This article and the next two, will be revolved around outlining a 3-exercise strength training routine that will help to jump start anyone’s workout blues. They are quick, require very little equipment, and activate the greatest amount of muscle groups when compared to any other exercise for the same region. They give you the most bang for your body.

The Ideal Squat

With a squat, form is everything. The right form will require the maximum amount of stability, balance, and coordination from stabilizer and synergistic musculature while the targeted muscle group performs the prime movement. In other words, it will do the most good for the most muscles. Incorrect form will leave you with a backache.

To practice good form, start off by using just your body weight as resistance until you feel comfortable with the form.

1. Set yourself up so your hips are square to a mirror.

2. Make sure that your feet are shoulder width apart with toes pointed slightly outward before performing the squat.

3. Keeping your back arched, butt out, heels on the floor and chest out, begin to bend at the knees and hip, lowering the body into a squatting position.

4. Go down until a stretch is felt in the quads, and then slowly straighten the knees and hips, lifting the body upward. Aim to have your upper thigh be parallel to the floor (or lower) by the time you are at the lowest point in your squat.

Be sure to keep your back arched throughout the whole arc of motion. Your prime mover in this exercise is your quadriceps muscle. Your stabilizers and synergists include your glutes, adductors, calf muscles, back extensors, and abdominals.

After you have mastered the body weight squat, you can progress toward using a bar for additional resistance. By placing your chest outward and upward as already described, you create a shelf with your shoulders on which to place the bar. Do not rest the bar directly against your neck, but let it roll down this shelf just a bit. If you have proper form, you will not feel as though the bar will roll off your shoulders.

As you can see, proper form for a squat is absolutely essential for avoiding injury and for targeting the correct muscles. If you are more of a visual learner, this site has a great animation to help you get a good feel for it.

My first bit of information for you is quite basic; do as I say, not as I do. Sometimes, trainers and people in the medical field have their off days, and for me, today was a day of insatiable hunger.  We’ve all been there, you know, those days where the only thing that you think about is where your next meal is coming from.  If you are trying to lose weight or are training to reach an important goal, these days could really throw you off track.  It is important to realize, however, that when your body craves something, it usually means you are depriving it of something.

What’s the bottom line? It’s ok to feed into some of your cravings, the random piece of chocolate, the Wendy’s fries, etc.  But the important thing to remember is portion control and craving control.   Today I had a craving for about everything I saw and succommed to…well, let’s just say too many. 

This is what NOT to do.  Let yourself indulge in one craving a few times a week, always remembering that it’s not always that you had what you were craving that makes it bad, but it’s the fact that you had 10 or 12 of what you were craving. Remember, everything is best when it is in moderation, but it wouldn’t hurt to spend a few more minutes on the treadmill if your cravings are acting up.