Single-leg squats are excellent for any outdoor CrossFit athlete looking to getting faster and stronger while staying injury free. For a long time, the two-legged squat has been the talk of strength training in the CrossFit gym. Endurance athletes have been incorporating it into their weight training routine because of its ability to engage virtually every single muscle. The squat also builds power as well as durability right from the legs all the way to the core. That said, single-leg squats are slowly gaining ground as the go-to workouts for athletes who want to become stronger. Through these squats, you can generate power one leg at a time in the same way you do when cross-country skiing, trail running or climbing. Research has proven that athletes who add single-leg squats to their training regimens gained strength and speed just like those who added barbell back squats. A unique advantage of single-leg squat is that it mimics real movements which means you are training your body directly for sport. Another advantage of single-leg moves is that they are much safer to perform because they require less mobility and technique. If you are looking at firing up smaller muscles, single-leg squats are the go-to workouts. Normally, injuries stemming from imbalances have their origin in improperly worked out lateral muscles. Metabolically, this type of workout is intense, which you do in CrossFit exercise. This means insofar as it will take you longer to work both sides of your body, you will get a bigger and better burn.The following are some of the common single-leg squats you can do. Single-Leg Goblet Squat This squat works out your stabilizing muscles. For you to lower on one leg, you need some serious control as well as stability. Because of this, you will build excellent lower body strength. The single goblet squat fires up your smaller muscles to balance your body, and this will help you to avoid injury. Bowler Squat This CrossFit exercise trains you to generate power right from your hips while at the same time staying stable, strong, and balanced. When engaging in outdoor sports, it goes beyond the forward and backward movements. At times, you may have to move diagonally to prevent a twist or to reach out and grab a jug. The moment you master the first variation, you can now comfortably scale up with anyone of these progressions. Plyometric Single-Leg Hip Thrust This is a good workout to help you build explosiveness. It really doesn’t matter whether you are cruising along the flats or bounding uphill when skiing, athleticism, and power comes from your hips. Therefore, with stronger hips, you become more efficient and stable thus protecting yourself from injuries. Try these squats one at a time in your WOD and add in your CrossFit exercise and you are bound to experience spectacular improvements.

Squats are a great reflection of your power and strength but also serve as a yardstick to show you the far you have progressed in your workouts. The popularity of squat extends beyond CrossFit into other disciplines such as weightlifting, strongman, powerlifting, and many others. Because of this, lots of squat programs have been developed thereby posing the challenge of how to tell the suitable one for you. Russian Squat Program In this program, you squat 3 days in a week for 6 weeks. In the first 9 sessions, you will progressively lift more volume while keeping the load at 80% of your 1RM. In the remaining 9, you bring down the volume as you head towards a new 1RM. Despite its high volume, this CrossFit training program includes easy sessions and gives you rest days.This program is excellent for a CrossFitter who wants to break through a squatting plateau while continuing with their regular gym programming. Smolov Program This program was developed by Sergey Smolov, a Russian master of the sport. It claims that an athlete can enhance their squat form by up to 100 lbs. We all know in reality a majority of people hardly get to three-quarters of this within the timeframe of the program which is 13 weeks.The way the program is structured is such that you have 13 weeks divided into 5 cycles. The first cycle starts with 2 weeks of prep and after that a base mesocycle phase that lasts 4 weeks. In this phase, you squat 3 times a week using 81% to 90% of your 1RM. This program targets experienced lifters who have about 1 year of active lifting. The beauty of this program is that it is flexible and can be easily tailored to a CrossFit training schedule. 20 Rep Squat Routine This program is credited to John McCallum who introduced it in 1968. It is arguably one of the oldest lifting programs available today. In this program, you squat 3 times per week for a total of 6 weeks. In each workout, you do a set of 20 squats. Every time you do the 20 reps, you are required to add 5 lbs. to your bar. By the end of the 6th week, the goal of this program is to squat your 5RM 20 times.One of the benefits of this program is that it enables you to build muscle mass. There is lots of flexibility in 20 reps squat routine which means you can integrate it into other types of full body conditioning programming. 5/3/1 This is a 4-week program where you perform a session of squat and assistance work each week. There are other sessions over the week which are dedicated to some other core lifts. In week 1, you do 3 sets of 5 reps first at 75% of your 1RM squat, after that 80% and lastly 85%. In the 2nd week, you do 3 sets of 3 reps starting at 80%, then 85%, and lastly 90%. In week 3, you do 3 sets of 5reps starting at 75%, then 85$, and lastly 95%. In the 4th and last week, you perform 3 sets of 5 reps at 60%, 65%, and lastly 70% of your 1RM. There is a great amount of time to recover because of only squat for one day a week.Mastering squat can enhance your CrossFit results. The above programs have lots of variety thereby allowing you to pick one and run along with it.