No, squats will not make your legs bigger. When people think of squats making their legs big, it is usually associated with images of giant guys squatting 800 lbs. We don’t do that. We squat with a more natural stance in order to restore what is referred to as a primal movement pattern. If you look at any child they are able to squat butt to the floor and stand right back up with no problem. Good luck finding any untrained adult who can do this properly. You might think this is because children have younger joints, more energy, etc., but is this the cause or the effect? As we get older and become more sedentary we lose these functional movement patterns, which in turn causes much of the dysfunction and pain that we just take for granted as being part of getting older. In reality it is not that you have to be ‘trained’ to squat like this, it is just that you have effectively ‘trained it out’ and it’s my job to help your body ‘remember’ how to move like a child. I have trained hundreds of people and I have yet to find anyone (that did not have serious medical issues) who I was not able to put in a full ‘butt to the floor’ squat, usually in just a few minutes. Part of this is due to the unique shape of the kettlebell, and that holding it out in front of you creates a perfect counter-balance so that you can learn to squat without falling over. Another is that I teach you to use your strength, vs. just acquiescing to gravity and ‘falling’ into a squat. We learn to use our hips to ‘pull’ ourselves down into a stable position. Often what people think is inflexibility, is in fact just weakness.

Last updated on May 31, 2009 by [Your Name Here]