Benefits of Squats

If you want to tone your body, or you want to lose weight, one exercise which must be a part of your workout routine is squats. Muscles of the thighs, hamstrings, hips and buttocks are targeted by squats exercise. It also helps in strengthening the bones, ligaments and tendons of the lower body. They have been a part of the weight training routines for a very long time. In this write up, we will see how doing the squats, including the front squats, is beneficial.

Health Benefits of Squats

The lunges and squats are among the best bodyweight exercises. The benefits of squats do not just stop at working the front of the thighs or being a thigh exercise, i.e. building the quadriceps muscles. The squats work all the major muscles in the body. Squats and lunges help to build strength in the legs. They enhance the strength in the lower body. Squats work not only the lower body, but the entire body as they help in elevating the blood pressure for a short period of time. However, this elevation does not last for an extended period of time. This temporary elevation is great for health of the heart muscles. The benefits of doing squats also extend to the lower back. To derive better benefits for the lower back, it is important to follow the squats technique properly. Buttocks are also worked by this exercise. The abdominal muscles are also targeted by squat exercises.

Squats without weights, or with weights, are of great help in burning extra calories. This exercise is known to burn calories much faster, than a number of other exercises. This, in turn, helps in shedding extra fat and get slimmer faster. If you do the squats with dumbbells, or any other form of weights, the results will be faster due to the added resistance of weights.

If you are looking to enhance flexibility in the lower body, then you may want to include squats exercise in your workout regime. Among the many benefits of doing squats without weights or with weights, this is one benefit which endears the exercise to one and all. The other benefits of this exercise for women and men include increased hormonal flow to the muscles. As a matter of fact, this exercise has proved to be beneficial in improving male fertility.

Benefits of Front Squats

Front squats are done by resting the barbell at the front of the shoulders and not on the upper back. The remaining technique to do this barbell squat remains same as the regular squats. There is less load on the spinal cord, when one does front squat. There is less pressure exerted on the hips as well. Often, when we do the squats, we tend to bend in front. However, with the barbell placed on the front of the shoulders, there are less chances of pressure being exerted on the back, as the back is not bent as much as expected. One common complaint about squats for women and men is that wrong form is used. However, with front squats this complaint is often laid to rest. The abdominal muscles are worked out more in front squats. Therefore, it is often included in the core exercises as well. The quadriceps are targeted more intensely, as compared to back squats. It can be attributed to the upright stance while doing front squats. If you want to do some power lifting, then this is a leg exercise which will help you a lot.

The benefits of this lower body exercise are best derived when you do them regularly. At the same time the repetition of this hip exercise also comes into picture then. You should do at least 2 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions to see the results. Last but not the least, do not forget to maintain right form, when you do these exercises, to avoid injury. At the same time, do some warm up exercises, before you do squats.