Why squat?

When we were a child, we used to squat all of the time. As we got older we got lazy and instead of squatting when we needed to get something low to the ground we just started round our back to bend down and straining ourselves. Your legs contain the strongest muscles in your body, training them and learning how to squat again will make your life a lot easier.

Squatting helps with:

• Getting out of chairs.
• Picking up children.
• Running, cycling and other sports.
• Lower body stability.
• Reducing back pain (if done correctly).

What it works:

Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Calves, Adductors, Glutes

How to:

1. Start with your feet standing hip width apart and toes point forward.
2. Keeping a neutral curve in your spine, lower yourself by pushing your butt back and down.
3. Avoid letting your heels come off the ground.
4. Stand back up by extending your hips and knees.

Tips:

• Ladies: while doing this, think ‘public toilet’ in terms of technique.
• Practice by squatting down onto a bench until your butt just touches the bench. Once you can do this without falling back onto the bench/chair you are ready to do them freely.