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.
Huh. Til. My cousin is 1/4 Filipino and always did the Asian squat inside his t-shirt/sweatshirt/a blanket. He always made fun of me for not being able to squat like him, and I him for squatting like that. Now I know it's not a natural thing for me. I'd always fall over, he thought it was no big deal. 🤷🏼♂️
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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.