July Fitness Challenge: Squats
Get ready for strong legs and butts as the fitness challenge in July is squats! This is a classic lower-body exercise for good reason: Squats develop virtually every muscle below the waist , and there are many options for all fitness levels.
Pick your favorite squat for the month or mix them up. You can do rack squats in the gym or air squats while brushing your teeth . Maybe it’s time to work on your first pistol squat .
If you don’t know where to start, I love the chair squat: Stand in front of the chair and then slowly lower your buttocks as if you are about to sit down. But as soon as your buttock touches the chair, stand up instead. Slowly sinking, you need to maintain balance. And a chair (or, say, a bench) is literally a benchmark so you know when you’ve hit the bottom of your movement. Otherwise, many of us will do smaller and smaller squats as we get tired.
For the classic hip-parallel movement, use a box or stool slightly lower than your regular chair. Or try sitting against a wall with your back against the wall and pretend you’re sitting in an invisible chair. You may not be able to fully parallel squat at first, but even shallow squats will still make you stronger. Continue to descend as low as possible and you will achieve your goal.
If you are new to squatting, it is worth asking a trainer or an experienced friend to help you master the correct technique . Definitely don’t put weight on until you’re sure you are doing the movement safely. You can get a great workout using only bodyweight squats and variations.
So decide on a goal now and get ready to follow through with July. And for inspiration, watch this video on Buzzfeed about three people doing 100 squats every day for a month.