If you’ve trained with me, or had the displeasure of sitting next to me at dinner, you’ll know that one of my favorite exercises is the squat. It’s a total body exercise that works your legs, your core, your upper body (when you add resistance) and gets your heart rate up. And once you get strong enough to do a barbell back squat to proper depth, you pretty much become cooler than all your friends.
Squatting safely isn’t hard, as you’ll see in the technique video here. When done properly, the squat can help strengthen the supporting musculature around your knees, and having strong legs will help you with virtually all your daily activities (sitting down and getting up from a chair, walking up flights of stairs, and so on). As a side benefit, it helps shape and sculpt the glutes and thighs.
In the video, I point out that beginners should perform the exercise with body weight (no added resistance) to master technique and proper range of motion. As you get more confident and comfortable with squatting, you can use bands, dumbbells, medballs, a sandbag, a non-squirmy toddler, or a barbell.