RECONsider... The Squat Pattern Myth with Bill Hartman | Episode #72
Release Date: 09/21/2025
RECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
Foot position changes the strategy. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Foot position is often treated as preference or style. In reality, it is a constraint that reshapes how the system manages rotation, pressure, and force. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus examine ramps, heel elevation, flat foot positions, and toe-only loading. They explain how each option biases propulsion, what each choice gives you, and what it quietly takes away when used without intention. This is not about labeling movements as good or bad. It...
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Balanced training isn’t about push vs pull. It’s about pressure, shape, and strategy. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Most training imbalances aren’t muscle problems. They’re compressive strategies that limit movement options. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus challenge the traditional idea of “balanced training” and explain why pushing and pulling are not opposites at all. They explore how all loaded exercise increases compression, how force production shapes the body, and why chasing symmetry in the gym often creates...
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Shoulder pain isn't a mystery. It's a strategy. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Shoulder impingement isn't caused by a faulty shoulder. It's a shape problem. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus break down the three common types of shoulder impingement (and one bonus type). They focus on constraint, space access, and thorax behavior instead of outdated diagnoses. You’ll learn: 🔸 Why impingement isn't about the rotator cuff, and what to look at instead 🔸 How thorax compression creates the illusion of local...
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The ISA isn’t the answer. It’s the question. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Most people measuring ISAs are looking for a fixed answer. But in the UHPC Model, the infrasternal angle (ISA) isn’t a number — it’s a behavior. And if you’re basing your entire intervention strategy off “wide vs narrow,” you’re likely missing the point. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus break down what the ISA really tells you (and what it doesn’t). It’s one of the most searched topics on our YouTube page — and also one of...
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Stretching ≠ solving hamstring tightness. 👉 Start learning FREE at https://www.uhp.network 💡 Feeling “tight hamstrings” doesn’t mean your hamstrings are short and need to be stretched. It means your system is expressing a strategy under load. In this episode of the UHPC Podcast, Bill Hartman and Chris Wicus walk through why stretching often makes hamstring tightness worse — and what actually drives lasting change. You’ll learn: 🔸 Why hamstring “tightness” is usually a protective output, not a length problem. 🔸 How anterior...
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Stop guessing with assessments. Start learning from the source. Free courses and the new Assessment 101 are waiting for you: http://UHP.network Think you know how to assess a squat? Think again. In this episode, Bill Hartman and Chris dismantle the myth of “squat as pattern” and show you how to actually use squats as diagnostic behavior. The focus is on propulsion, internal rotation, and how the system expresses its real strategy. You’ll never look at a butt wink, heel lift, or shift the same way again. What You’ll Learn Why squats are not universal patterns. They are...
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It is so much more than biomechanics… → Join http://UHP.network FREE to start learning. Not a pattern. Not a form. A strategy. This episode redefines everything you thought you knew about squatting — through the lens of the Unified Health & Performance Continuum (UHPC) Model. We dive deep into the energetics of squatting, shape acquisition, center of gravity descent, and why movement patterns are a misleading lens. You’ll learn how strategic resistance influences squat mechanics, why some people “butt wink,” and how propulsion phases explain squatting better than any...
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"You’re Not Measuring What You Think: Movement Screens, Compensations, and Energetic Behavior" → Join http://UHP.network FREE to start learning. Episode Overview Bill and Chris explore how complex movements—like squats, toe touches, and turns—serve as energetic assessments within the UHPC Model. Rather than relying on outdated biomechanical frameworks or traditional mobility screens, they explain how movement reflects behavioral strategy under constraint. Gravity, pressure, and shape—not joints or range of motion—govern what you see. The episode walks through real examples,...
info_outlineRECONSIDER with Bill Hartman
Episode Overview Bill and Chris unpack the philosophy and implementation of assessment within the UHPC Model, showing how testing reveals energetic behavior—not just structural position. Rather than focusing on static joint angles, they illustrate how relative motion, systemic organization, and phase-based strategies tell the real story of what a system can or cannot do. The discussion critiques isolative and reductionist interpretations and offers a coherent, propulsion-informed approach to understanding and intervening effectively. Key Topics & Chapter Highlights 00:00 – What...
info_outlineIt is so much more than biomechanics…
→ Join http://UHP.network FREE to start learning.
