01Foundation
30 seconds, holding a post for balance
The eleven tests / Deep squat hold
Test 09 of 11 · Mobility
The deep squat hold, and why strong men fail it
The rule. Shoes off, feet flat, heels down, chest up. Resting in the bottom of the position, not fighting it, not propped on your elbows against your knees.
Being able to do five hundred push-ups and not being able to sit in a deep squat is a completely normal combination. Strength and mobility are different jobs, and this is the test that proves it.
The four rungs
Find yourself on one of these.
Your level on this test is the highest rung you can hold cleanly today. Not the one you could hit on a good day five years ago.
02Working
60 seconds unsupported, heels down
03Strong
2 minutes, chest up, breathing easily
04Standard
3 minutes, and you can reach one arm overhead and rotate without falling out of it
Where it goes wrong
The two that cost people a rung.
Mistake 01
Heels on a plate
Propping the heels makes the position reachable and stops it from being the test. Hold a post instead and keep the heels on the floor. That is the Foundation rung and it is honest.
Mistake 02
Fighting the position
Elbows braced hard against the knees, chest straining, breath held. That is a squat you are surviving, not resting in. Shorten the time until you can breathe in it.
Moving up
How to earn the next rung.
- 01
Hold a post and sink
Both hands on a door frame or a post, weight back, heels down, thirty seconds. Let the hands take as much as they need at first.
- 02
Accumulate, do not endure
Five sets of thirty seconds through the day beats one grim two minute attempt. Total time in the position is what changes it.
- 03
Open the ankles separately
Most heels that will not stay down are an ankle problem. A few minutes of calf and ankle work before each attempt makes the position reachable sooner.
What this test needs
The kit that helps with this one.
Links go to Amazon and a purchase through one pays me a small commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what gets recommended. The full list, with what each piece is actually for, is on the gear page.
Before you ask
Two questions that come up every time.
Why can't I squat all the way down anymore?
Usually ankles, sometimes hips, rarely strength. Sitting for decades shortens the range and nothing in most training asks for it back. It returns with daily time in the position.
How long should I hold a deep squat?
Sixty seconds unsupported with the heels down is the Working rung. Two minutes breathing easily is Strong. Three minutes with an overhead reach is the Standard.
Going deeper on this one: Ten Minutes on the Floor
Read about itOn the channel
Watch the deep squat hold tested at every rung.
What Foundation looks like next to Standard, filmed from the side so the form is actually visible. Every one of the eleven gets its own video.