and what they can do instead:
-If You Have Knee Problems: Try putting a pillow under each heel when sitting on the ground with your knees wide apart while keeping toes pointing forward. This should give more relief from strain on the patellar tendon; also try bending one leg at a time instead of both together.
-Another way to perform the Asian squat with modifications is to use a chair. Sit on the edge of the chair with feet flat and knees bent to 90-degree angles, then slowly sit down until thighs are parallel or slightly lower than your hips. You will also want make sure that you have enough space in front of you so that when you lean back from this position, one foot can fit between the seat and arms of the chair for stability (otherwise it could be unsafe).
-The last way to modify the Asian squat is too to use a box. This is good for beginners who may not be able to get close enough to the ground without discomfort and/or causing injury. The height of the box will vary depending on your needs, but we recommend it being no higher than 12 inches off the ground.
-Place one foot in front of you with toes touching or just past that edge while resting other foot on top of something (such as another box) behind you so your knee does not touch floor during this exercise—this is crucial! Slowly lower yourself down by bending both knees until thighs are parallel or slightly lower than hips; make sure there’s space between butt and heels when sitting back up again using legs muscles only before returning feet to starting position
Asian Squat: According To Other Squatters
We didn't want you to only take our word for it when it comes to Asian Squatting so we scoured the internet on other peoples opinions on how to do it. We curated this information from Facebook forums, sub reddits, and other websites.
Real Squatters
1. Slamina “Hold onto something” – Squat down / hold onto something if you can’t stay in the position without help / do as often as long as you like, repeat each day.
2. Taijimeihua “Get your center of gravity” – If your legs don’t open up enough it’s hard to get your center of gravity over your heels. Do a little bit of training for middle splits. I think the butterfly stretch would help. You’re trying to get your tailbone closer to in between your ankles when in this squat position. Over the years I’ve learned this is more about adductor flexibility, lower back/glut flexibility, and hip flexor/ab strength more than ankle dorsiflexion. Notice that in the picture, the man’s knees aren’t going out further than his toes.
3. Chinawscwing “Add 60 seconds a Day” – 60 seconds each day. Supposedly some people can add a minute to the pose every day. I think I maxed out around 3 minutes. You will notice a remarkable improvement in as little as 1 week.
4. PiqueYo “Start with narrow feet” – Start with narrow feet and when you can get sufficiently low do it with slightly wider and wider feet until they are nearly shoulder width.
This for me got rid of a lot of tension in my hips.
Also if you're really having trouble do it with your hand supporting you a little bit and if your knees hurt lay off completely until they don't.
EDIT: Another point is when you're not able to go very far down you need to put your weight forwards more to stay balanced so use your hands and your head as counter weights if necessary.
You can use your elbows to press into your knees to put more pressure into the stretch as an option too.
5. TimeTravel1234 “Continuous Process” –
-
Invent a time machine.
-
go back in time to when you were a kid.
-
Stop sitting in chairs and wearing shoes with elevated heels and narrow toe boxes.
-
Always squat to poop.
Seriously though. I went to China last year and was so impressed with the squats I saw on city streets, people working on bikes, gambling, eating. When they did use furniture it was simply a little stool.
And toilets? Virtually non-existent in public places. When i did see a stall with a toilet, there was a stall with a hole in the floor next door.
It is a continual process, to undo the decades of shortened muscles from using western amenities. The 10 minute squat test is a good barometer IMO, you can find the related video on the mobilitywod youtube channel.
6. MrMontage “Mix it up” – I've gone from barely being able to make it to parallel to holding it until I got bored.
It takes a lot of time but is totally doable. I always stretch my hips, hamstrings and ankles before going into the squat. Then I do a static hold until I get bored and then start doing bodyweight squat variations until I get tired and then go back to a static hold to rest. While I'm in the static hold I like to play around with foot width, toe direction back angle and just wiggling around in the squat position.
7. Relampago “Keep at it for mobility” – apparently being able to do this helps with squats and hip mobility. I just found out there's a yoga pose called malasana that's similar to it. Here's a variation. Some people seem to have great difficulty squatting that low because of tight hips, etc. Also some feel that this is how human beings were meant to sit, that this is our natural resting position.
Conclusion
For those who are looking for a lower-impact, yet still effective way to tone and strengthen their muscles, the Asian squat is perfect. With just one minute of this exercise, you can work your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves all at once! This article has answered what an asian squat is and how to do it. It also provides benefits of doing the asian squat and modifications if needed. Now that you know more about this awesome workout technique, go ahead give it a try – we guarantee you'll feel great afterwards!
