Brian Schiff’s Blog

I teach traditional, martial tai chi (tai ji) not the new age fluff verity that is sweeping the gyms of today. My opinion is that the single leg squat is an exceptional exercise. There are many ways to do it so it takes time and research to find which one works for you.

The Health and safety Muppets have prevented many good exercises but as we know it tends to be the person who performs the exercise incorrect rather than the exercise its self. This way of training is also much better on your back as you can lift far less weight.

A good way to start this is on the leg press machine in your gym. Its safe for the beginner that way. You can also get use to how little weight you can move with out the other leg helping out. I find that most people can only move 5% to 10% of the weight they can normally squat.

This should be the primary type of exercise. The secondary being the traditional barbell squat this is still good you should go F.T.B. (feet to butt) do less weight and around 20 reps. Only squatting to 90 degrees can and does weaken the knee joint in many. But it is all related to the individual themselves after all we are not machines.

Get out of your head the idea that it is how much weight you can lift. What is important is how well you can lift it. Pelvis neutral, know pronation , supination, rotation etc.