2 Squat or Hip -hinge Pattern

These are the two main “movement patterns” of the human body. The squat and the Hip Hinge (also the straightleg deadlift, stiff-leg deadlift, deadlift, and Romanian deadlift) is the “bowing” movement using the hips. To perform these it is good to get advice from a local trainer to check your technique, but to keep it simple, here are a few tips.

For the squat, start by sitting back and down onto a bench and standing up again. Keep your back very straight and flat, imagine you are keeping your back flat against a wall. Push your hips back away from the front of your body. (It’s the same movement you would do if nature calls). When this gets easier, get rid of the bench and/or add weights - you can do this weights using a bar on the back or front of the body, or holding some weights in your arms.

With the hip hinge pattern it is pretty similar, you still want a really flat back, but instead of sitting, you bow. It’s almost like trying to touch your toes but keeping your core flat enough that someone could rest a coffee on your back, like a table top.