Squats are a powerhouse exercise for building lower-body strength and muscle. But for many, limited mobility can hinder proper form and effectiveness. If your squat mechanics are off, you might not achieve the desired depth (“living life below parallel,” as some fitness enthusiasts say) or fully engage your lower body muscles. This can not only limit your gains but also increase your risk of injury.
One mobility exercise that can help unlock your squat potential is the duck walk. This dynamic movement strengthens the lower body, opens up the hips, improves posture, and enhances joint range of motion, preparing you for squats with or without weights.
what is the Duck walk?
Table of Contents
To perform the duck walk, start in a low squat position with your hands clasped behind your head. Keeping your back straight, chest lifted, and butt low, walk forward, taking deliberate steps.
Olympic weightlifting expert and mobility specialist Sonny Webster, who advocates for the duck walk, emphasizes the importance of consistency and progressive loading for improving mobility. “Just like strength training, mobility requires consistent effort and gradual increases in intensity,” he explains.
“the key to mobility, just like strength training, is consistency and progressive loading. That’s why I love exercises like the duck walk.”
Webster highlights that progressive loading doesn’t always mean adding weight. You can intensify the duck walk by adjusting your positioning or incorporating resistance bands.
How to Perform the Duck walk
Webster recommends three variations of the duck walk:
1. **Bodyweight Duck Walk:** Interlace your fingers behind your head and press your elbows forward. Adopt a shoulder-width stance and lower into a squat, maintaining a proud chest and straight back.Drive your knee over your toes as you take each step, planting your heel firmly on the ground.
2. **Elevated Duck Walk:** Perform the duck walk with your heels elevated on a platform or weight plate. This variation increases the challenge and targets the calves more intensely.
3. **Resistance Band Duck Walk:** Loop a resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees. This adds external resistance, further engaging your hip muscles and glutes.
By incorporating the duck walk into your warm-up routine, you can improve your squat mobility, reduce your risk of injury, and unlock your full lower-body strength potential.
Duck walks, a deceptively simple exercise, are gaining popularity among fitness enthusiasts for their ability to enhance lower-body mobility and prepare the body for more demanding workouts.this unique movement pattern, which involves squatting down and walking forward with a wide stance, targets key muscle groups and joints, promoting versatility and control.
fitness expert and coach, Webster, demonstrates three variations of the duck walk, each with its own benefits. The first variation involves keeping the knees slightly bent and driving them forward, ensuring they pass over the toes with each step. “The elbows must stay up and forward like you would for a clean,” Webster advises.
The second variation incorporates a weight plate held behind the head, encouraging proper posture and head alignment. The third variation, considered the most challenging, involves pressing a weight plate overhead with locked elbows, demanding greater core stability and upper body strength.
“The overhead squat variation, for most peopel, is the toughest. Build up to it if you’re new to the exercise,” Webster cautions.
As Webster guides viewers through each variation,the emphasis is on the rolling motion of the knees driving forward and the importance of maintaining proper form. This exercise not only improves ankle mobility but also engages the quadriceps,making it a valuable addition to any lower-body workout.
What are Duck Walks Good For?
Many people overlook the distinction between mobility and stretching when warming up.Incorporating both into your routine can significantly enhance your workouts. In the past, I would often jump straight into workouts without proper preparation. However,through my experiance as a coach and my own fitness journey,notably with CrossFit,I’ve come to understand the crucial role mobility plays for weightlifters and anyone engaging in physical activity.
Mobility refers to the ability of your joints to move dynamically through a range of motion with strength and control. Instead of static stretches before exercises like squats, mobility exercises like the duck walk prepare your joints and muscles for the demands of the workout.
“This strength training bodyweight exercise is an absolute game-changer for developing lower-body mobility. Why not add it to your warm-ups and watch your strength, stability and control transform?”
More from Tom’s Guide
## Unlock Your Squat Potential: Mastering the Duck Walk for Enhanced Mobility
This interview dives into the benefits and techniques of the duck walk, a mobility exercise increasingly praised for its ability to improve squat depth and overall lower body performance.
Squats, basic to many fitness routines, can be limited by restricted range of motion. The duck walk, a dynamic movement pattern, addresses this issue by targeting key muscles and joints, priming your body for deeper, more effective squats.
We spoke with Sonny Webster, an Olympic weightlifting expert and mobility specialist, about the duck walkS transformative power.
**World Today News:**
Sonny, many people struggle with squat mobility. Can you explain how the duck walk addresses this issue?
**Sonny Webster:**
Absolutely. The duck walk strengthens the lower body while improving ankle, hip, and knee mobility, all crucial for a proper squat. By dynamically moving through a range of motion, the duck walk prepares your joints for the demands of squatting.
**World Today News:**
Could you walk us through the proper form for the duck walk?
**Sonny Webster:**
Start in a low squat position,hands clasped behind your head,back straight,chest lifted,and butt low. Walk forward, taking deliberate steps, ensuring your knees track over your toes.
**World today News:**
You emphasize the concept of progressive loading. How does this apply to the duck walk?
**Sonny webster:**
Just like strength training, mobility requires gradual increases in intensity. You can intensify the duck walk by changing your stance, incorporating resistance bands, or performing variations like the elevated duck walk.
**World Today News:**
What are some variations of the duck walk, and what do they target?
**Sonny Webster:**
Besides the standard bodyweight duck walk, you can elevate your heels on a platform to target calves more intensely.Another variation involves holding a weight plate overhead, demanding greater core stability.
**World Today News:**
Should people incorporate the duck walk into their warm-up routine?
**Sonny Webster:**
absolutely! Dynamic stretches like duck walks prepare your joints and muscles for the workout ahead, preventing injury and unlocking your full potential.
