30-Day Nutrition Challenge: Squat Challenge

Why Squats?

Squats are one of the most highly used exercises by health and fitness professionals … and for good reason. In fact, here are 5 good reasons:

• A properly performed squat will work well over half the muscles in your body. So it is not just a leg exercise.
• A squat is a great indicator of posture, movement patterns and flexibility.
• Because you are using so many muscles, many of them large muscles, you will be getting a decent cardio workout as well.
• Many joint pains can be eased with a PROPERLY performed squat to strengthen and/or stretch certain muscles.
• Great looking butt, strong powerful legs, increased flexibility, improved sporting performance, weight loss……..I could go on all day here.

So now you know why. Let’s find out how.

How To

• Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
• Make sure your toes are facing forward.
• Stand up tall.
• To begin, squeeze glutes and abs (squeeze them all the way through), then start to slowly send hips backward as if to sit on a small stool behind you.
• Make sure knees track in line with toes but never go past them.
• Go down until upper leg is parallel to the ground or as far as you can go.
• Slowly rise back up to the starting position.

There are many ways to make this exercise easier or tougher. You can hold onto a chair for support. Hold dumbbells or a kettlebell to add weight.

If you have any pain or discomfort during this exercise, you should stop and consult your doctor.

The Challenge

Decide a number per set.

Decide on an interval time in between sets.

Set an alarm for your interval time.

Every time the alarm goes off, you squat!

See how many you can do in one day.

Here’s an example. We will choose to do sets of 30 squats every 30 minutes while I am at home. We will set an alarm for 30 minutes. Every time the alarm goes off, we will do 30 squats. We will count how many we have done at the end of the day!

Image credit: warrengoldswain / 123RF Stock Photo