Why you need to squat

When we reach our thirties, muscles that are responsible for straightening our spines and keeping our shoulders from falling forward, have become week due to a culture that avoids squatting and focusing only on muscles that can fill our shirt sleeves.

Our modern lifestyle is forcing us in sitting at a desk for hours and hours, putting arms in front and head down, which means our shoulder and back pain are now becoming a rule and not the exception like in the old days when jobs were more physically and not mentally challenging.

So if we want to strengthen muscles that hold our spines straight we have to put weight on our back and the best exercise for that are squats.

I will give you 5 reasons which will push you to start squatting.

BURN FAT

Cardio for sure will burn fat and will continue burning it for up to two hours after completing our workouts. But squat with weights will burn our fat for at least 16 hours more after we leave the gym. If this is not the best news you heard all day that I don’t know what is.

It is logical that bigger muscles burn more calories so working out on bigger muscles with complex exercises is the key. So, If you want to build muscle while losing weight, squats will help you here.

STRENGTHEN YOUR KNEES

Don’t be a victim of ignorant people that say that squats are bad for your knees. If done correctly squats are a great way to support and stabilize your knees as it will build muscle around it and protect them. With more muscle around them joints will be relieved ergo they will serve you longer.

BUST FOR ALL YOUR MUSCLES

The strongest muscles in our body are on our legs as we use them all day for moving around. So when we train them with heavier weights through squats, our muscles get damaged and our body (pituitary glands) release human growth hormones (HGH) in order to repair them.

But HGH isn’t just for muscle repair, it also stimulates bone density (super important in prevention of osteoporosis), fat loss, increases energy, maintaining stable mood, and regeneration.

INCREASING FLEXIBILITY

Doing squats will increase flexibility in your knees, ankles, hips, thoracic spine and shoulders. Flexible and light joints require less energy to move which will decrease overall risk of injury.

DECREASING IMBALANCE

Our bones are held together by ligaments, which connect muscles to the bones. If we don’t have strong muscles that will hold our bones in place, they will move around, causing wear and tear with pain. Squatting is the best exercise, strengthening those muscles and ligaments which will prevent excessive friction and keeping your joints healthier and pain-free.

TO SUM IT UP squats are good for:

-keeping our spine straight,

-burning a ton of calories,

-increasing flexibility,

-strengthen knees,

-boosting our HGH

And remember, it will not get easier, you will get stronger and fit!