It’s simple: if you cannot find and hold this position, your body is not functioning as nature intended. This position is not only the bottom of a highly functional exercise, it is the chair that nature gave you. It’s how hunter-gatherer societies and most of South East Asia spend the afternoon. It is also the correct posture for defecation. In short, this position is a part of your DNA. If you wish for progress in the gym, or simply to live a long life with the capacity to move freely and easily, you will do the following: Spend AT LEAST one minute a day in this position. This can be broken up into as many sets as necessary to equal one minute.
Here’s how: Put your feet just wide enough so that at the bottom of the squat, your ischial tuberosities (where your hamstrings attach to the pelvis) are directly over your heels. Keeping your heels down, reach slightly backward with your hips (butt) and squat down as far as you can. You may need to hold onto something like a table or bedpost. Eventually you will be able to get into a full squat. When this can be done, work on bringing the chest up and flattening the back. At that point, congratulations; you are functioning properly.
