Why Should I Do Squats ?

Squats are the number one exercise to be performed as people grow older. I am including an excerpt from the AARP website which reinforces my point about the importance of this exercise. “The squat is the most important exercise for seniors,” says Eric Daw, a personal trainer dedicated to older adults and founder of Omni-Fitt in Toronto, Canada. “When you have to go to the washroom, that’s a squat. When you get in the car, that’s a squat. Every time you sit down or stand up, that’s a squat. If you don’t do them well, it affects the way you live.”  Squats strengthen all of the muscle groups in your legs, including your calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, as well as muscles in your lower back and core. Those muscles provide the foundation for most activities of daily living.Squats are the antidote to soft couch-cushion syndrome — those challenging moments when we struggle to get up from that deep, old sofa. They can also help protect your joints, improve your balance and prevent falls, says Denise Austin, for 40 years one of America’s best-known fitness experts and authors. “Squats are one of the best overall exercises,” she says. “They strengthen the major muscles of the lower body we need to keep strong and also protect two joints we need help with on a regular basis — our knees and our hips.”

Pretty compelling reasons for doing squats. There is one other very important reason for doing squats; Ninety percent of a person’s metabolism is in their legs. This makes sense because the legs contain the largest muscle group in the body, the quadriceps. These four muscles (See below) are responsible for carrying us from place to place, standing, getting up, and a host of other leg related activities. When people talk about losing weight walking becomes the go to activity which involves you guessed it, the legs. But, throw in 3 sets of ten air squats and you could burn 100-120 calories more. That’s about as much as walking one mile. Better yet do your air squats while your on the move and you will enhance the benefit of the walk. The other important point is squats are compound exercise which means that while squating you recruit more muscles than just your legs; your glutes, back, and core are all in on the benefits. Squatting burns calories during the activity and up to 48 hours after you are finished squatting. Please understand that you can’t out train a bad diet, but the right combination of squats and a few tweaks in your diet can help you get simply fit.