cossack squat – Ben Musholt

Solstice Session

Ben Musholt — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 04:12:05 +0000

Hey ya, Strength Mob! Here is a little garage gym burner just in time for the start of summer.

This workout has a super classic push-pull-leg circuit of back squats, pull-ups, and parallette push-ups. The extra push-up depth obtained with the parallettes is killer for a good chest pump. You’re going to dig it.

The cool down is a bit unconventional with a loop of Cossack squats and sissy squats, but it’s fun mix things up. Remember, since these are part of the cool-down, you aren’t necessarily doing these for strength training. Think of them as light mobility drills, and a nice way to keep the blood going after the heavier stuff.

How I did it:

135 lb back squat
30 lb on the pull-up (dumbbell between the legs)

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A Lighter “Leg Day”

Ben Musholt — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 15:20:09 +0000

Every day is leg day. You’ve heard that one, right? Well, sometimes you might not want to go too hard on leg day. Maybe your back has been on the mend for a few weeks. Maybe your legs are wrecked from a beast trail run over the weekend. Maybe, you know, you simply aren’t feeling it.

I hear you. It’s important to be adaptable.

The agile athlete needs to know when to hold back on certain activities and when to turn up the throttle on others.

Here is a garage workout for those days when you want to go lighter on your legs, but not totally give them the day off.

Use a loaded barbell for bent-over rows and shoulder presses. Between each set, do 10+ Cossack squats. Add weight to them if you want, or stick with bodyweight. Your choice.

The Cossack squat is killer movement to work on uneven loading, lateral hip strength, and groin flexibility. Play around with having your toes pointing up to the ceiling (with your heel on the floor) versus foot-flat “kung-fu style.”

How I did it:

Barbell loaded to 105 lbs for both the bent-over rows and shoulder presses.
25 lb kettlebell for the Cossack squats.

Session 003

Ben Musholt — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 17:15:13 +0000

Adjustments: As an alternative to Cossack squats, try low side-to-side squats – they don’t require the same depth or flexibility. Any type of single arm bent over row will work for the circuit – you can do it with a kettlebell vs dumbbell, or support yourself with one hand on a bench. If the L-hang feels too hard for you, try hanging in a tuck, or in a simple passive hang (body extended) beneath the pull-up bar. Likewise, if the dive bomber push-ups are beyond your ability, scale back to regular push-ups, eccentric push-ups (descent only), or elevated (on a box or bench) push-ups.

How I did it:

Trap bar deadlifts, loaded to 255 lbs
Push presses at 130 lbs
Single arm bent-over rows at 75 lbs
Russian twists with 10 lb weight plate

If you enjoyed the workout, please let me know with a comment below or tag @benmusholt on Twitter or Instagram.