To Your Health
October, 2010 (Vol. 04, Issue 10) |
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The Do's and Don'ts of Proper Squat Performance (in order of importance)
The squat is a key exercise to tone and tighten your backside, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do them. Here are the "Do's" and "Don'ts" of proper squat performance; constantly refer to them until you've got the proper squat movement down. In the beginning, it might be easier to focus on a few of these recommendations each workout until you've memorized them all - covering it all in one day might be too much for you to handle.
Do:
- Stand with feet a few inches wider than shoulder width
- Point your toes away from center at 45 degrees
- Keep your toes raised and weight on heels
- Keep your lower shins straight up and down
- Begin by rocking buttocks back
- Slowly lower into the squat and stay flexed
- Keep your chest and eyes up
- Keep the buttocks flexed during the entire movement
Don't:
- Stand with your feet too close to one another
- Stand with toes pointed straight
- Allow your toes to touch the floor completely
- Let your knees extend past your toes
- Keep your buttocks tucked under you
- Simply drop down to a low position
- Look down to the ground or straight ahead
- Move through the exercise relaxed
Sample Cardio (Treadmill) Programs to Tone and Tighten Your Buttocks
Cardio Program #1
- Walk for five minutes at 3.0
- Do 50 deep step-ups
- Walk for five minutes at 4.0 (incline optional)
- Do 50 deep knee squats
- Jog for five minutes at 5.0
- Do two minutes of camel walks
- Walk for five minutes at 4.0
Cardio Program #2
- Walk for five minutes at 3.0
- Do 50 deep step-ups
- Lunge on the treadmill for five minutes at 2.5
- Do 50 deep knee squats
- Jog for five minutes at 5.0
- Do five minutes of camel walks; then walk for five minutes on full incline at 3.0
- Walk for five minutes at 4.0
David Ryan, BS, DC, a former two-sport professional athlete with more than 20 years in the health care field, is on the editorial review board of Muscle & Fitness magazine and is a chief feature writer for BodyBuilding.com. He has been the medical director and co-chairman of the Arnold [Schwarzenegger] Sports Festival since 1997.
