Squats

Squats… you either hate them or you love them. Either way, they are an excellent exercise to tone and build muscle.

Benefits of performing squats include:

Squats work all major muscle groups
Squats burn a lot of calories
Squats tone up your butt and thighs
Full squats can increase flexibility in the lower body
Lower back and mid-section become stronger
Heart and lung power increased
Muscle is gained
Stability is gained (core and pelvic control)
Increase balance

To avoid injury, form is very important when performing a squat. There are many myths about squats such as “squats are bad for your knees” or “squats can injure your spine.” Well, any exercise can cause damage if it performed improperly. If you are capable of doing squats you should. So try to have them incorporated into your workout. I personally love squats, and I’m sure many of you can tell by how sore your legs are lately. It is one of the best exercises for all of your major muscle groups.

There are many variations of squats:

Ball squats
Body weight squats
Front squats
Sumo squats
Pile squats
Jump squats (above, thanks Jeremy!)
One leg squats

Squats can be performed with or without weights, so this is a good move to perform during those small breaks during the day.