Cossack Squat Progressions

www.theproactiveathlete.ca
We give out the Cossack Squat for mobility purposes all the time. Our fitness partner Andrew takes you through some great variations and progressions of the Cossack squat to make things more challenging from a strength perspective.

[@Nahulanham]

I'm eighty and I do a lot of these deep, mobility movements to each side plus leaning forward over the knee and touching the floor beyond my toe while bending the knee, then moving back and forth between legs. I do Capoeira outside crescent kicks for hip mobility of the hinge and twists while sweeping the leg outward. I also add Chinese splits and high stretches and back bends as far down as I can go. I sprint, play basketball and do Capoeira. I practice a lot of bounding, leaping and jumping too.

[@jakal13]

Thanks for transferring this VHS to youtube. The 80s were a great decade in terms of basic movement content.

[@thebard20]

Great video easy and clear thanks

[@brentwinter4869]

Great tutorial, thank you

[@chimingchan9038]

Very nice explanation !👍👍👍

[@jefflawrence1625]

Really nice video. Well made.

[@KozakBlade]

good stuff

[@powerliftingpremedcrafter473]

Sunscribed and hit the notification bell.. Awesome tutorial! I appreciate you showing how to progress in this movement.

[@drip369]

I really like the atg cossack squat. Shifts onto the toes and gets more knee flexion. Not useful for hamstring driven shifting, rather quads esp the VMO initiating motion

[@Dave0Star]

Hi, I believe I have weak hips which inhibits my squat depth. what variation would help me gain more depth in my squat?

[@Yojax]

What are the PROS and CONS of doing the two straightened leg variations (toes straight ahead vs externally rotate leg so toes face the ceiling)?

[@Tom_Framnes]

In my utmost humble opinion. If have understood your question correctly:
Depending on one’s goals, implementing both versions will prohibit strength/muscle imbalances as it is preferable to have both strong adductors as well as hamstrings working synergistically allowing your body unrestricted full range of motion and you need the appropriate strength to become flexible, the stronger you become at the end movement, the more you can control said movement without risk of injury and allow your muscles to be strong and allow movement within the full ROM( Range Of motion) Doing either or, or only one of them( As they both implement many of the same muscle groups interchangeably, and many neglect that muscles work synergistically with one another) But the specific differences between the variations ( hip hinge feet pointing forward) and sit down to full hamstring extension( feet toward the ceiling) is that they both focus on their specific areas, hip hinge more adductor/ inside knee/ lower back/ upper body stabilizers( doing only these will enable you to have strong adductors/ core/ upper body stability )But your overall glutes/hamstring flexibility and mobility will be limited. ( usually if your glutes/ hamstrings are weaker than your adductors, the dominant muscles will after a while start to pull ligaments etc in an antagonistic unfavorable way) leading to muscle overcompensation, which in turn can lead to injuries. ( Even torn knee ligaments)
Example of imbalance:you have people that can do full side splits, but cannot do front splits, due to lack of direct hamstring strength and flexibility within that desired range of motion, so it preferable to implement both versions as to ensure your body’s full capabilities are reached.
The CON of not doing both is that it is often muscle imbalances that is the cause of injury, as the structural components of our muscles are akin to units that completes the whole, so a chain is not stronger than the weakest link metaphorically speaking, what effects the one will indeed affect the other.
As a MMA athlete/ Martial Artist I know first hand how certain imbalances can be the cause of aches/ pain and direct severe injuries( pulled muscles/ torn ligaments) Especially joint pain/inflammation/ joint instability/ are one of the first sign of possible imbalances.
So it is indeed preferable to have a well strategized strength/ conditioning program that contains skill specific flexibility/ mobility exercises, so having a program that contains both variations is indeed preferable.
Hope this can be of some help to you. :)
Sincere regards.
Tom Framnes.
Norway.

[@sanchitshirol4421]

@@Tom_Framnes thanks Tom, this was really helpful.

[@zubairahmad2631]

What if someone not flexible

[@fapdayz]

Shit I just can't do it

[@1995Benzo]

I can't do these no matter what! It has to be a flexibility issue. ☹️

[@diaryofnricom163]

All good but doing Cossacks in Chino trousers is quite badass. 😂😂