I want to know why I can't do a squat.
Seriously. My body should be able to do it: I'm pretty fit, relatively strong, acceptably flexible, have played sports since I was 9 and exercised regularly since I was 15. My mind knows how to do it: I've been certified as a personal trainer for 12 years, trained and instructed in a gym for eight. I should be able to do a proper squat. And it bugs me immensely that I can't.
Soon, though, I'll know why. Dr. Clancey and Dr. Berkowitz, fresh from a second-level certification at the Titleist Performance Institute, are going to be screening our entire staff for muscular limitations and imbalances. Through this screening process, TPI helps physicians, therapists, and trainers to identify functional imbalances in the body, then provides "rehabilitative" exercises to correct these imbalances. TPI was developed with golfers in mind, but, as Dr. Clancey explained, its value reaches far beyond the country club. I'd be willing to wager that most of us have some kind of muscular imbalance that's either diminshing our performance or contributing to our injuries. In my mind, knowing my limitations is the first step to getting me into a beautifully executed, biomechanically perfect squat.
Clearly I'm a bit obsessed with the squat,and here's why: I've recently found an incredible workout regimen called Crossfit (http://www.crossfit.com/), and the squat is one of its fundamental movements. The squat fires a myriad of muscles in the body, it's practical, it's challenging, it builds leg strength and endurance, and it's a movement the body understands. It's also key to many of the Olympic lifts Crossfit uses in its workouts. I feel I can't progress until I master the squat; ergo, my obsession.
It's freeing, in a way, to know your limits.
*Jill Settembrino, Director of Ops. (and aspiring Crossfitter), Lawrencville office
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