What if getting better at squatting has less to do with lifting heavier, doing more reps, or pushing harder, and more to do with how you move?
In this episode of Limitless with Lina, Lina Midla welcomes back her coach, mentor, and friend Cory Cripe, owner and founder of Fitness Lying Down in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and host of the Strong Brew podcast. Using Squattober as their jumping-off point, Lina and Cory explore what makes a good squat, why mobility and stability matter, and how to build strength that translates into everyday life.
Together, they challenge the conventional belief that progression always means more weight, more intensity, or more volume. Instead, they explore how intentional movement, environmental feedback, nervous system awareness, and creative exercise variations can help people squat with greater confidence, control, and capability.
Whether you're a fitness professional, a longtime gym-goer, or someone who has been told that squats aren't for you, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on what it means to train smarter.
In This Episode, We Explore
- The squat as a movement pattern: Why squatting is about more than lifting weight, and how mobility lays the foundation for strength.
- Feet first: How foot stability influences the ankles, knees, and hips—and why your feet are essential to a confident, comfortable squat.
- Rethinking knee pain: How individualized coaching, appropriate exercise selection, and the right amount of challenge can help people find more comfortable ways to squat.
- Feedback over endless cues: How mini bands, resistance bands, sandbags, and other tools can help the body organize movement without overwhelming the brain with instructions.
- The nervous system and perceived safety: Why fear, tension, and uncertainty can limit movement - and how building stability and confidence can open up new possibilities.
- Why the way down matters: How slowing down, softening the shoulders, and finding a controlled sinking motion can improve the squat experience.
- Progression beyond heavier weights: How changing load position, stance, direction, and movement complexity creates new challenges without simply adding more weight or reps.
- Training for real life: Why strength training should prepare you for hiking, playing pickle ball, lifting everyday objects, and spending time on the floor with your grandkids.
- Building resilient, adaptable movement: How thoughtful training can help develop strength and coordination that carry over beyond the gym.
- Becoming a better coach: Why meeting people where they are, building trust, and helping clients feel successful are essential parts of effective programming.
Key Takeaways
1. More intensity doesn't automatically mean better results. Effective training is about providing the right stimulus at the right time, not simply accumulating more reps, weight, or fatigue.
2. Stability can create access to mobility. Developing awareness and control through the feet and core can help people move with greater confidence and explore ranges of motion that once felt inaccessible.
3. Feedback can be more effective than constant instruction. Rather than asking clients to consciously manage every muscle, coaches can use the environment and training tools to help the body find more efficient movement strategies.
4. Progression has many dimensions. Changing how you hold a weight, shifting your stance, introducing asymmetry, or exploring a different plane of motion can create a meaningful new challenge without adding load.
5. The goal is capability outside the gym. Training should support the activities, relationships, and experiences that make up your life, not leave you too exhausted or sore to enjoy them.
6. The individual matters more than the idealized exercise. Squat stance, depth, and variation can differ from person to person. Good coaching adapts the movement to the individual rather than forcing the individual into a predetermined shape.
About Our Guest: Cory Cripe
Cory Cripe is the owner and founder of Fitness Lying Down in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he has spent more than a decade helping people rethink fitness and strength training. Since opening the studio in 2014, Cory has built a coaching environment focused on meeting people where they are, making movement meaningful, and removing the intimidation often associated with the fitness industry.
Passionate about the art of coaching and developing the next generation of fitness professionals, Cory also hosts the Strong Brew podcast. Outside the gym, he enjoys playing guitar, cheering on the Green Bay Packers, and spending time with his wife, Rebecca, and their family.
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