Squat pull-ups with your own weight. Bodyweight workout that will pump all the muscles

Functional exercise is not only physical activity, but also a great way to increase your mobility, which is essential in the rhythm modern life.

What is the benefit of squats, if in real life you never do anything even remotely similar to this movement?

When it comes to basic, functional movements, the squat is undeniably the king of exercises.

Regardless of your goals - whether you are trying to reset excess weight, to build muscle or just to feel good - squats should be an integral part of your workouts.

First, let's dive into the science a bit to find out why squats are so important.

And, of course, we will talk about how to learn to squat, how to do squats correctly and how it can be wrong, about variations of this exercise.

From time to time you hear experts in the field call squats (and similar movements like deadlift, for example) with the intriguing term "primitive movements".

By these they mean that this mode of movement is inherent in our body from the very beginning; it is something that man has been doing for a very long time.

Watch people and you won't find it so surprising, because even babies regularly squat (and it's a 100% correct squat) when they first walk.

In fact, many nations around the world regularly squat instead of just sitting or standing for long periods of time.

Why does it matter? Because it clearly shows how strong the connection between the human skeleton and the movement in question is.

Why does our body need squats? The biggest benefit of the squat, in my opinion, is that with just this functional exercise and its variations, you can create an entire training plan.

Most Efficient Movement

The first benefit of squats mentioned earlier is that they improve our ability to move. The squat is a compound exercise that uses multiple joints to make different parts of your body move as one.

Your ankles, knees and hips must coordinate their efforts to bring you down and lift you up safely.

The squat is an exercise that develops these joints by increasing their mobility, which will help to avoid many problems in the future.

IN sports medicine, kinesiology and other related fields, you have probably come across the concept of a kinetic chain. The principles of the kinetic chain are used in mechanical engineering and are based on the idea that connected, serial connections should be considered as one big unit.

What does it mean?

Think about what happens when you squat: your ankles bend, your knees bend, at the same time your hips must drop, and your back and abs must work together to keep your body balanced and upright. No joint works alone.

And what happens if one of these "links" ceases to do its job? The movement just won't work.

This principle of operation extends to almost everything you do. If the thigh muscles are tight, for example, this will put pressure on the lower back and cause pain, which can further reach your neck, and there your shoulder is not far away.

Squats help to develop and tidy up this whole kinetic chain, if done technically correctly, so that the body works more efficiently as a single coherent mechanism.

Worked muscles

Along with the joints, squats work out different groups muscles.

Which muscles to pump up will depend on which exercise option you choose. Over time, you will be able to choose the type of squat to work out the desired muscle group.

For now, let's focus on the basic, but no less efficient way squats with own weight.

The muscles being worked—or the muscles that work the most during the exercise—are the quadriceps and gluteus maximus.

The calf and glute muscles function as synergists, which means they help the quadriceps perform squats. At the same time, the muscles rear surface the hips and cortex contract to balance the body, while also working the muscles abdominals.

Squats burn fat

Usually people think of squats and similar exercises as a means of building. muscle mass, but when it comes to losing weight, do not take them into account.

In fact, squats are or can be powerful weapon in the fight against overweight. This is because the number of calories burned during any exercise is directly related to the number of muscle fibers involved in any movement.

This rule is a scientifically proven fact, because, for example, if we consider squats in terms of engine and its size, then the larger the engine, the more fuel it consumes and burns. Your legs are made up of many muscles. But, nevertheless, they are not the only working muscles during squats.

In one movement, squats engage big number muscles that will burn calories as fuel.

Weightlifting is associated with another very interesting process that promotes weight loss: increased post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC.

No matter what form physical activity you prefer, during training, the body needs a lot of oxygen. That is why you automatically begin to breathe faster.

This need for large amounts of oxygen increases when a large number of muscle fibers are involved during exercise, since oxygen is vital for a proper recovery process.

Interestingly, for every liter of oxygen you breathe, approximately 5 calories are burned.

As a result, any activity that increases the need for oxygen also increases the number of calories burned by the body. And the increase in metabolic rate due to EPOC can last for a surprisingly long time after a workout - up to 48 hours.

After squats, the afterburning effect will not be so long, but still.

In general, even if you are inactive, your metabolism will be faster if you have more muscle mass. If you spend more time working on large groups muscles, you can burn calories after your workout without even moving.

Correct squat technique

Bodyweight Squats

I hope I managed to convince you of the benefits of squats. But like any other activity, doing squats must be done properly to get the most out of your effort.