Not a pattern. Not a form. A strategy. This episode redefines everything you thought you knew about squatting — through the lens of the Unified Health & Performance Continuum (UHPC) Model.
We dive deep into the energetics of squatting, shape acquisition, center of gravity descent, and why movement patterns are a misleading lens. You’ll learn how strategic resistance influences squat mechanics, why some people “butt wink,” and how propulsion phases explain squatting better than any traditional model.
Whether you're a clinician, coach, or just squat-curious, this will challenge your assumptions and sharpen your practice.
⏱ Timestamps & Topics Covered:
00:00 – Intro: Squat ≠ Pattern
Chris opens with a challenge: what if the squat isn’t a “pattern” at all? We preview the episode’s theme — squatting as a strategy to manage center of gravity, not a fixed movement template.
01:38 – Strategic Resistance Explained
Bill explains how resistance is used as a constraint to shift center of gravity and unlock shape behaviors. Ramp elevated goblet squats and anterior load placement are examples of how we “promote expansion posteriorly” to access deeper shapes.
05:01 – Why Movement Patterns Fail
We reject the “movement pattern” framework in favor of shape behavior and energetic adaptation. Bill breaks down how elevation of the heels or reaching strategies are compensations to solve for shape — not flaws.
07:06 – No Ideal, Just Strategy
Chris and Bill dig into the idea that squatting isn’t something everyone should do the same way — it's something everyone does differently depending on structure, archetype, and current state. Proper form is idiosyncratic.
10:05 – Olympic Lifts & Deep Squat Variability
Olympic lifters show wide variability in stance, torsion, and strategy — all in the service of descending the center of gravity under the bar. Symmetry is an illusion created by better rotational solutions.
13:29 – Squatting Through the Lens of Propulsion
We clarify one of the most misunderstood ideas: a squat is not a top-down movement. It's bottom-up.
Initiation = Late Propulsion
Ascent = Middle Propulsion
Bottom = Early Propulsion
This reverses many coaching assumptions.
15:43 – Developmental Alignment: Babies & Broad Jumps
How our ability to squat parallels developmental movement. We walk through broad jumps and early childhood motor learning as coherent with propulsion phase behaviors.
17:14 – Forward Motion is the Only Motion
All movement is forward movement. Even in squatting or “reverse” lunges, your center of gravity still moves forward. Chris uses a “green dot” visual metaphor to explain why even yielding is forward.
20:17 – Containment vs. Reversal
Bill explains how compensatory strategies like butt wink or hyperextension are not “backward movement” but an attempt to control or contain forward momentum when relative movement is lost.
21:38 – Losing Early Propulsion = Rigid Squats
A powerlifter squat that “can’t get lower” reflects an abbreviated early propulsion. System compresses too fast and skips early IR yielding phase — we see ER shape dominance and middle propulsion bias.
22:48 – Wide Archetypes & Foot Position
Wide ISA individuals who can’t resolve late propulsion may default to extremely wide stances or elevated heels to delay IR. Chris and Bill explore how to spot and interpret these behaviors.
23:59 – Episode Wrap-Up: Not a Pattern
We summarize the major takeaways:
Squatting is not a pattern.
Movement is about solving for shape and pressure.
All motion is forward, and all behavior is strategic.
Structure and phase access matter more than any template.
24:13 – Bonus Question: What Are You Watching?
What are Bill and Chris streaming lately? Drop your sleeper picks in the comments
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Podcast audio:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7cJM6v5S38RLroac6BQjrd?si=eca3b211dafc4202
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reconsider-with-bill-hartman/id1662268221
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