If your house was burning down, which of your material possessions would you choose if you could only take one with you?

In terms of the tally of muscles targeted, this unique single-plane move is almost impossible to beat

The last time I had to answer this question was at a seminar. The seminar itself wasn’t all that interesting for me. However, the question did get me thinking. That week, I wrote an article about which exercise I would rescue from the proverbial burning building.

If we could only pick one move and still exercise productively, what would it be? At the time, my answer was the overhead squat. About two years on, I stick by this decision even more steadfastly than ever before.

In terms of the tally of muscles targeted, this unique single-plane move is almost impossible to beat. Even complex, multiphase, multiplanar movements have difficulty keeping up. Virtually every muscle in the body is engaged by overhead squatting, and the movement itself is functional in nature. In others words, it exploits a range of movement that is actually useful to us in sports and everyday life.

The four major components of fitness are strength, speed, stamina and suppleness (flexibility). Strength and flexibility tend to find themselves at opposite ends of the spectrum because they are very rarely seen together in the same exercise. Overhead squats are one of the few moves that marries these two opposing forces.

Borrowed from the arsenal of competitive weightlifters, the overhead squat is traditionally considered a strength move, but just as weightlifters themselves are so often misunderstood, there is more to this move than meets the eye.

Overhead squats could just as easily be classified as a stretching exercise, because when it comes to increasng flexibilty in the back and shoulders, I have never seen anything quite as dramatically productive. Not even the basic stretching exercises we perform for increasing flexibility in these areas can keep up with the overhead squat.

From the shoulders down the spine and right through the hips and upper thighs, the overhead squat pulls, squeezes and contorts all relevant major physical structures into the places they belong.

Supple shoulders mean greater ranges of motion when reaching for things or doing pretty much anything that requires the arms to be in a raised position. It means better posture, but above all it means fewer injuries in the shoulders, chest and upper back areas.

Bad posture may lead to injuries over time since weight distribution is thrown off and certain muscles are stressed more than they should be. The body can only compensate for poor posture for so long before overuse injuries start cropping up.

Bad posture also means poor technique when engaged in sport or physical activity, which in turn means the chances of sudden acute injuries are increased too.

Stiff muscles in the shoulders also means they can become pulled or torn more easily if your hands or arms are suddenly forced beyond the limited range of motion to which they are accustomed.

When back muscles are stiff, they also force the body into positions it shouldn’t necessarily be in. A flexible back can assume that all-important neutral spine position that places even pressure around the inter-vertebral discs. It also allows us to maintain this position through strenuous athletic or lifting activities performed throughout daily tasks like lifting bags or boxes.

Increased suppleness around the hips allows them to sit in their correct alignment, just like the spine. A neutral spine and aligned hips and the good technique they permit ultimately translate to better performance. If your technique is spot on, you will hit harder, lift heavier, run faster and jump higher.

The overhead squat is surprisingly simple to execute. Grab a light bar, and move your hands out towards the extremities. Raise the bar up over your head and hold it there with your elbows locked. The further out your hands slide towards the extremeites of the bar, the lower it will be towards your head. Locking the elbows keeps the arms perfectly straight. They should stay that way throughout the movement, and the bar should be suspended directly over the back of your head throughout.

Position your feet about shoulder distance apart, and point your toes slightly outwards in line with where your knees are facing. Fix your gaze on a point directly to your front, position your weight predominantly over your heels and pump up your chest like a soldier standing up to attention.

Squat down as far as you can go without bending your arms or allowing the bar to drift forwards. It must remain fixed over the back of your head. As you descend, keep your chest pumped up and head up looking at your reference point. Go down as far as you can without lifting your heels up; they should be pressed down into the floor throughout.

Hold that lowest position for two seconds, trying to sit down even further. Stand back up and repeat. Perform the move slowly and deliberately and squeeze down further and further into that lowest position as you can. Three sets of five slow repetitions each time you train will yield dramatic results. When you can hit rock bottom, start bringing your hands closer in together.

This will ensure that until you can do it with your hands actually touching each other, this move will always remain challenging and productive.

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