So what is the right way to squat? First, let's look at bodyweight squats, which will later serve as the basis for other squat variations. Like many other bodyweight exercises, this variation of the squat is perfect way achieve correct technique exercise with minimal risk if something goes wrong.

Another positive thing about mastering bodyweight squat technique is that it will be easier for you to master reverse squats with extra weight, since both movements are almost identical.

Stand straight, feet slightly wider than shoulder width, toes slightly apart.
Stretch your arms straight out in front of you for balance.

Keeping your core tight and your back straight, lower your hips back toward the floor.
At the same time, let your knees move forward. Keep your knees and toes in the same direction throughout the movement.
Lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor (like sitting in a chair). If you can sink lower without rounding your back, do so.
Push off from your heels and slowly straighten your legs to return to the starting position. Don't lift your heels off the ground.

This was the basic squat form that you can use for any other push up variation.

It is possible that bodyweight squats can be difficult for you, mainly due to a lack of flexibility. So how do you perform the perfect bodyweight squat then?

Check out my buddy Eric Wong's "Are You Flexible Enough to Squat?" video for some visual and practical advice on how to do it. Here are just a few key points from this video:

Hold on to a table leg, ladder, or other vertical object for support.
Get as low as you can, keeping your back straight.
In the bottom position, lean back in all directions to work your joints.
Holding on to a support, do a few squats.

As you have already noticed on early stages mastering the exercise encouraged deep squats. You will probably have some questions or concerns about this.

Or maybe you have already heard some of them?! Are squats bad for your knees? Are deep squats terrible for the joints?

The answer to both questions is a resounding “No.”

At least that's the case if you're in good shape. And that is why you should first master the bodyweight squat before moving on to other types of this exercise with additional weight.

Squats and knees, oh my God!

In fact, by strengthening the quadriceps and other muscles that are in close proximity to the knees, you build a system of support for them and, thereby, give them more full protection. But, what about squat depth? Doesn't this put more strain on the knees? How to squat and what to pay attention to while doing this?

To answer this question, in 2013, researchers examined the results of more than 164 papers that looked at forces acting on the knees during squats. What they found was a surprise to them: Although the load on the knees gradually increases as the angle gets closer to 90 degrees, after that point the load only decreases.

At the end of their article, the researchers left the following comment:

…deep squats are an effective training exercise which protects against injury and strengthens the lower limbs.

Another safety tip you might hear when it comes to squats is that you shouldn't let your knees go past your big toes.

For most people, this tip is easy to remember and easy to apply. However, some genetic factors and characteristics of individuals, even during a flawless squat, can affect how the knees are positioned.

The location of the knees in relation to the toes can be influenced by the length of the bones or the mobility of the ankle or hips. For example, a girl with long bones in the lower leg or thighs will not be able to keep her knees in the recommended position, she will have to sacrifice the technique and form of the exercise in order to perform the correct squat.

It is worth noting that there is no evidence that if the knees go beyond the big toes, then you will definitely have problems with your knees. If your knees are naturally long, then do not try to change anything, as this will put additional stress on the joints.

Therefore, you should not row one size fits all, but rather listen to your body. If your knees are further than your toes while doing bodyweight squats and it doesn't hurt, then do whatever feels comfortable to you.

Types of squats

There are many types of squats to choose from. Which one to choose will largely depend on your goals, since each type of this exercise is aimed at working out different parts of the body and muscle groups.

Let's get acquainted with the most common types of squats, find out what they are used for and how to do them correctly.

Shoulder barbell squat

The most common and easiest type of squat that works almost most of your body. This exercise is also a great way to increase mobility.

However, it has some drawbacks. You will need a rack, a barbell, and some discs. People with back injuries or a predisposition to them should exclude this exercise from their list due to excessive load on the spine. How to squat with a barbell correctly?

Stand near a barbell rack with the barbell on your shoulders at the base of your neck. Grab the bar with your palms facing out.
Straighten up so that the bar is on top of you and not supported by the rack. Move away from the counter to give yourself more space.
Tighten your core muscles, straighten your back and look straight, drop your hips back and down to the ground.
At the same time, let your knees bend forward, keeping them in the same direction as your toes.
Lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor, squat deeper if you can.
Pause briefly before pushing off your heels and straightening your legs to return to the starting position.

