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I started a single leg squat progression in February 2023 and filmed it again in March 2024.
During the interim, I did about 60-80 repetitions a week per leg of the single leg squat. I missed 2 weeks of squatting during that period. The variant is what we call a Cook squat at our gym. One leg (non working leg) is held in a flexed hip and flexed knee position. This encourages you to keep your pelvis to remain tucked in a posterior tilt. We like to squat in many different positions.
The squat became much faster and deeper. This was a result of improved mobility at the ankle and hip. I could always squat deep. But on a single leg, it would be challenging. A little muscle was gained on the calf and thighs too. The calf stabilises the ankle in a single leg squat.
But I maintain this capacity by continuing to do single leg squats every week. Weighted to improve bang for time spent. Not as many. But enough to maintain the capacity. And I throw in weighted staggered squats and double leg squats too.
The point of the post is to highlight how long it takes to improve your mobility and make any semblance of progress with tougher moves.
This is not a 3-month transformation. This is about producing lasting training adaptations. You can’t keep swapping out exercises or programs. Jumping between Zumba, yoga and Pilates every month and wonder why your legs have not gotten any stronger. Or your hips or ankles are not any more mobile than they used to be.
Producing changes in mobility is hard. Mobility along with stability even harder. And hardest of all are adaptations that require stability, mobility and being able to produce lots of force.
And most importantly, it’s not enough to gain this capacity. Maintaining it takes work. Consistent doses. What most coaching programs or services won’t tell you is those transformations are transient. You need to constantly put in the work to maintain strength, muscle, skill and mobility.