The Barbell Squat

When you think of fat-burning and losing weight, what do you think of?  Most people think of jogging and doing lots of cardio.  When you think of gaining muscle mass and strength, what do you think of?  Well, the answer to both of these questions lies in one of two of the most important body building exercises ever discovered.  In this first installment of a two part series, I will give you absolutely, positively two of the best muscle-building and fat-burning exercises ever!  The first one is the barbell leg squat.  There is no other exercise (except the one that you will learn in part two of this installment) that will jack up your metabolism and trigger your overall muscular growth better.

The 3 Benefits of the Barbell Squat

Benefit Number 1 – Develops Strong Leg Muscles – Without question, this exercise is the best for building strength and muscle in the thighs, hips and the core. (Your body’s core is the area around your trunk and pelvis;  it is where your center of gravity is located.)

Benefit Number 2 – Triggers Testosterone – The barbell squat triggers and raises the testosterone level, sometimes by as much as 300% right after a vigorous session of full squats.  So, what does this mean?  In case you didn’t already now, testosterone is the hormone responsible for overall muscular growth and muscle mass – even for those areas that are not the legs or thighs.  This means that after you do leg squats, you have healthy levels of testosterone in your body to develop any other muscle that you exercise that day.  (This is great news for the ladies as well because it is firm, well-developed muscle that gives you your curvy feminine shape.)

Benefit Number 3 – Bigger Muscles Mean A Faster Fat-Burning Metabolism – As alluded to in benefit number 2, squats will help you to develop bigger muscles.  The cumulative benefit of bigger muscle is that your fat-burning metabolism becomes more efficient for melting excess adipose from your body – even while you are at rest, even while just sitting on the sofa watching television hours after you have finished weight training.

Multiple-Joint-Exercise

The reason why the barbell squat is so effective is because it is a multiple-joint- exercise.   A multiple-joint-exercise is that type of exercise that triggers more testosterone and burns more fat by the nature of the fact that several major joints have to move simultaneously into action.  In the case of the barbell squat, the multiple joints are the knees and hips.

4 Tips for Doing The Barbell Squat Correctly

Tip Number 1 – Keep The Head Up – Never bend over at the waist as this will injure your lower back.  Keep your head and chin up – high and proud.

Tip Number 2 – Keep The Hips and Shoulders Back – Think “erect” as you squat down until you butt is parallel to the ground. Rise up again to standing position in on smooth movement with the barbell resting on your shoulders and upper back, just below the neck.  (It is also a good idea to wrap a towel around the bar where it sits on your neck for greater comfort.)

Tip Number 3 – Keep Your Weight On The Heels – Don’t squat “tip-toed” but rather flat-footed.  (A one-inch wooden block under the heels is optional but not necessary.)

Tip Number 4 – Keep The Knees In Line With The Feet – What this means is that you don’t want open your knees outward in a spread-eagle “V” shape position when you squat.   You knees should be kept straight over your feet as if you were to draw an imaginary drop line from your knees to your feet as you go and down with the barbell.

Be on the look-out for the Part 2 of this two-part series where I show you the other super multiple-joint-exercise that is definitely a must to be included in your body building routine as well.

Please leave your comment.

Yours in health,

Charles Prosper

“The 12-Week Fitness Guru”