YouTuber and movement advocate Strong Points published videos of his physical performances and gained millions of followers on his page. He claims he has gained incredible flexibility by practicing this lower body exercise twice a week, with little stretching.
If you’re looking to build leg strength and release hip flexibility, try Cossack squats with weights.
Sure, there’s a time and place for stretching, for example after a workout, but if you want to increase your range of motion and strengthen your joints, bones, and muscles, mobility exercises are the way to go.
Don’t you believe us? Pick up one of his best adjustable dumbbells or a set of kettlebells and check out the video below to learn how to incorporate this easy hip flexibility hack into your exercise routine.
What is a Cossack squat?
The Cossack squat is similar to a lateral lunge, but you sit deeper during the squat, increasing flexibility in your hips, knees, and ankles. Like many lower body bodyweight exercises, this exercise targets the quadriceps, gluteus medius, hamstrings, adductors, core, lower back, and calf muscles.
Although the Cossack Squat is a standalone strength training exercise, it can also be used as a warm-up mobility drill, such as in a CrossFit workout, to unlock lower body mobility and flexibility. And the yogis are on top of that too. Skandasana (half-squat pose) is used to deeply open the hips while stretching the inner legs and groin.
How to do a Cossack squat
Whether you’re doing the Cossack squat as part of your strength training routine or a mobility exercise, we’ll show you how to do it with proper form.
- Stand with your legs apart and your toes pointing forward.
- Train your core.Stretch your arms out in front of you or place your hands on your hips or chest.
- Bend your left knee and shift your weight to the left, extending your right leg to a lunge position. Lift your right toe up and externally rotate it at the hip or forward (if necessary).
- Keep your chest up, your back straight, and your left heel on the floor.
- Lower your hips as much as possible, shifting your weight to your butt and heels.
- Pause, then explosively press into your left heel and repeat on the other side.
I recently did 90 Cossack squats every day for a week. Here’s what happened to my legs and hips. Spoiler alert, I found it extremely helpful in unlocking my lower back and hamstrings in just one week.
What is a Cossack squat with weight drills?
Don’t worry if you can’t go very deep. The Cossack squat is easy for beginners to perform, and with regular practice, you’ll notice that your flexibility improves.
In a video posted to YouTube, Strengthside claims that when stretching became too time consuming, he instead opted for strength training, which promotes flexibility. “I chose Cossack squats with weights to open up the hips,” he says. “I did this twice a week for over a year and gradually gained weight.”
However, if you follow suit, he cautions against lifting weights too quickly. “There’s a Goldilocks zone,” he explains. “If it’s too heavy, your body will tense up.” Weights act as a balancer and help you drop deeper at the same time, so try increasing the weight gradually as your flexibility increases. Gradual movement also helps prevent muscle damage.
“And to make the hip opening even more efficient, we transitioned from side to side while staying as low as possible,” he added. You can choose between toes down or toes up, depending on what feels better.
If you have trouble with ankle mobility, place a yoga block under your hands to raise your chest, or place your heels under your heels and move one side at a time until you feel comfortable. When holding weights, we recommend using a goblet squat hold technique in front of your chest or a double rack kettlebell position.
This forward leaning position works your quadriceps harder and may help improve your posture.
Start with 3 sets of 10 repetitions (5 on each side) and incorporate this exercise into your existing routine or do it twice a week as a standalone drill.
conclusion
During a yoga class, some people recommend lifting your heels and shifting your weight to the balls of your feet, but this can place stress on your knee joints with additional load, so this is recommended. Make sure to keep your heels pressed down during the drill.
With regular practice, you can increase flexibility in your hamstrings and increase range of motion in your hips, knees, and ankles. This can improve the depth of your squats and lunges and make your leg muscles stronger.
Unilateral exercises also improve balance, coordination, and strength. There is also a scientific aspect to working unilaterally. One study showed that this training style promotes cross-education, thereby stimulating muscles on the opposite side of the body from the one being worked.And according to America’s Bone Healthweight-bearing strength training promotes bone loading and builds stronger bones.
If you’re new to Cossack squats, try lateral lunges to get comfortable first, and before dropping deeper, try these mobility exercises to relieve hip flexor pain.
