squats

Squats; often called the king of exercises!
Another difficult exercise with a high level of skill requirement. Now don't let that desuade you from using it in your training. Its hard to find a better exercise for any goals you may have.
Squats are a more forgiving movement than the deadlift; less strenous on the system as a whole.
If you're a man this exercise is going to beef you up and make you impressive; If you're a lady this exercise is going to give you shapely legs and a nice bottom.
the stronger your squat the faster your sprint the longer you can trek.
the squat allows you to burn fat, build muscle and develop power, endurance and athletisism.
three of my favorite squat methods are:
1) 20 rep squats. If you pull of 2 sets of 20 rep squats, you're impressive. If you pull off 3 sets you really didn't do the first 2 sets properly. If you do 1 set, great, one awesome hard set of 20 reps of squating is a fantastic way to achive a lot of results. but if you're not huffn n puffn then you didn't really do them right.

I wouldn't start a workout with 20 rep squats, but you could make the squats the center of your training program (generally or for the day) or you could use it as a finisher. You should be strong though ( by that i mean, not drained from your other training) so you can give them the attention they need to provide results.

2) box squats; these are the staple of the powerlifters routine. they develop tremendous strength through the posterior chain and core and allow the trainer to go very heavy. reps should be kept under 6 reps when you practice these and technique should be focused on intently. another, often overlooked idea behind box squats for the non power lifter is the safety issue. its psychologically easier knowing you have a box behind you and the box allows more control over the depth of the squat.

(dave tate from elite fitness)
3) squating with an odd object on one shoulder: I like these. this allows one to get a strong workout with out overloading with traditional weights. technique is still important but using odd object tends to really drop the weight down. it also creates more athletic movement and cross sectional strength. A great degree of core activation. dependant upon manipulation of volume these can be used for a great mix of outcomes. I probably wouldn't use them for body building but health and fitness, strength, rehab, core work, leg work, athletisism, mma, etc, etc...
When I want a client strong and athletic these get trained.
I've done these with stones, logs, kettlebells, sandbags, even barbells.


coaching is super important in complicated lifts like squats, even when you've been squating for 30 years. without feed back and cues, you won't be getting the best of yourself. 1000lbs squaters still have a coach working on little technique points. You don't have to hire a coach , but do yourself a favour and get coaching from people who know what they are doing.