Squats with a barbell on the chest

Very helpful and interesting view sit-ups just because big difference has a slight change in exercise.

This type of exercise consists in holding the bar in front of you, or rather at the base of the neck.

So what is the advantage of this type of squat compared to the previous one? Shifting the weight forward increases the load on the core muscles and requires them to do their best to maintain balance and vertical body position.

This change requires more knee flexion, which will allow you to sink deeper and put more emphasis on your quads.

By taking the weight off your shoulders during the front squat, you greatly reduce the compressive force on your spine. How to properly perform this type of squat?

Front Squat Technique:

Stand in front of the bar with the bar at chest level. Place the bar in front of your shoulders at the base of your neck. The arms should be bent at the elbows and parallel to the floor. Place your palms on the bar, holding the bar only with your thumbs.

Tighten your core, keep your back straight, look straight ahead, drop your hips back and down to the ground.
At the same time, let your knees bend forward, keeping them in the same direction as your toes.
Lower your hips until they are parallel to the floor, moving forward if you can.
Hold the bottom position before returning to the starting position.

Overhead Squat

This exercise simultaneously requires and develops the mobility of the back, shoulders and hips.

It can be performed with a barbell, also squat with dumbbells, kettlebells, or just with a disk.

The barbell squat technique for this particular exercise is a test of flexibility, so don't think you can lift any weight over your head as easily as you can with other variations of the exercise. Start with something lighter, like a broom.

Overhead Squat Technique:

Stand straight, feet slightly wider than shoulder width, toes pointing outward. Hold the bar above your head with a wide grip.
Hold the barbell (or whatever you can do) over your head with your arms outstretched.
Tighten your core muscles, lower yourself down, the bend angle between the hips and knees should be straight.
Straighten your legs to return to the starting position.

Advice: Do not attempt this exercise if your level is physical training not good enough or shoulder/upper back mobility is poor.

Kettlebell squats (goblet)

Usually done with kettlebells or dumbbells, this exercise can also be done with a barbell disc if you don't have anything on hand. The concept of this type of squat is the same as the front squat: the weight is transferred to the front of the body, emphasizing the muscles of the core and back.

The difference is that goblet squats actively involve the latissimus dorsi and arms.

Kettlebell squat technique:

Take a kettlebell (dumbbell) in both hands and hold it with bent arms near your chest, as if you are holding a huge bowl (hence from the English "goblet" - a goblet). Do not lean the weight against you, do not make your work easier.

Tighten your core muscles and do a deep squat.
Straighten your legs to return to the starting position.

sumo squat

This variation of the squat has a lot of variation, it all depends on what equipment you use during this exercise. What remains constant is the wide stance of a sumo wrestler.

This position allows you to maximize the buttocks and muscles of the inner thighs, especially while lifting the body up. Your core muscles will also have to work to keep you in position.

You can also squat with dumbbells, a barbell, a kettlebell, or a disc.

Place your feet in a very wide stance, take the kettlebell in your hands.
Tighten your core muscles, keep your back straight, and put emphasis on your heels to stand straight. You may notice that your movements are limited due to your position, this is normal.

Lower your hips down, bend your knees so that the kettlebell sinks with you to the floor.

Bulgarian split squat

In terms of technique, this exercise is slightly different from other types of squats, but it has a number of good advantages. On the one side, top part your body is fully engaged, and your movement is no longer limited by the strength of your core and upper back muscles.

Of course, the Bulgarian split squat is not suitable for working out these muscles, but if you want to train your legs, then this type of squat is just perfect option.

The Bulgarian split squat can be done with both bodyweight and extra weight. To begin with, I will describe to you the technique of performing the exercise with your own weight.

Stand with your back to the bench, with your left foot on the bench with your toe.

Keeping your back straight, bend your right knee to lower towards the ground. Stop when your knee is almost parallel to the ground. The left knee should not touch the floor.
Straighten right leg to return to the original position.

Jump Squats

Regular squats, back squats, and the Bulgarian split squat can be made more difficult by adding a jump element. This will require you to be dynamic and quick during the exercise. The jump squat is a great way for an athlete to develop their strength and learn how to perform a technical jump.

This type of squat is not recommended for people with knee injuries due to the heavy load on them. You should also be careful when doing a jump with a weight in your hands. You also need to know how to breathe properly when doing dynamic squats.

Where to begin?

