The Goblet Squat

I always hated the goblet squat. It just never felt right. I’m big on needing to know what an exercise feels like and what my clients are going to experience before I start programming it into their sessions. Every time I tried this stupid exercise, it didn’t work for me.

This is NOT a goblet squat:

I only kept trying it over and over because trainers I know for whom I have a ton of respect always preached the goblet squats’ effectiveness to be used with all populations. All I got out of it was a general sense of discomfort and unpleasantness without the benefit of feeling progress in any aspect of strength, stability, mobility, etc. So out the window it went…

Until the little light bulb went on over my head, that so often takes an inordinate amount of time to go on for me: Keywords from above: “…it didn’t work FOR ME.”

Don’t get me wrong: I have plenty of bio-mechanical issues. But an ability to retract and depress my shoulder blades isn’t one of them. Nor is my ability to prevent lumbar flexion (or as we say at the TR, you’ll never catch me “butt tucking”).

But many, if not most people, especially those with jobs, do have those issues. Forward rolled shoulders and pelvis’ tucked under the body to almost comical extents are the norm in our society.

Think this is funny? Don’t laugh – many of you reading this are on your way to that look. Not me.

Re-enter the goblet squat.

The goblet squat forces the user to keep the shoulders back – if he or she doesn’t the user will fall forward and/or drop the weight. The goblet squat also forces the user to prevent lumbar flexion – if he or she does not “stick the butt out”, he or she will fall backwards.Of course, we don’t want to fall or drop a weight, so our bodies are forced to figure out how to move correctly when in this position. Most people start off just by squatting a few inches down. Then this can be progressed to squatting down to a bench or chair.

Eventually, you can be a show off, like Dina: