Depending on the type of work and location of work, a large portion of most people's days are spent sitting. In addion we sit for meals, driving and relaxing. Fortunatly, there has been a shift away from sitting all day as some experts say "sitting is the new smoking". I think these experts are half right. Sitting is something you don't want to do all day, but so is standing in one position all day. In fact squatting for 8 hours straight isn't good either. The best thing we can do for our muscles, joints, pelvic floor, ligaments, digestive system, ect is move in a variety of ways often throughout the day.
This week take a mental note of how much time you spend sitting (work, kitchen table, car, couch, toilet), standing, walking, squatting. What are the positions you do most and for how long do you hold a static posture? Are you able to modify your environment or tasks to incorporate more movement in a greater variety of positions?
If you want to improve your ability to squat you need to just do it. You could fit in HOURS of 'squat practice' DAILY just by slightly altering your sitting postion.
On a side note, one day my squatting work station might look like the one below- but I need to start small and work up to that. At this point I have no where near the flexibility or strength required!
NOTE: This work station is something I have been doing for a while. During my second and third trimester I had some degree low back discomfort in every position EXCEPT this supported squat. This position allowed me to work without pain. I sat in this position instead of on the couch, kitchen table and work desk. This was a very comfortable position, even when I had a fundal height of 48 cm (code for HUGE belly). If you have back pain try this supported position as a subsitiute for sitting.
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