Good Morning EzWay2Burn Crew.... Is It Leg Day???? Squats Again? But I Hate Squats! Try One of These 12 Variations Squats Again? But I Hate Squats! Yes, but if youre doing squats youre probably well aware of the compounded benefits of squats. They work all of your leg and butt muscles together, strengthen your core, and rev your metabolism because youre calling upon some of the biggest muscles in your body. If youre crying about doing squats, check your form. Are they painful? You may need to modify to accommodate your current fitness level and existing injuries. Pain may also be apparent if youre not following proper form. Make sure your knees are aligned so you can see your toes. Your weight should be on the heels of your feet, not the balls. Keep your head up and your back straight. Enough on proper form. The purpose of this article is not to talk about form but to address another reason you may be whining on squat day...boredom. Any exercise can get boring if its performed the same way each time you use it in your workout. Another downside to doing squats the same way every time is youre missing a great opportunity to stress some of the smaller muscles by working different angles. Try One of These 12 Squat Variations Stance. One of the easiest ways to vary your squats is to change the distance between your feet. I recommend incorporating a narrow stance (feet touching), standard width (shoulder width), and wide stance. The wide stance can be just wider than shoulder width or as wide as you can comfortably go. Do a set of each stance the next time you do squats and concentrate on the shift in muscle engagement as you move from the narrow to the wider stance moves. Reps. Varying the number of reps you perform will also engage your muscles differently. The number of reps done in a squat exercise will be somewhat dependent upon any other variations youre doing for your squats as well. For example, if you have a heavy barbell on your shoulders, youd expect to do less weights than if you were just doing standard squats without any weight. Likewise, if youre doing slower squats rather than fast ones, youll probably burn out with fewer reps. Dumbbells. Using dumbbells allows you to add resistance. Use a light weight if you want to do several squats. This will help develop lean, tone leg and glute muscles. Go for heavier weights and fewer squats if youre trying to build muscle mass. The nice thing about dumbbells is the weight is evenly distributed on both sides of your body without stress on your neck which can sometimes happen with a heavy barbell. You can also easily pick up a different set of dumbbells if you need to quickly add or decrease resistance. Bar. Using a barbell will allow you to increase the intensity of your squats by adding resistance. Keep the weight of the bar off your neck. Use a mirror to check form if at all possible. This is probably one of the most popular variations of the squat. Combo - Side Leg Raise. Go down into a squat. As youre returning to the standing position, do a side leg raise. Go down into another squat and do a side leg raise on the other side as youre returning the standing position. I recommend that you try a few combo squats without added resistance until youre comfortable with the move. Combo - Shoulder Press. Go down into a squat. As youre returning to the standing position, begin bringing both arms up into a full shoulder press by the time you are completely standing. Again, try a few of these without weights and then, increase the intensity by adding dumbbells. Combo - Calf Raise. Go down into a squat. Shift the weight of your body to your toes as you return to a standing position. Continue to stretch you body up as far as you can on your toes to get a good calf stretch. When youre comfortable with this move, add dumbbells for added intensity. Balls of Feet. Performing squats on the balls of your feet will also work your calves. Youre going to feel this one in your lower quads big time. Squat Machine. If you go to a gym, find the squat machine. Dont be intimidated by its massive appearance. Watch someone else in your gym use the machine, so you have an idea of what to do. Do not load weights on the machine the first time you get on it. The machine itself will give you resistance. Hopefully, your squat machine is in front of a mirror. Looking in the mirror will help you keep your head up and body properly aligned. Have fun with it. Feel empowered! Smith Machine. A smith machine will allow you to use heavier weights for your squat. You will probably be able to go lower in your squats as well. Depth. Make some of your squats just half way down. Make some of them deep - as low as you can go. Try depth variations in combination with any of the other squat variations you perform. Wall Squats. There are two ways to do wall squats. The first is a static squat where your back is flat against the wall and you hold the squat position as long as you can. You can do static wall squats at different angles such as 45 degrees and 90 degrees with the latter being more difficult. The longer you hold a static wall squat, the harder it will be to hold. Challenge yourself by beating your last best time each day you work your legs. The second type of wall squat uses the wall to guide the body down into the squat position and back into the standing position. Use an exercise ball to make this move smoother. Just place the ball between the wall and your back. Apply a little pressure on the ball to maintain balance and perform your squats with the assistance of the ball and wall. Im sure there are many other variations in the fitness world and more to come as trainers apply their own unique styles. Im hoping that this article has given you a few new ideas. The next time youre ready to work your legs doing squats, refer back to this article. Variety is the spice of life. Variations in your exercises are the key to continued growth and performance. Stay motivated. Get fit and live healthy! Have A Groovy Day!!!! ~will~
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 13:17:43 +0000
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