Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Squats


I incorporate squats into all my strength training workouts. It's one of the best ways to train and strengthen your lower body. Learning how to perform a squat correctly, will help prevent injuries, build muscle and strength, boost your metabolism and improve your overall look. To get a tight, round booty and shapely legs - you have to do your squats! I never get bored with squats, there are so many variations, it's one of those exercise that will always keep you challenged. By adding more weight, changing your foot stance, doing them on one leg, adding a jump to them... the possibilities are endless.


The squat is a compound, full body exercise that targets the muscles in your thighs, hips and butt. The primary muscles that the squat targets are your Erector Spinae (Lower back), Gluteus Maximus (glutes), Quadriceps (quads- front of thighs), and Hamstrings (back of thighs).

I'd recommend starting with a basic body weight squat, then once mastered, trying different variations. Some of my favorite variations are, one legged squats, squat jumps, sumo squats and overhead barbell squats.

Here are some tips for perfecting your squat that I got from the ACE exercise library:

Step 1
Starting Position: Begin standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width, with the toes turned slightly outwards with your hands by your sides so the palms facing inwards. Depress and retract your scapulae (pull the shoulders down and back).

Step 2
Stiffen your core and abdominal muscles (“bracing”) to stabilize your spine. Hold your chest up and out, tilt your head slightly up, shift your weight back into your heels while pushing your hips towards the wall behind you.

Step 3
Downward Phase: Start the downward phase by first shifting your hips backwards then downwards to create a hinge-like movement at your hips and knees simultaneously. As you lower your hips the knees will then start to shift forward slowly, but try to control the amount of forward translation (movement) of the tibia (shinbone). Maintain tension in the core muscles (continue bracing) and attempt to keep your back flat.

Step 4
Continue to lower yourself until your thighs are parallel or almost parallel with the floor, until your heels begin to lift off the floor, or until your torso begins to round or flex forward. Monitor your feet, ankles and knees, ensuring that the feet don't move, the ankles do not collapse in or out and the knees remain aligned over the second toe.

Step 5
From the Lowered Position: the knees should continue to remain aligned over the second toe and body weight should be evenly distributed between the balls and heels of the feet. From the side, the position of the tibia (shinbone) and torso should be parallel with each other and the low back should appear flat or showing the beginning of some rounding.

Step 6
Upward Phase: While maintaining your back, chest and head-up position, exhale and extend the hips and knees by pushing your feet into the floor through your heels. The hips and torso need to rise together while keeping the heels flat on the floor and knees aligned over the second toe. Continue extending until you reach your starting position.


This is a great example of what a squat looks like in motion...



Remember, building muscle boosts your metabolism, thus helping lose fat. Don't get stuck in the cardio trap that I see a lot of people at the gym doing. They spend hours doing cardio, and don't see results. The more muscle you have, the faster you burn calories all day long.... So if you haven't already added squats and strength training to your routine.... DO IT!!!

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