We already know how to do squats correctly. Learning how to squat properly is pretty easy. But, having received such a “baggage” of knowledge, you probably have a question in your head, how to apply this knowledge in order to perform the correct and efficient squat? By using a few of the squat variations above and developing your strength and mobility, after a while you will be able to perform barbell back squats without problems and safely.

Try to perform each exercise in 3 sets of 12 repetitions, observing the technique and squatting as low as possible. Especially when working with normal bodyweight squats, try to lower your buttocks as close to the floor as possible.

It may take several weeks to perfect each movement before you can move on to another type of push-up. And that's okay. The goal of this long journey is to develop a solid base before you get to the back squat. Each step of your journey will develop certain skills that you will need later.

Bodyweight Squats
Kettlebell squat (goblet) (Go to the next step when you master 3 × 12 with 10 kg)
Front Squat (3x12 with 20kg)
Back Squat (Start with 20kg)

Have you ever attended? Yes!

Comprehending what you read, you can come to the conclusion that squats are extremely important exercise. This movement inherent in every person by nature develops flexibility, mobility and strength, burns tons excess fat.

The key to success is a slow start, especially with normal bodyweight squats, honed and correct squat technique. After that, you can move on to more complex types of squats. On your way to your goal, you can use any of the types of squats suggested above, depending on your needs, circumstances and end result.

Here's what you should know...

Bear walking can be bad and even cause significant damage to your shoulders and lower back. When this exercise is performed at high speed or the approach takes a very long time, then the bear walk * becomes a nightmare for your ligaments, bones and muscles.

Replace the bear walk in your workouts with a technical development walk. Yes, it will make you sweat too.

Running up stairs will turn your joint cartilage into mincemeat. (you will kill your knees). Replace it with lunges with lifting.

Jumping from a push-crouch position to an obstacle will certainly interest you, but speed squats significantly reduce the load on the joints, which, in the end, will leave you on the winning side. (fewer injuries - more productive training approx. lane).

Bodyweight exercises - cardio for the strong?

Nowadays, many strength athletes hate the very idea of a traditional cardiovascular training. Therefore, few people will be surprised by the fact that many types of modern strength training prefer to use high-rep bodyweight exercises (from the so-called "old school" strength training) instead of classic cardio. While the very idea of replacing cardio strength exercises with its own weight looks quite attractive, the exercises chosen often leave many questions.

While bodyweight exercises are gaining more and more popularity around the world, the most popular of these exercises have far more potential for harm and injury than they give you any useful results. Joints, ligaments and tendons in such exercises are subjected to excessive and unnatural stress, which usually does not lead to anything good.

Breakdown exercises

There are much more effective methods increase cardiovascular rate and stimulate the release of anabolic hormones than bodyweight exercises, which we will discuss below. In today's article, we will start with less traumatic ones and go to the most dangerous ones, and at the same time we will tell you about what exercises you can replace these "killers" with.

#3: Bear walk

Get on all fours and move in this position in a straight line has become one of the most popular training crazes of recent times.

Crawling on all fours is one of the most primitive and basic movement patterns of people (small children), which they master to perfection even before they learn to walk on two legs. Moving on all fours can add a lot of variety to our workout routines, allowing us to "go back to basics" to increase our mobility and resilience.

In theory, this "return to basics" sounds great, right? But in reality, it all sounds tempting right up until people actually try to get on all fours and start training!

With our daily, everyday, loads and the position in space familiar to our body, under which our entire support propulsion system, learning to crawl on all fours again will be about as easy as doing a 150-kilogram barbell snatch. Even if you succeed, you risk serious injury in the process.

While the bear gait involves dynamic enough hip and glute work to spare the spine from unnecessary and dangerous stress, few people can, purely physically, master the correct technique of this gait. Improper performance of the exercise will lead to excessive stress on the joints, which will ultimately affect health. lumbar your spine.

That's why your back hurts after doing the bear walk, even though your trainer will convince you that you just haven't gained enough strength for this exercise yet.

In addition to the lower back, a bear walk will also not have the best effect on your shoulders. By increasing the speed of movement and the duration of the exercise, as most “trainers” like to do, the compression load on your joints becomes excessive and the likelihood of serious injury again increases.

Alternative: Controlled gait

The main meaning of this “gait” is that it is based on a simple mechanics of movement that allows you to master it without difficulty and injury.

If you don't feel like you're getting the cardio you need from this type of gait, it's because you haven't tried this lead yet. Slow and well-controlled movements will make you sweat just as if you were "running like a bear", and, of course, without any back pain after the exercise.

