Preparing for the One Legged Squat
The first time I ever tried to do a one legged squat was back in 2002. I remember thinking it seemed impossible–my leg quivered, my abs hurt, even the other leg hurt just trying to keep it in the air! There were a lot of reasons why I couldn’t do it right away, but regardless of the fact that my legs were too weak and my core stabilization was subpar, the bigger problem was that I lacked the proper neurological capabilities. I know I might be starting to lose you there, but stay with me.
You probably don’t remember what it was like when you were first learning how to walk, but I’m sure that at some point you’ve watched a baby try to. They really have to concentrate and even then they always wobble and fall down a lot in the beginning. This was like me trying to do that first one legged squat. This is how you’ll probably feel the first time that you try it too. However, just like that baby who eventually learns to walk without having to think too hard, if you keep at it, eventually you will able to do a one legged squat relatively easily.
The reason for this, as I mentioned earlier, is as much about your brain as it is about your body. Whenever you try to get your body to do something that it isn’t used to doing it has to build a new neurological pathway to make it happen. Your brain has never had to send that specific message to your muscle before so it must blaze a new trail in order to arrive there. It is also psychological in the sense that you might be a bit intimidated by the exercise itself. If this is the case, hopefully you can avoid falling into the “I can’t” trap. Don’t defeat yourself before you’ve even tried–Believe and Achieve!
Imagine that you are exploring an unchartered jungle. You have a machete with you and as you start moving forward, you begin hacking through the vines as a way to clear a path for yourself. After a mile or two, you decide to return to your camp to get some rest. When you set back out the next morning, you are able to move through that path you carved out the day before a lot quicker than the first time. There is less stuff in the way and since you’ve done it already, you also remember where you are going. This is more or less how your brain works when you try something new. The first time I tried that one legged squat, my brain had to do the mental equivalent of using that machete to hack through those vines back there. But the more I practiced it, the better my brain got at getting the message to my body to do the exercise properly.
Of course this analogy applies outside of the realm of one legged squats. There are many physical challenges that will seem impossible at first. Don’t be fooled when you encounter them. Try not to dwell on your doubts, but instead focus on overcoming them. Anything is possible if you are patient and dedicated.
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