Squat Challenge 10 Days
Charolette Antosh
First, I have to note: I also walk eight to 10 kilometres on most days. So my legs are getting a workout. But squats are a good starting point to begin challenging the lower body. But will I see any physical changes?
Many muscles, which is probably why these trainers love squats so damn much. Squats work the hip extensors (gluteus maximus, hamstrings), hip adductors (inner thighs), gastrocnemius (calf), quadriceps and erector spinae (lower back), says Tam.
What about the back of my thighs? She recommends Stiff-Legged Deadlifts which work your hamstrings and spinal extensors, or The Bulgarian Split Squat (or split squats) also work the hamstrings, glutes, and thighs.
Plus, strong glutes help you perform better, enabling you to complete other exercises much more efficiently such as being able to perform plyometric movements, jumps, running and improving agility and speed.
Complaints of loose skin, flabby bellies, and stubborn extra pounds are common after giving birth. What no one talks about is your sad, sad ass. After a lengthy bed rest, six weeks recovering from a C-section, and a sedentary winter, my once healthy bottom was an embarrassment. Don't feel too sorry for me - I also ended up ten pounds lighter and with a smaller waist postpartum - but after two very, very focused years in the gym pre-pregnancy, it was hard to watch all my hard work disappear.
At 20 months postpartum, I've ALMOST worked my butt back into it's previous condition. Along the way I reached a long sought-after goal: 145 pound back squats for reps (parallel - not quite "in the bucket" with as little as 65 pounds, but I digress). And then something happened: the last time I got under the bar, it felt more like work than fun. Moreover, I didn't feel anything in my glutes the next day, and my left knee seemed a bit ticked off.
I've been following the Glute Guy for several years and am a HUGE fan. Between the promising science behind the thrust and my enthusiasm for glute accessory work, I predict that my hip circumference will remain the same, if not larger, at the end of the challenge. Just to make things a little more interesting, I'm also eliminating deadlifts from my training protocol. So, what does that leave me with besides hip thrusts, you may ask? Here's a little taste of what you could do to build glutes in the absence of squats and deadlifts:
...and the list goes on. Mind you, the first two items on the list, hipthrusts and bridges, can each be performed in numerous ways - unilaterally, with bands, with feel elevated, with a mini band around the knees...again, the list goes on.
With all other things remaining more or less the same as far as nutrition, sleep, and cardio, I'm curious to see the affect of this 30 day no squat challenge on my waist and hip circumference. Moreover, I'm looking forward to assessing my squat strength upon reintroducing it to my training regimen.
The world of fitness and training is the perfect example of the dichotomy between textbooks and real world application. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) is taught in every exercise physiology program and is dogma when it comes to the response to training.
This goes hand-in-hand with the idea of overtraining and the common notion that you must cycle your lifts, never doing the big lifts on consecutive days, and definitely not perform a compound lift at a high percentage of your max for long periods of time.
This also applies to training. During every single day of the 100 training sessions, the first warm-up set was always the hardest. After I ripped out that first one my mind flipped a switch and it was go time.
During this experiment I was training up to twelve times a week with an average cumulative training time each week of about 20-21 hours. My lightest squatting day was 75% of my 1RM and most days were into the 85-92% range.
My adrenals are functioning just fine, my sleep has been standard, my mood is actually improved, my appetite is normal, and my immune system is turning away invaders left and right. Besides some typical soreness and a little tweak here and there, I have no signs or symptoms of overtraining.
I did a squat routine some years back, where i did some form of squatting everyday ( back, front, hack)for 3 months based on an article i had read from john broz. I needed to improve on my stone lifts and determined i was weak coming out of the hole( the position your in after you lap the stone). After the 3 months not only did my squat numbers go up, my stone numbers went up( was able to do 300lb) all other lifts my numbers got better and on top of all that i looked more jacked.
But first, look at my calendar filled with stars! I only missed 2 days. A couple days have an extra red star. Those are days that I did other exercise besides squats. I really only focused on squats and no other exercise. I just needed to see if I could do the challenge for myself. And yes, yes I did!