#2: Stair Run

Rocky Balboa has been single-handedly responsible for half of all knee joint spending in the world over the past 30 years. You understood everything correctly (and for those who did not understand, here is the video below). Because before the "Italian Stallion", men and women around the world used stairs only for their intended purpose.

I mean, what could be cooler than sprinting up the stairs followed by a victorious look down? I would answer what? for example, the health of the knee joints and the ability to walk in principle. It's good that Rocky is a fictional character, otherwise he would have limped to the local hospital where he had to undergo major knee surgery at the age of 46.

Today, for many people who are already experiencing joint problems in their feet, adding extra incline or stair running can spell disaster. If you don't plan on running stairs more than once a week, you might still be able to avoid serious problems. Otherwise, this whole undertaking will lead to such a serious and painful injury that you yourself will ask someone to just finish you off.

Realize that just because you ran stairs when you were in school or university, it doesn't mean you can run stairs now. And such runs will bring you nothing but injured knees and lower back pain. After a while of training like this, your articular cartilage will look like minced meat, not a functional shock absorber, so it's time to find a replacement!

Alternative: Single Leg Raises

If you do this exercise with full gear and without cheating, then it can be your most productive leg strengthening exercise.

Try to do approaches, each on a separate leg - not alternating, this will add complexity. When you feel a spasm begin in your legs, when the sound of your heartbeat top speed you won't hear your own breathing during the exercise, finish the workout with this weight, and next time take 5 kg more weight.

The load that your knees, hips and back experience when doing this exercise is simply prohibitive!

It is always necessary to approach the implementation of such exercises with special care and caution in order to protect yourself from various injuries. And the more difficult and difficult the exercise, the more attention should be paid to it. Unfortunately, the reality is quite the opposite. Jumping an obstacle is not an exercise that you can do in the background, jumping up and down for 15 minutes and thinking you are doing something good for your health. Like any other plyometric exercise, it cannot be performed for a long time while maintaining the correct technique, form and movement pattern as a whole.

In addition, today, thanks to the growing popularity of the CrossFit trend, the usefulness of any exercise is determined not by what results it gives for your health, but by how "shitty" you feel after doing it. It is for this reason that burpees have become the most popular bodyweight cardio exercise today. It is difficult to find such a traumatic exercise.

Alternative: Quick squats

Quick squats will help you strengthen your joints while minimizing the risk of injury, unlike jumping jacks. Not to mention, they will give you the cardio you need.

Why not combine all these dangerous exercises?

If you're self-destructive but don't want to join CrossFit, why not join the Cardio Boot Camp?

Currently, this community is gaining popularity as one of the forms group training. And it was "Cardio Boot Camp" that combined in its training program all the most dangerous exercises that we talked about above.

Every weekend in city parks, unskilled trainers drill their unfortunate wards under the auspices of the "Cardio Boot Camp". Of course, they have some kind of special program of their own and rather funny ways to exhaust their wards by forcing them to perform all these non-functional and dangerous exercises, but the question remains open - will all these exercises and training lead to anything other than self-affirmation and new injuries?

My personal opinion then great alternative The Cardio Boot Camp program would have been to stay at home on Saturday morning and drink coffee with a decent portion of whipped cream, so at least your spinal discs would remain intact.

Conclusion

Remember proper workouts must comply with three rules, without following them you are just wasting your time, money, energy and health:

Rules:>

1. Training should bring you some positive results.
2. Exercises for training should be chosen so that you can do them in the long term.
3. Training should not harm your health.

When analyzing any exercise that is new to you, think about whether it will harm your health.

Friends! I want to present you a series of four articles, which we decided to dedicate to such a popular exercise as squats.

Indeed, what could be simpler and more effective? Squats help to pump the muscles of the buttocks and the back of the thigh, as well as strengthen the quadriceps. Adding this type of exercise to your routine training program will give not only a tangible visual effect in the form of elastic rounded shapes, but also significantly reduce the likelihood of knee joint injuries.

Also physical exercise in general (and squats, in particular) are an excellent prevention of osteoporosis and other age-related diseases. We have selected for you 40 variations of different squats for you, belonging to four different categories of exercises:

With own weight (without additional equipment).
(explosive fast movements, jumps).
(with dumbbells or barbell).
(on simulators).

Each type of squat is devoted to a separate publication. Now you can enjoy your workout to the fullest!

