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Bodyweight Squats: A Easy and Effective Way to Stay Fit and Active
Are you planning to lose weight? Or simply want to start working out to stay fit and active? Then, surely you are doing your research regarding it. And meanwhile, you have heard about the term bodyweight squats. Now, what is it? For workout sessions, we often come across different kinds of common terms like push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, etc. Bodyweight Squats is not that common yet cannot be ignored at all. This easy and convenient exercise improves the overall balance of the body. So, let’s know about it in detail. This will surely help those who are about to start their fitness journey. Also, the gym persons will get more detailed knowledge about squats from here. So, let’s get started.
What are Bodyweight Squats?
It is mainly an exercise to strengthen the lower part of our bodies without any equipment. you can perform it easily anywhere; you do not even need much space to do it. The exercise improves the strength and balance of the body involving the major muscles of the legs. The benefits you receive out of it can go on throughout your life. The bodyweight squats are usually for beginners who can, later on, upgrade to weighted squats. it is recommended to start with 100-200 successive bodyweight squats before upgrading to weighted squats.
How to perform Bodyweight Squats?
Without proper guidance, you cannot avail the complete benefits of the exercise. Proper technique is important for any kind of exercise. Here, we have discussed the steps for perfect bodyweight squats.
- Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your toes slightly turned out.
- Then pull in your lower abdomen, keeping your eyes forward.
- Stretch your hands out in front of you and keep them at shoulder length to counterbalance your weight.
- Slowly, bend the knees and lower down your body. Make sure your heels touch the floor flatly.
- Then, gradually raise your body strongly, pushing back up to the starting position.
- Repeat it for as many reps as you want. Try to take a specialist’s advice to get the right amount of reps for you.
Special Instruction:
Try to keep your back straight as much as possible during the exercise to avoid any injury or any kind of strain.
Additional equipment for Bodyweight Squats:
You can use these though they are not mandatory. The optional tools and techniques include kettlebell, medicine ball, resistance bands, sandbags, dumbbells, weighted vests, Bulgarian bags, etc.
The beginners, however, can start with equipment like gymnastic rings and suspension trainers. It will help to lose bodyweight and to keep the legs strong.
Those who have now passed the beginner phase may move on to the advanced squats. It will help you to gain muscle mass and strength along with endurance. For this, you need to add some increased resistance. There are different ways to add resistance to a squat movement. Simply, you can do it by increasing weight by using barbel, etc. Weighted vests may also serve the purpose. You can also hold dumbells, kettlebells to increase the weight. Similarly, you can try resistance bands. Nonetheless, add resistance gradually to get continuous squat progress.
The Benefits of Bodyweight Squats:
Every exercise we perform has its prolonged benefits. Overall, all of them help to achieve a sound body and mind. The benefits of bodyweight squats are:
Increased endurance: It largely helps to increase the endurance of the legs along with the whole body.
Enhanced hip mobility: This exercise helps to develop and maintain mobility in the hip joints.
Weight loss/fat burning: It helps to burn the fat in your overall body, and thus you can kickstart your weight loss journey.
Develop muscles: The exercise is good to develop multiple muscles in your legs, waist, and hips. It lets the muscles work together and grow well. It is more beneficial than other exercises targeting a single muscle at a time.
The Variations of Bodyweight Squats:
Well, you may get bored if you are performing the squats in one way for a long time. So, add variety to it and make the simple exercise more interesting. The variations of bodyweight squats include:
Squat and walk:
- Set your feet hip-width apart with toes pointing forward.
- Bend your body in a proper squat position.
- Keep your chest up and the whole body engaged.
- Walk few steps forward and backward.
- Try to take big steps gradually while lowering the squat position more.
Squat Kickback:
- Start with your legs hip-width apart while pointing the toes forward.
- Lower your body and perform a squat.
- Bring your body back to the starting point.
- Then, throw a kick at the back with your right leg.
- Bring the right leg down and perform another squat.
- Then, initiate left-side kickback in the same way.
Frog Squat:
- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart with the toes pointing outward.
- Bend your body in a perfect squat position keeping your back straight.
- Keep lowering your body until you can touch the floor with your fingertips.
- Then, stretch your arms overhead and jump upwards.
- Land slowly with loose knees in a loaded squat position touching the floor with your fingertips.
- Keep in mind to maintain a straight back throughout the exercise. If your fingertips cannot touch the ground without leaning forward, let it be. You can skip that.
Box Squat:
- Arrange a chair or a box and place it on an even floor.
- Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart in front of the box.
- Push your hips back and bend your body down to a squat position.
- Keep lowering the body until your hip touches the box.
- Don’t sit on the box and relax. Use your heels to push the ground and lift you back upward.
Surrender Squat:
- Kneel down with both knees on the floor.
- Keep your hands crossed behind your head.
- Then, raise one knee while another is down.
- Push the front leg heels downward to bring the other leg up.
- Then, perform a squat.
Wrapping it Up:
Bodyweight Squat is one of the best exercises to get a pair of lean and strong legs. Also, it shapes your butts in a nice, firm form. From your muscles, quads to the hamstrings, everything is involved in this exercise. So, it is perfect for strengthening the core of the body. This article discusses all of the details you need to know about bodyweight squats. Learn and perform it well to get exceptional health benefits. Also, try to consume a healthy, low-carb diet when you are on your fitness journey with such squats.
