Overview
Squats are an integral exercise of every workout routine as they recruit the vast majority of the lower body’s muscles.
Performing this exercise on a regular basis will undoubtedly lead to great health benefits (more on that later). However, as beginners, you will often get confused about different aspects of this exercise, asking yourself questions, such as how much should I be able to squat? What are the variations of this exercise? Should I squat every time I go to the gym?
In this article, we will answer these questions and more to help you get a better understanding of squatting.
The benefits of squatting
Improves core strength
Squatting targets the muscles of your core, which improves your daily activities, such as standing, walking, bending, and turning around.
It also enhances your coordination and balance while relieving pain in the lower back. According to a 2018 study, researchers concluded that squats are very beneficial for the muscles of the back relative to other exercises.
Reduces the risk of injury
By targeting all the muscles of your body, squats can be a great way to strengthen some of your weak points and optimize spinal alignment.
Furthermore, squats can strengthen your ligaments and tendons, which lowers the risk of injury.
Burns calories
Compound movements (e.g., squatting) are excellent exercises to burn calories due to the large number of recruited muscles. Eventually, your energy expenditure increases.
According to Harvard Medical School, squatting for 30 minutes can burn up to 223 calories.
Promotes muscle hypertrophy of the lower body
The lower body contains very large muscle groups, such as the quadriceps. As a result, you can burn a lot of calories during and after exercise. Additionally, squats promote muscle hypertrophy, leading to improved athleticism and allowing you to be more efficient at daily activities.
How to squat
In this section, we will cover the basic steps to perform front and back squats.
Back squat
The back squat adds resistance to the body by placing a barbell on your shoulders. In the athletic world, this exercise is the gold standard to accelerate recovery and boost fitness.
Here is how to do it:
- Put a barbell in the squat rack.
- Place your shoulders underneath the barbell and hold it with both hands.
- Spread your feet and step back to clear the rack.
- Lower your body to a squatting position until your hips are on the same levels as your knees.
- Stay in that position for a while, then lift your body back to the initial position.
Front squat
The front squat places more tension on the quadriceps.
Here is how to do it:
- Place the barbell on your shoulders.
- Grab each end with one hand.
- Spread your feet slightly.
- Lower your body to a squatting position until your hips are on the same levels as your knees.
- Use your feet to get back to the initial position.
Incorporating squats into your workout
Squats are a challenging exercise to tone up your body. You can do this exercise at home, at work, or in the gym. It barely takes up any space and mainly depends on your body weight. However, if you want to take things to the next level, you should add some weights to your squats.
Additionally, making this exercise compound by finishing it up with a jump or bicep curls will help you get a full-body workout with a single exercise.
Initially, you should start by doing squats several times per week. If you have never done this exercise before, 12-15 repetitions per exercise, 3 times a week, is an optimal range.
Learn more about the terminology of the fitness world by clicking on this link (add a link to the article about sets and reps).
If you aim to lose weight, you should mix things up by adding other cardiovascular exercises to your routine. Moreover, adding weights to your squatting will also contribute to weight loss.
When you are a beginner, it is preferable to ask someone to spot you. In other words, this person will make sure that you performing the exercise in the correct form. It will save you a lot of time and effort and prevent musculoskeletal injuries.
For those of you that are intimidated by fitness, you can always hire a certified personal trainer to jumpstart your journey.
How much should I be able to squat
When we are talking about regular squats with no added weights, the number of repetitions depends on your level of fitness. If you are a beginner, stick to the recommendations we listed above.
However, for those of you who are thinking about adding some weights, you need to consider your body weight and gender. This information can help you estimate how much should you be able to squat during each training session.
For the intermediate level, you need to squat about 150% of your body weight. This number fits men since women should stick to 100% of their body weight. Clearly, you can increase these numbers if you want to take things to the next level.
Those of you who are still beginners, the numbers are slightly different.
- For men – 65%
- For women – 50%
Takeaway message
Squatting is a fantastic exercise that everyone should include in their workout routine. It promotes muscle hypertrophy and leads to substantial caloric expenditure.
We hope that this article answered some of the questions you had about squatting; however, if you still find anything vague, please do not hesitate to share your thoughts in the section below. We are always happy to interact with our readers.
If you’re interested in trying a free personal training session meet us at www.onthegofitnesspro.com.
