“DEEP SQUAT SECRET6
What an Olympic Athlete Taught Me About “Deep Work”
…and How Flexibility 2.0 :LOO 7UDQVIRUP<RXU6TXDWLQ5HFRUG7LPH
I have two confessions to make to you right up front.
The first one is that I hate when people say they have “The Secrets” to anything.
“Uhh…Shane…you titled this PDF “SECRETS of Deep Squat Flexibility”…
I know, I know…but hear me out.
If I thought what I am about to be sharing with you was common knowledge I would not call it
secrets.
However, after having talked with thousands of athletes about what they do for their mobility and
flexibility training…I feel safe saying that the 2 “secrets” I’m going to share with you are, in fact,
secrets.
Secrets in the sense that they are not fully known or understood by the majority of athletes out there
and those who may intellectually understand them are not applying them like they could.
Disclaimer: If you happen to be one of the few advanced “movement” practitioner or athlete who has
seen and FULLY grasped the two “secrets” in this report…I humbly ask that you set aside your judge-
ments and see what you may learn anyway.
Good. So now that we’ve got that out of the way let’s begin!
DEEP SQUAT SECRET #1: The Power of “Deep Work”
Here is my second confession…I am a big fan of 30 / 45 / 60 day “challenges” and here is why…
Leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics I was training side by side with a track and field athlete who
was in the 2008 Beijing Olympic as well as the 2012 London games.
One day, after marveling at his super-focused lifestyle and the results it was bringing him, I asked:
“Do you do anything other than eat, sleep and train?”
“Not right now.” He replied. “I’m in Monk Mode”
Monk Mode was my first introduction to the kind of approach that gets people result
FAST.
Years later the concept of “Monk Mode” morphed into a cohesive strategy for producing accelerated
results when I read the book “Deep Work” by Cal Newport.
In a nutshell, rapid progress is, in-part, a consequence of something called “Deep Work”.
DEEP WORK = (Intensity of Focus) x (Time Invested)
Deep Work is why I’ve created the “Deep Squats” program to be a 45-day program.
If you can find a way to temporarily increase your FOCUS and your TIME INVESTED, you can accom-
plish more in 45 days that most people do in 6 months time.
• Olympic Athletes know this formula (think “training camps”)
• Famous authors know this (“writing retreats”)
• Successful CEO’s know this.
…and now you know this.
If your goal is a flexible, pain free lower body and the deepest squats of your life…then DEEP WORK
is one of your secrets to success.
What KILLS “Deep Work”
There are two primary things that kill Deep Work and force you into doing Shallow Work. One is
external and one is internal.
1. Distraction / Interruption (external)
2. Lack of mindfulness / concentration (internal)
To eliminate distraction and interruption, I highly recommend that you do your flexibility work in a
calm, quiet space in the gym or your home where you won’t be interrupted. You would be amazed at
how little you actually get done when you are trying to multi-task or have a conversation with others
while stretching or doing tissue work on your body.
The second thing that kills deep work is much more subtle and harder to control. It is your own mind.
Here are 3 Tips for Remaining “Deep”:
1. Close your eyes
2. Relax your face
3. Breathe fully and try to become “dead weight” every time you notice your body clenching.
The degree to which you can follow these 3 rules will be the degree to which you are relaxed and
effective with your mobility work. Don’t overlook them!
Action Plan for Deep Work
Here is what to do RIGHT NOW:
1. Open up your calendar
2. Block out 1 hour per day, 6 days per weekin a quite and comfortable place that you are going to
work on your flexibility.
3. Start NOW…don’t deviate from the plan!
4. Get more accomplished in the next 45 days than in the next 6 months!
DEEP SQUAT SECRET #2: Flexibility 2.0 – An Updated Approach
If you’ve ever been frustrated by the ineffectiveness of “old school” stretching methods by them-
selves, you are not alone.
In my multi-year journey of going from the verge of surgery to getting the splits I tried every tradi-
tional method under the sun:
• Yoga / Pilates
• Gymnastic Stretching
• Martial Arts Stretching
• Ballistic Stretching
• Static Stretching
I took many valuable lessons from each of these approaches and authors and yet I still found that
95% of the books, DVDS and programs only taught one thing: Stretching.
Often the authors were selling their particular brand of stretching…
• PNF Stretching
• Loaded Stretching
• Static Stretching
• Dynamic Stretching
• Ballistic Stretching
• Active-Isolated Stretching, etc
…unfortunately, it’s still just STRETCHING!
Following all these methods I quickly realized a surprising truth…
Traditional “Flexibility” Programs Don’t Work That Well (By Themselves)
I’ve since heard from more than a few people that they’ve also “tried stretching and it never really
worked.”
The problem is not that these traditional methods are entirely worthless…it’s just that they are incom-
plete!
We live in a unique time in history where the internet gives us access to hundreds of teachers and
philosophies and we no longer have to rely on just ONE teacher to learn from.
That means we can put together the “best practices” from all systems and synthesize them into a
more intelligent, holistic, complete system of flexibility & rehab training.
The TSR System – Flexibility Training 2.0
So what is a more intelligent / systematic approach?
The method of flexibility & mobility training in all my programs is called the "TSR" system. TSR stands
for "Tissue Work, Stretching, and Re-Education"
Note: this goes well beyond foam rolling & simple stretches. Much of what is in the TSR system will
be new to most athletes.
The TSR system is not only the best techniques from all the various stretching systems, but also the
very best information from the leading fields in the world of health and human performance such as:
• Massage Therapy / Myofascial Work
• Physical Therapy
• Corrective Exercise
• Strength and Conditioning
• Martial Arts
• Gymnastics, etc
Gathering the “best practices” from all these fields leads to a more systematic, comprehensive and
effective approach to human flexibility and mobility that I think you will find very valuable on your
journey towards Deep Squats!
How to Get the Deepest Squats of Your Life
I’ve done my best to layout the two of the most important lessons that I believe can transform your
flexibility and help you squat deep and now I want to leave you with a parting gift.
Under the “Tissue Work” and “Stretching” tabs in this program you will find 10 of my favorite exercis-
es from the FULLDeep Squats program.
I invite you to watch them but most importantly try them out!
If you merely watch the videos often your minds may say “Oh, I’ve seen something like that” or “I
can imagine how that probably feels.”
This is a BIG mistake.
Its not until you actually “step into the arena” and try the exercise out for yourself that you can
understand what it feels like and what its all about…and even then…it actually takes YEARS to master
the subtleties of a single stretch!
I invite you to give all of the exercises a shot and then see if you want to take a “deeper dive” into
the full Deep Squats program”
If you do, there will be over 1(:YLGHRV waiting for you as well as three 45-day, follow along PDF
programs to take you step-by-step to the deepest squats of your life.
Hope to see you in the program!
-Shane
