Finding the right form of exercise is the one of the first steps when it comes to losing weight. What activities are going to be effective, and what will work for you and your personal weight loss needs?
It’s actually a common misconception that you have to be doing cardiovascular activity for weight loss. It’s certainly helpful to get cardio into your day, and it’s very important for your cardiovascular health.
With that being said though, strength training exercises are equally as important for your wellbeing. Squats are a form of strengthening exercise, though they can usually be combined with cardiovascular activity too. Squats are one of the best exercises for weight loss, and there are a number of reasons why.
The first reason is that squats can help you to build some sweet, sweet muscle. Why is that important? Well, you burn more calories when you are resting if you have more muscle. This then means that it’s a little easier for you to lose weight in the long run, too.
It will allow you to build muscle in your quadriceps, but the squat is a compound movement so you will be working a lot of the muscles in your body. It’s a great way to give your whole body a strength workout. You will probably find that you burn more calories each minute when you are squatting than when you are doing cardio too. So, you’re burning more calories for less physical exertion. Neat, huh?
If you’re looking for that ‘toned look’, squatting is also in your best interest. Strength training is vital for sculpting the physique that you want, and squats are a great way to get the results you’re looking for. When combined with a full strength training regime, you’ll get a truly impressive outcome.
Let’s make one thing clear, however. Doing squats can be tough, especially when you first start doing them. As a result of this, you really need to have the drive to do them. If you keep on doing squats, you may find yourself becoming a lot stronger mentally.
This means that you’re more likely to stick it out with your weight loss efforts, resulting in better results in the long run. Also, imagine how good you’ll feel when you can tell your friends and family about the amount of weight that you’re able to lift when you’re doing squats?
Finally, the most important part of all is that squats can make you stronger. When you can carry more weight and sustain your own body weight in a squat, you will likely find that you can carry more in your waking life too. This can help you to feel powerful and strong, a feeling that’s worth its weight in gold!
Balance is important when it comes to losing weight. This means ensuring that you’re getting the right amount of each exercise into your routine each day. So, how many squats a day should you do to lose weight?
The answer to this can depend on a few things. Is weight loss your only goal, and do you want to work harder or smarter? A higher volume of squats is a good idea if you really want to maximize the amount of fat burn. Try to do your squats around once or twice a week, and do six sets of five reps, alternating with another activity.
Usually, a bodyweight squat can get you some fantastic results, but here’s the problem. The more you do a certain exercise, the more your body adapts to that exercise. Essentially, this means that in order to get the same results, you are going to need to do even more squats each day.
This may sound a little scary, since you don’t really want to be squatting for around 8 hours a day. Thankfully though, you don’t actually need to do this. To get the same results, simply increase the amount of weight that you’re squatting.
This is where having a home gym or a gym membership comes in handy. Get yourself over to your favorite gym, and check out the squat rack. There you will find olympic barbells and weight plates. You can start with doing either a front or a back squat, and start by trying to squat with just the barbell.
If you find that the weight is too light for you, you can add more weight to make the move a little more challenging. Do a few reps and sets, and increase the amount of weight as you improve over the coming weeks and months. You can alternate the move with another compound movement, such as a deadlift or you can do targeted movements for other muscles such as lateral raises.
If you don’t have access to a barbell, don’t worry. You can also use dumbbells and do things like goblet squats to get some fantastic results. Ultimately though, it’s hard to say exactly how many squats you should be doing a day since it can depend on the person. You may need to do fewer sets and reps than your friend, or you may need to do more.
You should try doing the amount of squats that we’ve listed above, and then modifying that amount to fit in with your own goals. Eventually, you will find a balance that works for you. In the meantime, you should take some time to enjoy the benefits that doing squats have to offer. You could even start squatting in work on a break just to get a few reps in!
