Hindu squat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

The hindu squat or Uthak-bethak (Hindi: Standing and sitting) is an Indian calisthenic bodyweight exercise used by Indian wrestlers and other athletes to build leg endurance and strength.

Unlike a normal squat, the heels are elevated, shifting the knees far forward. This places more stress than usual upon the knee ligaments, which some trainers feel may be harmful to them especially with the explosive nature of the exercise. Others believe that squats done this way actually strengthen the knee joint. Due to the elevated heels, the calf muscles are much more heavily recruited. Heavy weight should not be added in this exercise due to the lack of stability and non-linear path of motion for most weights, as well as the fact that it further exacerbates the knee stresses. To compensate for this lack of resistance, Hindu squats are normally done in very high repetitions. Some experts recommend one-legged Hindus as a more advanced version of the exercise (Ross Enamait), although other advocates of Hindu squats will only perform flat-footed squats.

[edit] Variations

  • The hands may remain stationary throughout the exercise, or move in tune with the movement
  • Breathing may be done normally (exhaling on the concentric) or reversed (inhaling on the concentric). Any negative or positive effects one way or the other are hard to notice due to the lack of resistance, and are more of a cardiovascular consideration.

[edit] Exposure

  • It has been somewhat popularized in the United States by entrepreneur Matt Furey as part of the three-exercise 'royal court along with Hindu pushups and bridging, as the core of his Combat Conditioning fitness program.
  • Bruce Lee has also performed these.
  • The exercise, two and one-legged, is available in Ross Enamait's training manual, Never Gymless.
  • The exercise is available free in a variety of online fitness guides.
  • Mick Foley references Hindu squats various times in his book "Tietam Brown", where one of the main characters and his father both do Hindu squats.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../h/i/n/Hindu_squat.html"