Bodyweight Squats

Regular squats

Stand straight, put your feet shoulder-width apart, feet parallel, stretch your arms forward with palms down. Look in front of you, keep in suspense. Without changing the position of your arms, bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Strain gluteal muscles as if you were sitting on a chair.

There is a popular belief that when doing squats, the knees should not go forward past the toes. Do not worry too much about following this rule, because, depending on the length of the limbs and flexibility hip joints, the knees can still go further and there is nothing wrong with that. As long as you don't experience pain, everything is fine. Return to starting position.

Have you noticed that one leg is slightly stronger than the other? This is true for most people! By doing squats on one leg, you can even out this muscle imbalance. Get into the starting position for regular squats. Now lift your left leg up, bending your knee slightly. You can move your leg forward or back depending on which position you feel in. Leaning only on the right leg, go down as far as you can. Return to upright position.

Try not to put your left foot on the floor between repetitions. If necessary, you can lean your hand against a chair or wall. Repeat the exercise on the other leg to balance the load.

Squats with pulse

Perform a normal squat, but instead of returning to a standing position, linger in lowest point when the thighs are parallel to the floor. Make three small quick springy movements of the pelvis up and down a few centimeters.

If you want to impress people at the gym or at a party, or just make the most of it, learn how to make a gun. This exercise is not easy to master, but its results are really impressive.

Stand up straight and stretch your arms forward with your palms down. Shift your body weight onto your right leg, and lift your straight left leg in front of you parallel to the floor and arms. Slowly squat down on your right leg until your thighs touch your heel. At the bottom, the left leg should be a few centimeters above the floor. Congratulations - you've completed the easy part of the exercise!

And now your task is to get back up, trying not to fall and not put your left foot on the floor. This exercise is only suitable for people who are in excellent condition. physical form. If you are just a beginner athlete for now, you can use this exercise for inspiration, and do simpler options. The pistol squat is really hard!

Squats "on a chair"

The fact that this exercise is called "chair" does not mean that you can take a chair and happily sit on it. Stand up straight, put your feet together. Sit down with your hips back until your thighs are parallel to the floor, as if you were sinking into a chair. Stretch your arms up for balance. Further, you can return to the starting position or complicate your task and stay in the “sitting” position for a few seconds.

Squats "on a chair" on toes

An advanced version of the previous exercise. Stand straight with your feet together and rise up on your toes. Stretch your arms out in front of you parallel to the floor. Lower your hips into an imaginary chair, and balance with your hands, lifting them up. The main task is to stay on your toes and not fall. Get up slowly.

Those who think that squats are too boring will be happy with this exercise. Stand up straight, put your feet together, and spread your arms to the sides. Now lift your right leg and clasp your left leg with your foot, clasp the back of your left shin with your foot.

If you can't do this, just place your right thigh on top of your left thigh. Now bring your hands in front of you so that the right elbow is under the left, and bend your elbows. The forearms should be together. Now try to sit down. If you keep a good balance, then you can quite do it.

If someone is shamelessly having fun, tell him that pretzels are your favorite food. Of course, if you can speak in this position. Well, if you didn’t understand anything written above and got confused in your own limbs, just look at this picture.

Black Swan fans, take note. Stand up straight, heels together, toes apart. Keeping your hips back, bend your knees and sit straight down as deep as you can. Heels at the lowest point can be torn off the floor. Return to starting position. A ballet tutu is a must for this exercise!

Can this exercise be called a squat? Or is it rather? Maybe a tie? It doesn’t sound like much ... This exercise perfectly works out the muscles of the supporting leg and at the same time serves to stretch the free leg.

Stand straight with feet together, knees slightly bent. Now lift your right leg up, bend it at the knee and place your ankle on the knee of your left leg. Slowly, so as not to lose balance, squat on your left leg until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Try not to twist your hips to one side or the other. Get up slowly. Repeat on the other leg.

Begin this squat in a sumo position. The legs should be spread wide, and the socks should be turned outward. Pull your hips back and squat to a right angle at the knees. Tighten your gluteal muscles. Return to a standing position.

For more coolness and an increase in the load on the hips and buttocks, do a sumo squat while standing on your toes. Try not to lower your heels to the floor throughout the movement.

Buttocks to heels

Stand straight, put your legs together, stretch your arms forward with your palms down. Bend your knees and lower yourself down until your heels touch. During this exercise, the heels will involuntarily come off the ground, and the knees will move forward far beyond the level of the toes.

