Exercise Guide

I’m a missionary spreading the gospel of strength exercise
for older adults.

This article is a part of that gospel. You may think that only
body builders do squats, but they are the first exercise
anyone of any age should do as he or she begins an
exercise program. When you do a squat, you are
strengthening the thigh muscles (quadriceps) that you use
to get up out of a chair–I call them the muscles of
independence. Just doing a couple of sets of 8 repetitions
daily will increase your leg strength. Getting up off the couch
will be easier and you’ll be less likely to fall.

Here are your in-depth instructions for doing squats.
Stand with your feet hip width apart. If you are afraid of
falling, stand behind a heavy chair and hold on to the back
of
the chair. If there is a chance you may tip the chair over,
place some heavy weights on the seat. If you don’t need to
hold on, make sure you pull your stomach muscles in to
keep your back straight so it is not arched. If you don’t need
to hold on, hold your hands in a prayer position in front of
you.

In the strength classes I teach I say, “Stick your bottom out
behind. Pretend you are Donald Duck and waggle your tail.”
Then slowly lower your bottom as if you are going to sit.
Keep most of your weight back on your heels. Your upper
body should remain upright–do not bend at the waist. As
you lower your body, extend your hands out in front of you
until your arms are parallel with the floor. This will help keep
you from bending over.

Keep your knees over your toes. You can injure your knees if
you don’t. When you look down as you’re doing a squat, you
should always be able to see your toes. If you cannot, you’re
not doing the squat properly. If your knees hurt, try making
your bottom stick out further. This will keep your knees over
your feet. If they still hurt, don’t go down so far. If that doesn’t
work, do not do this exercise. If you can’t get the hang of it,
actually sit down slowly in a straight chair and watch to see
how you do it.

Lower your bottom very slowly down as far as you are
comfortable. Inhale as you go down Do not go beyond the
point at which your thighs are parallel with the floor. If your
leg muscles are very weak or if your knees begin to
complain, lower your body only a few inches. Check to be
sure your bottom is protruding out behind. The further you
stick out your bottom, the less your knees are likely to hurt.
You should take approximately four seconds for the
lowering phase.

Stand back up while you concentrate on tightening your
thigh muscles and making them do the work. Push up with
your thighs. Do not stand back up quickly; slower is better.
Exhale as you stand back up. Take about two seconds to lift
your body back up to its original position.

This is not a glamorous exercise. I tell class members that
they leave “lady-like” at the door. We are athletes while we
are working out.

Do eight repetitions of this exercise very slowly. It should
take about six seconds for each repetition and your legs
should feel tired when you finish. If they do not, you have
probably not been tightening the thigh muscles as you
stand back up; you’ve been letting your knees do much of
the work. As you begin to straighten your legs, tighten the
thighs and push. I find it often takes new exercisers several
weeks to really get the hang of this.

If your thighs are burning when you finish the set, you’re
getting the maximum benefit from the exercise. You may
want to shake out your legs if they feel very tired.
You will be amazed how doing this simple exercise
regularly will make it easier to climb stairs, arise from a
chair and get in and out of the car.
It will also improve your balance because your legs will
become strong enough to hold and support you securely as
you stand.

Tip: Make sure you do not bend at the waist so you are
looking at the floor. If you are not sure you are doing this
exercise correctly, get someone to watch you or exercise in
front of a mirror.

See your doctor before beginning an exercise program. If
any exercise causes pain, stop immediately. Modify the
exercise so it does not cause pain or find another exercise
to work the same body part. Any exercise program carries
risks of injury. Phyllis Rogers and/or Senior Fitness, Inc. are
not responsible for any injuries incurred during or after
doing the exercises described in this article.

Phyllis Rogers is certified as a Certified Fitness Trainer,
Specialist in Fitness for Older Adults and Longevity
Wellness Specialist. She is available for speeches and
workshops. Her e-mail address is
fitness9@mindspring.com or learn more at
http://www.StrongOver40.com

Her book “Over 40 & Gettin’ Stronger contains instructions
for a complete workout, including squats. She has just
released an audio CD which guides you through the
workout. To obtain the book/CD combination, send a check
for $25.95 plus $4 for shipping to Fitness Press, P O Box
4912, Marietta, GA 30061. Or visit http://www.StrongOver40.com

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The Front Squat:

As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss). This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man. Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all exercises. In fact, university research studies have even proven that inclusion of squats into a training program increases upper body development, in addition to lower body development, even though upper body specific joint movements are not performed during the squat. Whether your goal is gaining muscle mass, losing body fat, building a strong and functional body, or improving athletic performance, the basic squat and deadlift (and their variations) are the ultimate solution. If you don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are THE basis for a lean and powerful body, then go ahead and join all of the other overweight people pumping away mindlessly for hours on boring cardio equipment. You won’t find long boring cardio in any of my programs!

Squats can be done with any free weighted objects such as barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, or even just body weight. Squats should only be done with free weights - NEVER with a Smith machine or any other squat machines! Machines do not allow your body to follow natural, biomechanically-correct movement paths. You also perform less work because the machine stabilizes the weight for you. Therefore, you get weaker results!

The type of squat that people are most familiar with is the barbell back squat where the bar is resting on the trapezius muscles of the upper back. Many professional strength coaches believe that front squats (where the bar rests on the shoulders in front of the head) and overhead squats (where the bar is locked out in a snatch grip overhead throughout the squat) are more functional to athletic performance than back squats with less risk of lower back injury. I feel that a combination of all three (not necessarily during the same phase of your workouts) will yield the best results for overall muscular development, body fat loss, and athletic performance. Front squats are moderately more difficult than back squats, while overhead squats are considerably more difficult than either back squats or front squats. I’ll cover overhead squats in a future article. If you are only accustomed to performing back squats, it will take you a few sessions to become comfortable with front squats, so start out light. After a couple sessions of practice, you will start to feel the groove and be able to increase the poundage.

To perform front squats:

The front squat recruits the abdominals to a much higher degree for stability due to the more upright position compared with back squats. It is mostly a lower body exercise, but is great for functionally incorporating core strength and stability into the squatting movement. It can also be slightly difficult to learn how to properly rest the bar on your shoulders. There are two ways to rest the bar on the front of the shoulders. In the first method, you step under the bar and cross your forearms into an “X” position while resting the bar on the dimple that is created by the shoulder muscle near the bone, keeping your elbows up high so that your upper arms are parallel to the ground. You then hold the bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fists against the bar for support.

Alternatively, you can hold the bar by placing your palms face up and the bar resting on your fingers against your shoulders. For both methods, your elbows must stay up high to prevent the weight from falling. Your upper arms should stay parallel to the ground throughout the squat. Find out which bar support method is more comfortable for you. Then, initiate the squat from your hips by sitting back and down, keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet. Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately parallel to the ground, then press back up to the starting position. Keeping your weight more towards your heels is the key factor in squatting to protect your knees from injury and develop strong injury-resistant knee joints. Keep in mind - squats done correctly actually strengthen the knees; squats done incorrectly can damage the knees.

Practice first with an un-weighted bar or a relatively light weight to learn the movement. Most people are surprised how hard this exercise works your abs once you learn the correct form. This is due to the more upright posture compared with back squats. To see photos of proper form on the front squat, visit http://truthaboutabs.com/Front-Squats.html.

Visit http://truthaboutabs.com/Training-and-Nutrition-Articles.html to receive your own personalized metabolic rate calculator as well as 4 of my secret hard-body workout routines - all FREE.

Michael Geary is a nationally dual certified personal trainer (NCSF-CPT, AFAA-CPT), and author of The Truth about Six Pack Abs ©2004-2006.

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