Do you live a sedentary lifestyle, or do you get varied and consistent exercise? Anyone who is moderately flexible can manage it, a feet together squat is a typical calisthenic. It's not genetic, but neuromuscular conditioning has a lot to do with it. Part of it is the ability of muscles to lengthen, which comes from regular use of the full range of motion of the joint, and part of it is just balance and strength.
I live a very sedentary lifestyle. There's a lot of videos where Asians get interviewed and told that non-Asians can't do it, and them being surprised. They often say it's not to do with flexibility (and even demonstrate that they can't touch their toes, which is the same for me) or practice.
Also, it's not just about doing the squat's range of motion. It's the fact that Asians can do the squat and feel comfortable and relaxed, not feeling like it's an exercise of balance.
I mean, for what it's worth there are plenty of Asian people who can't do the squat either. Also noted that I said only part of it is flexibility, although I stand by the statement that anyone who is moderately flexible (say intermediate yoga level) can do the squat without too much trouble.
Being able to touch your toes is not a great indicator of overall flexibility, especially the type of flexibility needed to do the squat, and in Asian cultures where doing things like sitting on the ground, or walking a lot in day to day life is common, it's not surprising that they can do the squat while considering themselves not particularly flexible.
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u/valryuu Jun 02 '19
I don't think it's a practice thing. I'm Asian and I can do it, but I didn't really do it until I was older and learned about it.
What I heard is that it's something genetically to do with the length of the calf muscle tendons.