Squatting

What you gonna do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk?" Black Eyed Peas, My Humps

To squat or not to squat? That is the question you should be answering a resounding YES! to. Squats, if done properly, can be the end all, be all of your butt strengthening moves. Tightening, toning, lifting, sculpting. It's got the potential to do all that and more. One of the best parts about this exercise is that the only thing you really need to do it is YOU. Sure, you can add weights to this exercise...but in a pinch you can do mighty fine by yourself.

When you perform a squat it's important to be sure that your knees don't shoot out past your toes. That's keeping your body in proper alignment. Overextending your knees can lead to injury, and I don't want anyone coming back at me and bitching that they hurt themselves doing something I recommended. My suggestion? 1. Read my disclaimer (Ha! Gotcha!) and 2. Don't overextend your knees!

Also don't round out your back. Be sure to keep your back in neutral alignment. This means that you want to keep the natural curves of your back in place while performing the movement. Because I don't want to hear how you hurt your back. Proper alignment will take care of that.

Lastly, to really knock this exercise outta the park...when you come up from your squat squeeze your butt cheeks together. Yes, I really said butt cheeks (I could have said ass but I didn't want to be too crass). Squeezing those muscles together will ensure that your are working your butt. A healthy set of these might be 3 sets of 8-12, depending on your level. Add a dose of lunges and you will be gingerly sitting down for at least one day.

If you would like to see a squat done in real time, check this out. This guy is squatting with a barbell, but you should get the idea of how the movement should go.

Happy Squatting!