Many people do them, but what are the benefits of squats? Well, after all, a lot! Athletes and bodybuilders often use squats as strength training to improve lower body strength. This can be achieved by using your own weight or by using cheap adjustable dumbbells or weighted barbells to add resistance to your workout.
But Chris Galliardi, American Movement Council (Opens in a new tab) Certified personal trainers say that this form of strength conditioning exercise is not just for professionals. “Squats are beneficial to everyone,” he tells us. “From postpartum elite athletes to the elderly and women.” But why? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, increasing intensity can reduce the risk of age-related symptoms such as osteoporosis and sarcopenia, and improve posture, concentration, and balance. Doing squats is the same.
Whether you use one of the best resistance bands or choose your own weight, the benefits of squats are immeasurable. Below, we’ll take a closer look at the science behind it, including exploring the main squat variations and the correct squat shape.
What are the benefits of squats?
1. Build lower body muscles
Squats help build muscle in the lower body. According to a study published in BMCSports Science, Journal of Medicine and Rehabilitation. This is because leg-focused exercises require the lower back chain (including the hip, gluteal, hamstrings, and calf muscles) to work together when crouching and reverting. ..
According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, resistance-based exercise, such as squats, causes muscle building. But whether you’re building or maintaining muscle, Gagliardi says crouching is “essential in everyday life.” He explains: “Including squats as part of your exercise routine helps you gain the strength and endurance you need to continue to enjoy life.”
2. Squats keep you functional
It doesn’t make sense, most of us crouch every day. According to a study published in the BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation Journal, crouching is characterized by “components of everyday functional movements, such as sitting and standing.”
“Crouching is considered a bending and lifting movement, which is one of the five major movement patterns we use in our daily lives,” Gagliardi tells us. “Consider crouching every time you stand up from a sitting position or crouch down and pick up something from the floor. Squats are what we often do and perform squats throughout activities of daily living. It is important to have proper muscle fitness and power for. “
3. Squats can improve joint stability and posture
Crouching doesn’t just target your muscles. According to Gagliardi, “Performing squats helps teach proper movement patterns with proper posture and joint stability,” Science agrees. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that squats can improve bone density (BMD). This adds strength to the skeleton and helps maintain stronger bones.
Further studies published in The Journal of Human Kinetics conclude that squats are four times more likely to activate the erector spinae muscles than plates. These are the muscles that help you stand up and therefore your posture.
4. You can burn fat
Some people turn to running to lose weight, but you can also achieve weight loss by doing complex exercises such as squats. As concluded in the 2022 Peer Review chapter of the book Weight Management-Challenges and Opportunities, “Strength Training (RT) exercises for weight management include large muscle groups, Olympic lifts, and deadlifts. You need to focus on exercises that utilize complex exercises such as lifts and squats. “
Researchers have found that this type of complex exercise requires “increased oxygen usage and hormonal response,” and thus “high calorie consumption.”
5. Crouching increases flexibility
Crouching challenges all the muscles under your body. According to a study published in PeerJ, this exercise is performed in a closed kinetic chain that includes the hip, knee, and ankle joints and requires “a significant level of hip and ankle mobility and lumbar spine stability.”
As you get older, the elasticity of tendons, muscles, and ligaments decreases. However, according to Harvard Medical School, crouching is an effective stretch for hamstrings and can become stiff when sitting too much. result? Increased flexibility of the lower body.
What are the main squat variations?
At any stage of resistance training, there are several squat variations that fit everything. Different variations can also target different muscle groups. This is useful if you are trying to target a specific area for strength training. Sam Hopes, Live Science’s resident fitness writer, recommends that you try the following:
Weight squat
As the name implies, weight squats are squats that are done using only weight. This is a compound exercise (exercise that moves multiple muscle groups and joints) and is useful for beginners and those who recover from injuries. It also helps you learn the basics of squat foam without the additional stress of supporting your weight. Squats primarily target the quadriceps, gluteal, and knee tendons, but also strengthen the core and hips. It is excellent not only for improving balance, adjustment and range of motion, but also for building a strong foundation for more progressive squat variations.
How to perform this squat:
Stand with your toes facing forward, with your feet hip or shoulder wide apart. Pull the shoulder blade back and forth. Inhale, support the core, push your hips back, and bend your knees down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your chest raised so that your weight rests on your heels, not your insteps. As you exhale, stand through your heels. If you’re having a hard time balancing, you can use it as a counterweight to keep your arms out.