You are doing everything right! At the bottom point, lower your hands to the floor, slightly supporting yourself. Return to starting position.

Cross leg squat

Stand up straight, feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips. Now take your right leg back and to the left. Squat on both legs. Both knees should be bent at a right angle. Keep your weight on your front foot. Return to original.

Twist Squat

Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Do a regular squat. As you come out of the squat, lift your right knee and, twisting your body, reach your left elbow with your knee. Repeat on the other leg.

So, before you is a complete and varied workoutconsisting of squats alone. By doing these exercises regularly, you will achieve truly amazing results!

Bodyweight training is the most effective and affordable way to develop strength and endurance. If desired, such exercises can be performed almost anywhere, which means there are no strict frameworks that involve visiting the gym at a certain time, which may not always be convenient due to work or study schedules. In addition, bodyweight exercises are the safest, because the goal of such training is not to achieve significant strength results, as in heavy movements with a barbell, dumbbells or on simulators, but to strengthen all muscle groups with the development of their strength and athletic appearance.

Here are 5 the best exercises for work with own weight:

Pushups. Effectively developing the shoulder girdle, pectoral muscles and triceps, push-ups are also great for strengthening core stabilizing muscles like the abs and lower back. Different variations of push-ups allow you to focus on specific tasks. For example, if you do push-ups in the usual mode, consisting of 4 sets of 15-30 repetitions in each, then basic development chest, shoulder girdle, triceps and core muscles (cortex). But if you combine the performance of three different types of push-ups: with a wide setting of hands, with medium and narrow hands into one triset or superset (two types are combined), then the intensity of such training will increase significantly and the impact, in addition to physical indicators, will already spread to the fat-burning effect and the promotion of metabolism, more about it here. Naturally, when combining different options, the number of repetitions in each of them is reduced in order to normally perform the entire triset.

During push-ups, the back is kept completely straight.

Bodyweight Squats. Exercise to develop leg strength, endurance and strengthen the cardiovascular system. Bodyweight squats are a great alternative to all kinds of leg exercises. This is a simple and very effective movement. the best way works if you squat with full amplitude, that is, sit down as deep as possible. The pace of movement should not be too fast or too slow. Repetitions are done with average speed without stopping at the top or bottom of the amplitude. Squat - inhale, rise - exhale. The number of repetitions and sets each chooses according to well-being. It is better to use the principle of progression and start with small results, trying to find your rhythm and remember the technique of movement. Gradually, as strength and endurance increase, the number of repetitions and sets increases. For a change, you can sometimes supplement regular squats with jumps at the moment of lifting from the squat, which will significantly complicate the set and make it much more intense.

Pull-ups. An excellent basic exercise that develops latissimus dorsi back and biceps. If you regularly perform pull-ups from childhood, then this, as a rule, affects the formation of a wider shoulder girdle and an increase in height. To increase the effectiveness of pull-ups, they can be done three different grips in turn. For example, start with wide grip, then, after resting for 60-90 seconds, continue with an average grip, and perform the third approach narrow grip palms towards you. To enhance the study of muscles at the end of each approach, you need to linger at the top point for 5-10 seconds.

Bulgarian split squats. This type of squat is difficult and requires enough leg strength to complete at least 6 reps with each leg, as there is little point in doing too few reps. Therefore, before embarking on Bulgarian lunges, it is important to develop the basic strength of the legs and consolidate the technique of performing regular squats. Due to the fact that each leg is worked out alternately here, the exercise belongs to the category of those movements that can eliminate the developmental imbalance. individual groups muscles, in this case the quadriceps of the right or left leg. Ideally, the number of repetitions should be at least 8-10, you can squat both with your own body weight and with a little extra. Lunges load the knees, so heavy weight is contraindicated here. In addition to targeting the quads, Bulgarian split squats strengthen the buttocks and lower back, as well as improve posture and coordination.

Abs roller exercise. This, in fact, is a more advanced modification of the “bar”, except that in the “bar” the position of the body remains motionless for a certain time, and here, due to the roller, movements are made - rolling out (roller away from you) and twisting (roller towards you). Exercise with a roller has an extremely powerful effect on the abdominal muscles and lower back, so a thorough warm-up is necessary before performing them directly. To begin with, it is better to do rolling out from the knees, and when the strength of the press and lower back increase, then gradually move on to rolling out from the starting position while standing on straight legs.