The Goblet Squat is a drill to perfect squatting form. It’s developmental in the sense that it re-tools the Western physique to a skill that is totally natural to children, Asian culture, and our ancestors, the deep squat. Rarely do you see anyone in our culture drop into a deep squat to rest, but this is not uncommon in the Eastern world.
Simply by holding a dumb bell or kettle bell, like a Goblet being offered to the Gods, we offset our balance enough to sink deeply into the stretched position, with our weight on our heels. This simple drill can allow us to more effectively activate advantageous leverage positions through increases in flexibility and mobility. Simple but elegant.
I was reading the blog, Applied Strength, by my former kettle bell class mate, Brett Jones. He used a descending ladder to train his Goblet Squats. He also alternated the squats with one handed Swings. The volume of swings was held constant. This powerful combo represents a cool method of progression through lower body movement.
I tried this method and decided to add a third exercise, the leg raise. Either flat, or hanging.
The progression is up to you. I’d use the methods of progression outlined in Convict Conditioning. This is entirely individual. This Tri-set, as they used to call them, really stimulates movement and takes you into a world where the impossible seems possible. Where injury is merely a speed bump and progression is an empty cell in your spreadsheet of training data.
Below is a cut and paste from Brett’s Blog at http://appliedstrength.blogspot.com/
I would add a set of hanging or supine leg raises after every set. Determine the repetition range.
General rules-
1. Start light. It may seem ridiculous, but part of your movements may be weak.
2. Rest appropriately
3. Start low, at 3 or 5 reps. Then build up.
4. When you can do all 10 steps, you can move up to the next weight.
5. Repeat with the next level weight.
The swings would alternate 10 left, 10 right, in a hand to hand fashion.
–Train hard.
