Squats - the quickest way to a perkier bum

Hello!

 

 

The Squat...

 

This is my favourite exercise at the moment. Each week, I push to increase the weight on the bar and although hard, the buzz afterwards is well worth it.

 

First of all, a squat is a full body exercise and the muscles targeted are in the thighs, hips and bum! They also help to strengthing bones, ligaments and tendons in the lower body. The reason why this is a full body exercise is because the lower and upper back, abs, arms and shoulders are also essential to performing the perfect squat.

 

 

To safely and successfully squat, you must ensure your back is kept straight and you push up through your heels.

 

There are a number of different ways to squat...

• Barbell - back squat, front squat, box squat, overhead squat, zercher squat.
• Lunge - split squat
• Body - bodyweight squat, overhead squat, face the wall squat, jump squat.

 

Beginngers are sometimes advised to start without weight (below):

 

 

 

 

You can squat at the gym or at home, depending on whether you're doing so with weights, a swiss ball or your own bodyweight.

 

Squats are usually recommended for 15 reps x 3 sets although you may want to change your reps to 20, 15 and 12 x 3 sets if you're using weights. Try increasing your weight as the reps go down.

 

Squats can be made more challenging by...

• increasing the weight on the barbell
• putting one foot on a box behind you and squatting on one leg - bodyweight or with a barbell
• squat low using a swiss ball and hold for 5-10 seconds at the end of each set.

 



If you're up for a challenge, why don't you try the Squat Challenge?

 

Let me know how many you can squat!

x