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Why Matt Furey’s Hindu Squats mean more than squat

Just the other day, I did 100 consecutive Hindu squats. For many of the Furey Faithful (those who follow the Matt Furey, fitness guru and Zen master of the Internet), that may not seem like much of an accomplishment. Yet for a middle-aged, self-employed father of three, it is a feat to rival the sub four-minute mile or batting .400.

Upon first purchasing Matt Furey’s Combat Conditioning program five years ago, the idea of getting a real workout beyond the walls of a health club was a foreign concept. Frankly, getting a decent workout in under a half an hour seemed even more unlikely. Matt Furey’s Combat Conditioning proved me wrong.

The three DVDs that make up Combat Conditioning include “The Leg and Lung Workout”, “The Pushup Workout”, and the “Ab and Back Workout”. Now when you purchase an exercise video, it’s with the general expectation that you might be a little behind the instructor and that eventually you will be able to keep up. The contortions witnessed in the “Ab and Back Workout” made me realize right away that probably wasn’t going to happen.

The other DVDs left me feeling the same way: I’ll never be able to do all these exercises, let alone keep up. But here’s the beauty of Matt Furey: you don’t have to do either.

The core of Combat Conditioning is three exercises: Hindu squats, Hindu pushups and the Bridge. Do as many reps of these three exercises as you can and the results will follow.

The Hindu squat is probably the easiest of these core exercises. This ancient exercise involves swinging your arms and, obviously, squatting. The idea is to time the swing of your arms with your squat so that your hands/fingers touch the ground. The combination of arm motion and leg motion gives you the double benefit of a cardio workout with a muscle workout for your legs.

My first attempt at Hindu squats ended at about 20 with me sucking major wind and my legs blazing like a forest fire. Yet something struck me as breath returned to my lungs. It felt pretty darn good to do this relatively simple, yet impressively taxing and invigorating exercise.

The feeling in my mouth and lungs was similar to the one I used to get on the first day of basketball practice. Those first few suicides were painful. You did not like to feel out of shape, but you knew that each suicide you just ran was getting you in shape. With Hindu squats, you can achieve that feeling in a minute.

Over the ensuing years, I’ve attempted to do as many Hindu squats, topping out at 60. After that, I began combining the pushup and leg/lung workout, alternating Hindu squats and pushups. It’s a program that’s served me well over the past five years. I eat pretty much what I want and my weight has been relatively steady. I even rode my bike about 60 miles with relatively little training and was no worse for wear the next day thanks to Hindu squats.

All that said, something inside wanted to see how many I could actually do. So, that fateful morning on February 1, 2011, my body went to where it’s never gone before: beyond 100 Hindu squats. My world will never be the same.

About the Author

Joe D’Eramo is a freelance copywriter based in Plymouth, MA. In addition, he’s a Matt Furey affiliate.

Major Matt Mason