By far the best exercise for building muscle is squatting. You may cringe at the thought of squatting. Let's face it, most guys hate squatting because they are difficult to do, women don't normally care much about a guys legs, they aren't an upper body workout, there's a lot of incorrect information about squats being bad for your back or knees, etc. You can probably come up with a few other excuses not to do squats.
The truth is though that as long as squats are done correctly they are great! No other exercise will give you the benefits that squats give you. Squatting actually causes your body to produce more testosterone which in turn helps you build more muscle which in turn burns fat. You also use your upper body when you squat much more than most people realize. Not only does is work your core muscles to support the weight but you also work your arms and back. As you increase the weight on your squats your upper body will adapt to help support the extra weight.
Bottom line if you're not squatting you need to start. You must follow proper form or you can get injured. I recommend starting off extremely light to work on technique and to start strengthening your stabilizer muscles then start adding weight very slowly but consistently. Start out by doing 5 sets of 5-6 reps. (after you have done 2 warm up sets) Don't over do it to start with. Remember this is about consistency so you don't want to injure yourself or make yourself so sore that you can't work out for a week.
Proper form is absolutely key especially with an exercise like squats. If you feel knee pain or back pain chances are you are not doing them correctly. Make sure that as you squat your feet are slightly wider than shoulder width. Point your toes out just a little bit. Look straight ahead. Keep your back straight. Squat down to where your thighs are parallel to the floor (you can go a little deeper than this if you desire but go to parallel as a minimum). Keep your knees behind the tips of your toes then push up.
Again, start out light. Don't let your ego get in the way. Focus first on technique and on building up the support muscles before you start going heavy. Make sure that you are squatting safely using proper equipment such as a squat cage with safety bars and safety clamps in place. If possible have someone spot you.
The truth is though that as long as squats are done correctly they are great! No other exercise will give you the benefits that squats give you. Squatting actually causes your body to produce more testosterone which in turn helps you build more muscle which in turn burns fat. You also use your upper body when you squat much more than most people realize. Not only does is work your core muscles to support the weight but you also work your arms and back. As you increase the weight on your squats your upper body will adapt to help support the extra weight.
Bottom line if you're not squatting you need to start. You must follow proper form or you can get injured. I recommend starting off extremely light to work on technique and to start strengthening your stabilizer muscles then start adding weight very slowly but consistently. Start out by doing 5 sets of 5-6 reps. (after you have done 2 warm up sets) Don't over do it to start with. Remember this is about consistency so you don't want to injure yourself or make yourself so sore that you can't work out for a week.
Proper form is absolutely key especially with an exercise like squats. If you feel knee pain or back pain chances are you are not doing them correctly. Make sure that as you squat your feet are slightly wider than shoulder width. Point your toes out just a little bit. Look straight ahead. Keep your back straight. Squat down to where your thighs are parallel to the floor (you can go a little deeper than this if you desire but go to parallel as a minimum). Keep your knees behind the tips of your toes then push up.
Again, start out light. Don't let your ego get in the way. Focus first on technique and on building up the support muscles before you start going heavy. Make sure that you are squatting safely using proper equipment such as a squat cage with safety bars and safety clamps in place. If possible have someone spot you.
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