Squatting is for EVERYONE

So how many of you include squatting in your workouts at the gym? If you are not, you are missing out on the most important of all lifts that will get you stronger. I won't go into the details of the squat here but will go over some of the benefits.

They won't make you shrink or stunt your growth as an old colleague of mine used to believe. They are not bad for your lower back nor are they bad for your knees.

I think they are the most important lift you can have in any routine. They tax the whole cardiovascular system and hit every single part of your legs if done properly. Squatting also has a great benefit for upper body and 'core' strength as well. Your entire body has to be synched up to lower yourself to parellel and bring yourself back up to the starting position. Just keeping your body upright with the bar resting on your traps or the front of your shoulders is engaging your upper body without even moving up or down.

Even doing bodyweight squats for the beginner is beneficial. Try doing 50 at once and see how your whole body feels when done, not just your legs. If you do this, let me point out some quick things before you go and put yourself in danger. You are doing this at your own risk without me there, so I take no responsibility of you getting hurt.

*Keep your chest up/shoulders pinched together in the back, cross your arms in front of you across your chest or you can make it even more challenging while putting your arms above your head.
*Your feet should be pointing forward or very slightly outward if you are naturally duckfooted like me and out wider than your shoulders.
*On the down part of the squat, don't let your knees go beyond your toes. Don't let your knees cave inward toward the imaginary middle line underneath you. Make sure your heels stay on the ground, you can do this by lifting your toes off the ground which will plant your heels down.
*The final position of the downphase is having your upper legs parellel to the ground.
*Explode up after reaching parellel in a controlled manner keeping your upper body in the same strong position as it was on the downphase.
*Remember to breathe in on the way down and brathe out on the way up.

Do 50 of these and report back to me how you feel.

Here is a quick video of 2 example front squats with 135 #s. Notice my upper leg getting parellel to the floor and not having my knees go beyond my toes or lifting my heels off the ground.

Sorry, you'll have to turn your head a little to watch.