This article is very timely.
From the survey that you filled out (If you have not done it yet, go here). One thing you wanted more of was workout ideas and bodyweight exercises.
I got one for you, it is the bodyweight squat.
If you workout at home or at the gym, I am sure you have done or are doing this exercise.
Today, I have 3 Bodyweight Squat Variations You Should Do from Niall Traynor.
Enjoy the article.
Rick Kaselj, MS
P.S. – If you do get pain from squatting, then check out Pain-Free Squatting which is part of the Fix My Knee Pain program that will get you on the road to squatting pain-free. You can check it out here.
Okay, now to the article…..
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Hi, I am Niall Traynor from HowDoIGetGreatLegs.com. I am a fitness expert that helps women get in the best shape of their lives.
Now today I want to talk to you about squatting variations.
I know you probably ask yourself, “Well, who cares about form. I know how to squat.” But I will tell you, your results are directly related to how well you squat.
If you learn to squat very well, I can guarantee you you are going to get the results you want and you are going to look amazing. It’s important and that’s why I want to help you.
Here’s what we are going to talk about today. We are going to talk about the 3 bodyweight squat variations you should do. We are going to start with Box Squats, then we are going to go into a Bent Over Squats, and then we are going to go into a Prisoner Squats and there is a little thing you need to know for each of them to do them right.
Okay! We will get right into it.
3 Bodyweight Squat Variations You Should Do
#1 – Box Squat
I am here with Mimie. Now you can do this at home with a chair. What you want to do is just sit down on the edge of the chair and get back up.
Simple as that.
The idea is you want to be just far enough away from the chair. You have to reach back with your seat and sit down. That teaches you great squatting mechanics.
Box Squat
When you reach back with your butt, your hips are doing the work. If you don’t engage your hips and your knees, then your lower back is doing the work, that’s how you hurt your back so you want to engage those hips. Very important tip.
Now onto…
#2 – Bent Over Squat
Once we get you to Box Squats, we can take the box away. Now we are going to do something called the Bent Over Squats where you are going to reach up with your hands one way and reaching back with your butt the other way.
Bent Over Squat
Notice that Mimie’s back is totally flat but again the great mechanics of reaching back with her butt gets her hips engaged.
Awesome!
Now to…
#3 – Prisoner Squats
Here is the last progression, the Prisoner Squats. Now we want to be able to squat, still reaching back with their butt, but being able to stay upright.
Prisoner Squat
As you can see she is reaching back with the hips but she is pulling back with her elbows which keeps her upright and her chest is open.
One key thing here and we talked about this, when we squat we actually create a lot of pressure in the lower abdominal region and that acts as a weight belt keeping your back really safe. When you squat you inhale which causes that pressure and pulls the belly button into the spine.
The second thing I want you to think about is when you descend, you descend slowly and feel like you are a rubber band, you are pulling a rubber band apart. You are causing a tension and as soon as you get to the bottom the tension lets go and the rubber band comes up. So you are going to drop slow building tension into the abdominals and then up quick.
Check it out!
She breathes in, tension, tension, tension and up. Breathes in, building tension, up. Build, build, build, build, up. Great!
You see when you do squats like that, there is a lot of effort that goes into it, a lot of focus, a lot of energy and and time you put in that much effort, you are going to get amazing results.
Just check out Mimie, she squats all day long and she looks great.
If you are interested in getting the best looking legs of your life, then check out How to Get Great Legs, here:
