Happy Hump Day to all! It’s Wednesday, so you know it is the Lifting Move of the Week! Since this is an important exercise, I am just basically going to talk about this by itself today.
Here was my workout this morning:
| Exercise | Set/rep/weight | Muscle worked |
| Barbell Squats | 3 sets of 10 at 55# | Lower body |
| Seated Lat Row | 3 set of 10 at 55# | Back |
| Barbell Chest Press | 3 sets of 10 at 55# | Chest |
| Planks | 3 sets of 75 second holds | Core |
| Alternating reverse lunges | 3 sets of 15 each leg | Lower body |
| Ahnold Press | 3 sets of 12 with 10# DBs (20# total) | Shoulders |
| Good Mornings | 3 sets of 10 at 45# | Low back and hammies |
| Triceps Kickback | 3 sets of 15 with 15# DBs (30# total) | Triceps |
I haven’t done the planks in over 2 weeks and I could feel it! Again, someone felt the desire to talk to me while I was doing them. Saying they looked harder than pushups. Good thing I was looking at the floor so he couldn’t see my eyes roll…
Anyway, as you know by the title, the Lifting Move of the Week is: The Squat!
I was a wee bit hesitant to actually post a video and talk about the squat because there certainly are strong opinions about it and what is “right” and what is “wrong.” With squats, there can be some variety of the minutae because of different body types, but there are some general things to do or avoid.
Some people say they can’t do squats because of knee problems, but truthfully, good squat form does not put that much pressure on your knees. Most people tend to squat too far forward. When you are doing a squat, you should be able to wiggle your toes and lift them off the floor at all times. If you cannot do this, then you are putting too much pressure on your knees. Think of sitting back onto your heels, as those really are what drive the force of the squat.
Knee problems with squats also can occur because you don’t go deep enough. This means your legs never get to parallel or past.
This actually is okay if you have the chair in front of you to support your forward weight. I see a lot of people, guys especially, load up the barbell and partial squat. I die at how their knees must feel stopping at that point fully loaded. When you stop part way down, this is what causes the greatest stress to the knee instead of passing through this point to where your muscles take over.
So, here is my version of the squat. I wish I could have had a different camera angle because you can’t see my feet and it does not look like I am going past parallel (which I am) , but I had to use what I could attach the camera to for this. Maybe when I get paid to do this, then I will get a fancy set up 
Notice that my lower back does round a tiny bit at the bottom. This is referred to as butt wink. And hooray thinking of the Google hits I will get with this post. After doing much reading, I don’t mind the rounding when I go past parallel for 2 reasons. One, it is just really hard to keep your lower back arched once you go past parallel, which I think is a function of the way I am built. The other is that when I try to keep that arch in my lower back, then I tilt forward too much and go off center as my hips rise faster than the rest of me, which is not good either. Personally, I would rather just have a little bit of rounding and stay stable. Again, just my opinion. (This video also gives me some things to work on with my squat that I don’t see from viewing myself in the mirror.)
Maybe someday I will get to this:
The most important thing with squats is form. It’s better to do 1 perfect squat with no weights than 20 done poorly with heavy weights just to say “I squatted my body weight.”
If you want to see the perfect example of squat form and how easy and free they are, just watch kids.
They squat naturally ass-to-grass without thinking about balance or anything like that.
** I am not a doctor, personal trainer, or other person of degreed knowledge. Take any of my musings with 2 grains of kosher salt and do your reading**
I love squats! They are HARD and they really do work! Same with lunges.
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..A Work in Progress =-.
Ah, I love Lifting Move of the Week. I like your thoughts on the squat too. I hadn’t thought about easily little kids do the move.
.-= Desert Agave´s last blog ..100 Pound Weigh In =-.
Watching you do those squats makes my quads ache in sympathy! I think you have nice form – we are our own worst critics, but really, you do that well.
.-= Shelley B´s last blog ..Wednesday Workout Update – Oh- Who Am I KiddingIts All About The Running! =-.
LOVED the past pic! Perfect example. If only we could remain child-like in some aspects. Sigh. Vee at http://veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com
.-= Vee´s last blog ..I lost all over! =-.
I must admit i like doing squats!
.-= suzanne´s last blog ..Question day is back again – =-.
Squat it out girl! They really are a good exercise, one of the only ones that you can actually see results from.
Great form – both yours and the little guy – ass-to-grass is the best explanation for positioning ever!
I’d much rather use lighter weights than risk stumbling and/or falling out in the floor. Not to mention ruining my back for life. 🙂
(Thx for the Queen suggestion. I can think of 4 or 5 songs that might work. Wouldn’t ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ be a great end of workout song? :))
.-= cammy@tippytoediet´s last blog ..Won’t You Be My Deejay =-.
I LOVE that baby picture–talk about perfect form. I don’t think I could do that even when I was a baby.
I don’t particularly like squats, but I admit, they are a lot easier once I finally learned the correct form.
.-= debby´s last blog ..I’M BAA-ACK =-.
you KNOW I so agree.
The form is key and then, only after that is PERFECTION, should we increase the weight.
I swear this is an exercise I cringe at so frequently in the gym–especially with men (yesIsaidit)—and think THEY ARE GOING TO HURT THEIR BACK!!
.-= Miz´s last blog ..Five ways to power through workouts you hate guest post =-.
Squats are so hard! Thanks for taking the time to show us the proper way! Love the baby “form” !
.-= Marisa @ Loser for Life´s last blog ..New Frame Of Mind =-.
Thanks for all the info on the squat! I was always afraid to go too deep on squats but as I am learning more I see that it is a normal human movement to be able to squat all the way down to what the little baby is doing in the picture. And it actually feels really good to do that after a long run.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..Meet the new bike! =-.
That last pic with the baby.. too cute!!!!! Love it!
I don’t go past parallel with my squats just to be careful of my knees…. especially now at my age when the bod already has years & years of wear & tear on it! 😉 Just ant to be able to keep doing this for as long as I can!
If you get that low, we want a pic!
.-= Jody – Fit at 52´s last blog ..Weight Loss Tips-Help- Dr Oz Just 10 Pounds Reminder =-.
hahahah I LOVE that picture of the baby at the end – perfect form!
.-= Beth @ Beth’s Journey to Thin´s last blog ..The Prize Arrived and Grocery Store Loot =-.
Ahhh, squats. I should perhaps have made these part of my Hot 100 challenge. I love them, but not when I’m doing them! They are magic for the legs and butt though, my two biggest problem areas. Do you keep your toes pointed straight forward when you squat, or take an open stance with toes pointing slightly outward?
.-= Call Me Ishmael´s last blog ..Hot 100 =-.
The one picture of the lady squatting with the barbell looks a lot like my cousin which makes me laugh because I’m pretty sure she’s never done a squat in her life! If I have a doppelganger out there I hope for her sake she’s more athletic than I am! lol
.-= Ang´s last blog ..Fall is here! Breakout the Pumpkin! =-.
LOL @ the last picture, my 2 year old can do a squat like nobody’s business…it’s impressive!
Jen
http://jenslosinit.blogspot.com/
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Produce Day! =-.
I <3 squats. Always good to get all the major muscles moving. But the baby doing squats is just perfect! So precious! Total 10 on form
.-= Amanda @ Bakingwithoutabox´s last blog ..Mmm Pizza And a couple more miles =-.
I LOVE the baby squat! I’ve had trainers at my gym help me with squats, but I still don’t think I do them correctly. (Yes, I’m one who worries about my knees!)
.-= Kim Zepp´s last blog ..Rev3 Cedar Point 703 DONE – Race Report =-.
I am most proud of the squats that I have been doing lately. I’ve been doing 30 lb dumbell squats in each hand. Someone told me that those would be 60 lb squats then. I don’t know which is true but, two months ago I would have thought you mad if you told me that I’d be lifting that much.
I really enjoyed the movie.
.-= Shelli Belly´s last blog ..Good Day – Tough Day – Good Day =-.
Squads are tough but great for the legs. When I did Bodypump classes we always had to do them with a barbel in the neck.
Personally I find a plank easier then a push up since I still can’t manage more than a girly pushup. At a full pushup I can manage 1 or 2. Pathetic, I know 🙂
Thanks for the great info, Lori!
Ah, squats. I’m always afraid I’m going to fall on my can when I do those. Which is why, after my BodyPump instructor noticed me upping the weights but not going low enough, she said to ditch the weights and focus on getting low enough. She also suggested stacking some risers behind me so that I would (1) have a reference point for how low to go, and (2) wouldn’t be afraid to fall. Wow, it was like I’d just started working out all over again! I’ve gotten better at them, but I still can’t lift heavy on them yet….
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Love that last pic of the baby!! Awesome stuff here Lori, especially the wiggling toes part. I am asking my next client that – I always tell them to pretend their heels are bolted into the floor and sometimes I even make them sit back on things to start. It’s a tricky exercise for sure, but soooo good once you get the hang of it!
.-= Susan´s last blog ..Food Matters =-.