Front squat
A front squat is simply a front-loaded squat. For example, place your weight (dumbbells, plates, etc.) near your chest, or place a barbell in front of your deltoid muscles (shoulders). Benefits of front squats include strengthening the hips and core, as well as training the quadriceps, knee tendons, and gluteal muscles. Front squats are exercises that focus more on the anterior chain (the muscles in front of the body) and dominate the quadriceps. This squat form also helps reduce stress on the knees, prevent injuries and improve range of motion.
How to perform a front squat:
Lift your weight to your chest and shoulders (positioning depends on the type of weight you are using), keep your feet shoulder-width apart, and stand with your toes facing forward. Inhale, support the core, push your hips back, and bend your knees down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your chest raised and make sure your weight rests on your heels, not your insteps. As you exhale, stand through your heels.
Hint: Hint: During front squats, you need to ensure that your weight does not move farther than the center of your foot. During the barbell front squat, try to stay under the bar and put your weight on your shoulders, not your collarbones.
Back squat
Back squats are squats that are backloaded using a barbell or the like (such as a punching bag). Back squats move the same muscles as weight and front squats and retain the same benefits, but now the rear chain (the muscles behind the body), which makes the hamstrings, squats, and lower back muscles stronger. Make it work. Back squats also require shoulder and ankle mobility, as well as activation of the back muscles to drive and stabilize movement.
How to perform a back squat:
The barbell (or weight you are using) should be hung on the trap and the posterior deltoid muscle (behind the shoulders). Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and stand with your toes facing forward or slightly outward by 45 degrees. Inhale, support your core, tighten your body, then push your hips back and bend your knees down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your chest lifted and make sure your weight rests on your heels, not your insteps. As you exhale, stand through your heels.
Single leg squat
One-legged squats help improve range of motion, joint mobility, balance, core stability, and coordination. They are usually used as a progression from a normal squat and move the same muscles. One-sided exercises are also great for activating infrequently used, weak muscles and help prevent imbalances and injuries. why? Because your strong side can’t pick up the slack.
How to perform a single leg squat:
Stand on one leg and extend the other leg forward. You can bend your knees or extend them fully (called a pistol squat). Be tall, support your core, balance, and squat as low as possible. Raise your chest and keep your spine straight. Pause at the bottom, then exhale through the heel and press on the gluteal muscles at the top. Replace the side.
Hint: Hint: The knees do not track the toes and the weight should stay on the heels.
Bulgarian split squat
In this squat variation, the hind legs are lifted back on a box or bench to move the quadriceps, gluteal muscles, and knee tendons. This exercise focuses on the quadriceps, but tilting slightly forward can also improve gluteal activation.
How to do a Bulgarian split squat:
Use a stable surface, such as a knee high box or bench, and place one leg back on it. The toes can be tacked or untacked. When playing with weights, hold one with both hands. Lift your chest, straighten your spine, keep your hips at right angles, bend your front legs and lower your back knees toward the ground. While exhaling, push your front heel to stand and press on your gluteal muscles. Replace the side.
Hint: Hint: Lean slightly forward for optimal movement. Make sure there is enough space between you and the box or bench.
References
- Strength and Conditioning Journal (2012). Is Deep Squat a Safe and Feasible Exercise? 34 (2), 34-36. https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0b013e31824695a3
- BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabilitation (2018) How to crouch? The effect of different stance widths, foot placement angles, and levels of experience on knee, hip, and torso movement and load. 10 (14). July 17th. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30026952/
- Journal of Strength and Conditioning Studies (2016). Kinematics and dynamics of ski jumper squats, drop jumps and imitation jumps. 30(3), 643 to 652. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2016/03000/Kinematics_and_Kinetics_of_Squats,_Drop_Jumps_and.7.aspx
- Weight Management-Challenges and Opportunities (2022). Strength training and weight management: rationale and effectiveness. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101840
- Peer Journal (2021) Quadriceps femoris cross-section and specific leg strength: the relationship between different muscle and squat changes. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12435
- Quarterly personal training, (2019). Anthropometric considerations for customizing squat patterns. 4,5 https://www.nsca.com/contentassets/65ff7dabfee140d4876c556ddb748fef/ptq-5.4.1-anthropometrical-considerations-for-customizing-the-squat-pattern.pdf
- British Journal of Sports Medicine, (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of the effects of protein supplementation on strength and strength gains induced by strength training in healthy adults. 52 (6), 376–384. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608
