What is
the single best strength-building exercise many of us could be doing right this
minute but almost certainly are not? Consult enough exercise scientists and the
latest exercise research, and the answer would likely be resounding: squats.
اضافة اعلان
“For lower-body
strength and flexibility, there is probably no better exercise,” said Bryan
Christensen, a professor of biomechanics at
North Dakota State University in
Fargo, who studies resistance exercise.
The benefits are
not confined to the lower body. “It is really a whole body exercise,” said
Silvio Rene Lorenzetti, the director of the Performance Sports division of the
Swiss Federal Institute of Sport in Magglingen. “It requires core stability and
trains the back.”
Some people worry
that squats can imperil the knees and hips, but the exercise can actually help
protect and improve the workings of these and other joints, said Sasa Duric, an
exercise scientist at the American University of the
Middle East in Kuwait, who
has studied squats. The movement “helps maintain the flexibility, stability and
function” of hips, knees and ankles, he said.
However, perhaps
most fundamentally, squats are key to living and aging well. “When we clean the
house or plant a vegetable garden, we need to squat,” Duric said. Ditto for
easing into and out of chairs and lowering ourselves to toddler level for
face-to-face playtime.
In essence,
according to a 2014 scientific overview, squats are “one of the most primal and
critical fundamental movements necessary to improve sport performance, to
reduce injury risk, and to support lifelong physical activity.”
Squatting is
simple, portable, and potent. “You don’t need a gym,” Christensen said.
Anywhere with a few feet of open space will work, whether it’s a living room,
office, stairwell, park or closet. And the only necessary equipment is your
body weight.
If you are new to
squats, one of the safest, simplest ways to start, Duric said, is with what is
commonly called a box squat, so named because it is commonly done with an
exercise box found in gyms. But you can also do these at home, in which case
you’ll be using a chair, stool, bench or bedside.
If you have
lower-body disabilities or past injuries, talk to your doctor first about whether
squatting is advisable for you. “Be patient and pay attention to proper
technique,” Duric said. “Do not rush the squat.”
Squats are an excellent, excellent exercise, both to enhance functional capacity and reduce the risk of injury — provided the exercise is performed correctly.
When you feel your
box squats dialed in, you can ditch the box or chair and move to a
free-standing, body weight squat. But keep paying attention to your form.
“Squats are an
excellent, excellent exercise, both to enhance functional capacity and reduce
the risk of injury — provided the exercise is performed correctly,” said Brad
Schoenfeld, a professor of exercise science at
Lehman College in New York and
expert on weight training.
When, eventually,
squatting with your body weight ceases to be challenging, you may want to pick
up a dumbbell. “Over time, you will need to add resistance” if you want to keep
growing stronger, Schoenfeld said. Which brings us to goblets and land mines.
“There are plenty
of squat variations,” Christensen said. “The goblet squat is one of the most
accessible.” An entry-level weighted squat, it entails holding a dumbbell or
other weight close to your chest with both hands, as if you were cupping a
goblet, and squatting (while maintaining good form). In a study he oversaw last
year, goblet squats effectively targeted and strengthened the quadriceps, which
are our front thigh muscles. The effects were especially pronounced in women.
But they were not
as good at working the hamstrings, the muscles at the back of our thigh. For
that, the study found, you were better off with land mine squats, which are
named for the land mine machine at gyms (named, for no apparent reason, after
the explosive device), which consists of a pivoting barbell set diagonally into
a stand on the floor. At the
gym, you load the desired weight onto the pole,
grasp the end with both hands, hold it near your chest, lift, and then squat.
This movement engages both the quadriceps and hamstring muscles, as well as
other lower-body muscles, Christensen’s study showed.
Do not let yourself be
intimidated by the squat-iverse. You know how to squat. We all do. The movement
is elemental and essential. “The
squat mimics so many physiological tasks of
our daily living,” Lorenzetti said. So, the “biggest mistake you can make” with
squats, he concluded, “is to not start squatting.”
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