The Squat is an excellent exercise for building strength in your lower body and legs. It’s important that you learn the correct method for doing squats, so that you don’t strain or injure your muscles in the process. The squat should make your muscles feel stretched and challenged, not pained. Incorrect technique can also cause you not to get as much benefit from the exercise as is possible.
Squats can be performed without weights, or with free weights or with a machine. With weights, it’s considered one of the best exercises you can do because it works so many muscle groups all at once and builds lean muscle mass quickly. It works primarily on the quadriceps in the thighs and the glutes in your buttocks, but it will also strengthen your lower back, hamstrings and calves. It also builds some strength in the abdominals.
The correct method for doing a squat:
- Stand up straight with your feet aligned under your hips, a few inches apart. Do not lock your knees.
- Contract your abdominal muscles – imagine you are pulling your belly button toward your back. If you’ve done Pilates, this should be familiar – you’re working with your core.
- Bending your knees, slowly lowering your body as if to sit down.
- Eventually, you want to do this until your buttocks are at the same level as your knees, but this may not be possible at first. Do not go beyond the point where you start to feel strain in your muscles instead of that nice stretching feeling.
- Take a look to see that make sure your knees are lined up behind your toes. This is really important, because a normal squat, like you do to reach something on a lower shelf, puts your knees directly over your toes, which is not very challenging to your muscles. By making sure your knees are behind your toes, you ensure you’re doing the exercise correctly.
- Resting your weight in your heels, raise your body slowly back up to a standing position. Again, don’t lock your knees (it cuts off circulation and makes you tire faster).
Do ten to fifteen repetitions, in one to three sets. Each repetition should take you three seconds on the way up and another three on the way down – this will ensure you’re getting the right amount of stretch and effort from the exercise. Remember to rest 30-60 seconds between each set. After you’re done, stretch your legs to relax the muscles, to prevent soreness.
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Filed in Strength Training
Updated: August 2, 2010
Copyright: Oct. 10, 2009
