There’s an old tale – and this one is true – about passing on information from one person to another.
Here’s how it works. When you hold a seminar or class, take one person aside, show him a sentence writen on a card to pass on to the next person, but do not give him the card to show anyone else. He simply has to remember what you showed him and pass it on. After he passes the sentence on, the next person is to do likewise – and this should repeat until the sentence has traveled to the very last person in the room.
Once the exercise is finished, the teacher should have the last person write the sentence he was given on a different card. Then the final sentence should be compared to the initial one shown to the first student.
Mark my words: The final sentence will not resemble the first in the least. You’ll literally be prone to wonder, “What the bleep were these guys smoking?”
And so it goes with the performance of Hindu squats and Hindu Pushups. I brought both of these exercises to the attention of the world almost 10 years ago – then in the year 2000, I showed the correct way to do them in my Combat Conditioning book and DVD’s. Since then, a number of people have seen that these exercises really do work, and they’ve gone on to put out their own version of how to do them.
Some of the versions you will see are done well – whereas many others give great cause for consternation. Let’s take Hindu squats first – and in a future tip I’ll cover Hindu Pushups.
Here are 7 mistakes I’ve noted in the performance of Hindu squats. Make sure you look out for them:
1. Hindu squats are as much a deep breathing lung-builder as a leg builder. Therefore, you should be able to hear someone breathing from across the room when they do this exercise. If you cannot hear the person’s breathing, they don’t have a clue.
2. Hindu squats use a reverse exhale/inhale pattern. By this I mean that the exhale is on the descent and the inhale takes place as you come back to standing. This pattern is the opposite of the breathing pattern used in barbell squats, wherein you inhale down and exhale up.
3. Hindu squats are done in a relaxed manner – but not the way you might think. By relaxed I mean that you do NOT slowly lower to the ground as if you have a barbell on your back. Instead, you allow your thighs and buttocks to relax and drop. Yes, you do lower under control – but the truth is you don’t over-control the lowering phase of the exercise.
4. Hindu squats do not have a bounce from the bottom position. When done fast, the exercise may appear to have a bounce, yet there isn’t one. This is a detail that is a bit complicated to explain. Just remember thatt Hindu squats are done in a circular manner with no apparent beginning or ending point – even though, for teaching purposes you have to show the beginning and ending.
5. Hindu squats can be done with elevated heels or with flat heels. I teach the heels-elevated position in Combat Conditioning – but when coaching people, such as in the Matt Furey Inner Circle – I often give both versions, depending upon the workout that each person needs.
6. Hindu squats are not done with your toes pointed outward. I realize this is difficult for some people, but your toes should be pointed as straight ahead as possible. If your toes go a bit outward, not to worry – but they should not be turned to the 3 or 9 o-clock positions.
7. Hindu squats are done with dynamic arm movements. You do not simply hold your arms out from your body. Your arms are moving the entire time. On the inhale you pull your arms in. As you begin to lower your buttocks toward the ground your hands go behind you and travel all the way down. From the down position your fingertips touch the ground then your arms swing back up to the start position.
There are many more details to cover on Hindu squats but these should prove helpful in getting started on the road to Mastery.
Good luck, and don’t forget to …
Kick ass & take names!