How is it going? You are just past day 15 now. I did notice a slight change by day 15 in my booty and by the end of the challenge a little bit more. But not a significant change. I think it depends on how deep you go into the squat. Also, what other exercise you are doing and healthy eating. It all factors together. Good luck and keep it up!
To fix this issue, Chris decided to go back to something that worked really well for him (for all of us) in the past. He decided to start squatting every day, no days off, and even squat twice a day if he could swing it.
But more often than not, this group of lab rats sees faster than normal rates of progress. They hit more PRs than anyone else in my gym. And they have become the drivers of positive change from which everyone else I coach benefits.
For 21 days during the month of March, Chris squatted every day. No days off. And on some of those days, he squatted in the morning, before coming into our club in the evenings for our normal workouts.
Nick Horton is not your average Olympic Weightlifting coach. He's been practicing Zen meditation for over a decade and applies the lessons he's learned to both his coaching and to his writing. He is of the belief that your body follows your mind. If you don't train your mind, then you're not ever going to be as physically strong as you could have been otherwise.
While his first major in college was music, Nick eventually switched to mathematics and loves math for the same reasons he loves weightlifting: because they are hard. He is now finishing a Masters degree in Math with a focus in Game Theory and the Mathematics of Human Behavior.
Nick is certified through both USA Weightlifting and CrossFit as an Olympic Weightlifting Coach. He can also be found online via his blog, The IronSamurai, which can be summed up by its subtitle: Zen and the Art of Weightlifting.
While doing those air squats, perhaps think about and send some good vibes to all the healthcare workers stepping into the front lines every day. And if you are one of those healthcare workers, please accept a huge thank you and a virtual hug from me.
Several years ago, I did a 1,000 squat workout on a cruise ship. That environment made the challenge much more interesting and entertaining to complete. I also did a 2,014 rep challenge once as a New Year celebration.
Reminder and Accountability Apps: I use the iPhone app called Productive to remind me and keep accountable during our challenges. There are others as well. These apps are excellent for accountability.
We've started out 2015 strong with the Whole30 Challenge and no TV for 30 days! Double discipline! I must admit, I think the no TV was harder for us than the Whole30;) I'm going to have to catch up on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show which is the only show I really missed. Not watching TV sure leads to being much more productive though...which has been great.
The 30 Day Squat Challenge was actually my husband's idea. Perfect timing actually, as we are going to a seminar in Maui the first week of March. We are starting this on February 1st and it will go for 30 days.Each day you will do a different number of squats which will be listed on the free downloadable 30 Day Squat Challenge sheet you will print out. You will then "check off" that you completed that day. That's it! There will be a few rest days. This is meant to be a supplement to your current workout routine...not in place of. An "add on" if you will. You can do all the squats at once, or break them up into sets. If you absolutely cannot complete all the squats on any given day...do as many as you possibly can. Too easy and want more of a challenge? Not feeling sore at all?..... You can make it harder by adding weight. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell! Are you ready to get stronger in 30 days? :)
It is imperative that you have good form when you perform squats. There is a right way and a wrong way. Make sure you prevent injury by reading on... Here is a picture of a woman doing a squat with correct form...
Thirty days later, my glutes are stronger and the muscular endurance in my arms definitely improved from all that kettlebell holding. I also built up quite a bit of core strength doing 600 weighted squats over a month. The front and back squats I have to do during CrossFit are also easier since I focused on my form and keeping my heels down.
Alena Luciani, MS, CSCS, Pn1, founder of Training2xl made it clear that adding weights is the way to upgrade your regular squats. Strengthening your booty comes with some real benefits. Strong glutes do so much more than make your waist look smaller and your booty look amazing in a pair of leggings or jeans. They also improve speed, agility, power, and prevent risk of injuries related to your back, says Luciani.
The goblet squats pointed out how weak and inflexible my inner thighs, hip flexors, and ankles were. My tight hips made it challenging to be parallel with the floor, so the first week I had to get used to the comfortable soreness.
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