The Squat-Pushup

 I call them squat-pushups:

You can begin from the bottom position or the top. Since I sleep on a firm 2″ close-cell foam mattress on the floor, I begin each day moving from a lying position into a squat position and sit there for as long as I want to — pushing my knees as far forward and down as possible to stretch the ligaments and tendons of the ankle, knee, hip and feet — and turn my head left to right to get the blood flowing to the brain, and am fully awake. Then I push my knees down with my hands to rise up to the Half-lift position. Then I place my hands on the top of my thighs in the classic athlete’s resting position (think football huddle), and lower myself into the full squat position again while maintaining that hand position throughout the exercise.

In that manner, I eliminate the least productive part of the squat movement — which is the half squat to fully erect position — while only doing the productive part, which is the full squat up to resting with the hands on top of the thighs close to the knees. That maintains constant tension on the leg muscles and back — and eliminating the fully erect position which is a bone-on-bone lockout and wonder why they get very little muscular development while experiencing a lot of back, hip and knee pain.

So you eliminate all the non-productive but problematical parts of the exercise and what remains is all gain and no pain — which is most people’s wish list. And although this exercise done in this fashion seems too easy, it is just the right amount of taxing and fatiguing for 50 repetitions yet light enough to be a perfect cardio workout as well. “Cardio” doesn’t only need to work the heart but any sustainable exercise for 50 repetitions (5 minutes) will raise the heart rate to the desired targets (60–85% of maximum), which is the more efficient way to do cardio — while also producing the muscle pump for muscular gains which conventional cardio doesn’t do.

This is particularly desirable for the aging person (athlete) to maintain productive exercise all their lives — rather than lifting too heavy that one fatal last time that brings an abrupt and unexpected end to their continued exercise and progress. That is as often as not the sad end to a lot of athletic careers — while those beginning even late in life and proceeding cautiously and thoughtfully — often pull ahead and remain that way for the rest of life.

That has been the leap that few have made — from vibrant youth to mature years — that have to continue to evolve as needed over time. It is not enough just to continue to do what young people do — thinking that will keep them young forever. Instead, that refusal to adapt over time will knock them out — for good, because they have learned no other way but doing things by brute force. But with age, one hopes to grow wiser as well — which means adapting and changing to stay vital and vibrant — and not demanding that the old days of their glory return. That’s not going to happen — no matter how many plates they slap onto the bar. Most athletes have to learn that lesson the hard way — but the fit always do. The unfit are those who insist that the world change to suit them.

So you make the squat as easy as possible — using all four appendages for the lift — instead of imposing artificial performance requirements that make it harder, and eventually impossible — particularly when they need it the most. That is what the survival of the fit is all about — doing what you have to do — by making it entirely possible, and not inevitably impossible so one can’t go on. Fitness is the total response to a challenge — and not tying all one’s appendages behind one’s back to prove how fit they are.