You've Got To Squat

That was the title of an article I read many years ago in a strength training magazine. It was written by Bradley J. Steiner who was one of the most prolific physical culture writers of the 60’s and 70’s. That title has always stuck in my mind. I have read thousands of bodybuilding and strength training articles in the past 40 years yet I can only remember that one title and byline.
Well the fitness world has changed. Gyms have changed. Even that old magazine still exists but you would never recognize it from its 70's counterpart. The one thing that hasn't changed is the simple fact, YOU'VE GOT TO SQUAT!

Whether your goal is to gain muscle, burn body fat or improve your overall conditioning and endurance, the answer is the same. Want to get more powerful legs for sports, tone up that flabby butt for swimsuit season or simply be as fit as you can be? The answer still hasn't changed. SQUATS are the answer. It’s an answer many people don't like for the simple reason that they are hard work.

But what about all those fancy leg machines at my health club, you must be thinking. Well, it’s true there are machines for your inner thigh, your outer thigh, the front and back of your thigh, not to mention several different options for your hips and rear end. A health club owner in today’s market can easily have more than $20,000.00 in leg machines in his facility. And the truth is none of them or any combination of several of them will as completely work your entire body! Yes I said your entire body. It’s true that squatting is a leg exercise, but because it involves so many muscles to do the movement correctly it can easily be considered a full body movement! In fact there is no other exercise (except perhaps the kettle bell swing) that involves more of your body.

I recently read a post from one of the most respected people in the fitness industry asking, "If you had only 15 minutes to exercise, what would you do?" It reminded me of something that I have said to people for years. If you can only do one exercise, make it squats.

Let’s look at all the muscles involved in doing a squat. Obviously your legs are the fundamental force involved in the movement. Both the muscles in the front of your thigh (quadriceps) and the muscles of the back of your thigh (hamstrings) are strongly involved, and so are all the muscles of your hips and rear end. The muscles of your lower back are needed to keep you upright, and your abdominals keep you supported as well. Even your calves are involved in keeping your body stable and under control. If you are squatting with a weight across your shoulders then every muscle in your upper body is involved to support the weight. Even if you are doing a bodyweight squat with no additional resistance you need to keep all the muscles of your torso as tight as possible to ensure perfect form. So as you can see we are talking about EVERY major muscle group of your body!

Because so many large muscle groups are involved, your metabolism is very strongly stimulated by performing squats, which can have a very positive fat burning effect. That same metabolic stimulation can pack on pounds of muscle on a young athlete when proper nutrition is added to the mix.

There are many different variations of the squatting movement, from the basic body weight "deep knee bend" to the barbell "back squat", to the "overhead squat" to the "one legged (or pistol) squat". If you want to get the most out of your fitness training you MUST include at least one of them in your program. If you don't you are really shortchanging yourself. There is no way around it...YOU'VE GOT TO SQUAT!!!!!

NOTE: This is the first in a series of posts addressing the value of squatting. I will address proper form, answer all the usual excuses people have for not squatting and much more in future posts.