Two Ways You Can Make Squats Fun and Memorable
Editor’s note: This is a guest post/workout routine from Josh Morrow who can be found at Muscle Bits, a strength training and nutrition blog.
Squats can be fun? Yeah, right, who am I kidding? Now that I’ve got your attention, let’s cut to the chase. Deep within the archives of fitness history, I’ve come across two lost but not forgotten ways you can make squats a little more interesting. Not to mention, both will absolutely kill your legs, and if you are stuck in a plateau, you’ll blast through it with these techniques. On to the good stuff, shall we?
1. One and a Half Squats. Just as the name reads, you’ll perform one and a half squats per rep. To put it simply, squat down as you normally would, but when you are on your way back up, stop midway, hold for three or four seconds, and return back to the bottom. Ascend back to the top position and congratulate yourself, you have ten more of these. Try to remember care bears and cookie monsters or you will shout every four letter curse word in the book.
Now, for safety purposes, you will need to choose a lighter weight that you can handle because this will completely cook you. Too much weight and you’ll find yourself flattened across the gym floor. Also, I highly recommend you recruit a spotter from the water fountain if you haven’t got one. You may find that this exercise is best suited as a finishing move in your leg workout. The premise behind One and a Half Squats is greater fiber recruitment. By keeping the leg muscles under constant tension, you will recruit both Fast Twitch A and Fast Twitch B fibers for greater muscle development and strength. Expect soaring testosterone levels following this exercise (for men, obviously).
2. The Twenty Repper. The Twenty Repper technique is simple. Normal, full-range squats performed at twenty reps. Twenty reps of love. The only twist you will add to this: you choose a weight that you can lift for ten reps. You will want to make sure you have a spotter though, in case you lose control of the weight. The idea here is that you (or your partner’s shouting in your ear will) push yourself beyond the limits of fatigue to put additional stress on the muscles. Similar to the phenomenon experienced with One and a Half Squats, you will recruit more fibers and surge your testosterone through the roof.
As sadistic as these two methods may seem, I can assure that you’ll leave the gym knowing you are primed for growth. You may want to plan on sitting around or at least stretching for the next few days because you are going to have one sore butt. Have fun and remember to lift responsibly!
Funny you mention this Israel. I just came from the gym after working out my legs. I decided to do my squads as usual. 10 reps and that’s it.
Even though the 10 reps kill me, I’ll try 20 reps with a bit lighter weight next time, see how they effect me.
Thanks for the heads up.
Try this one on for size – the one-legged squat! It’s a killer, extremely hard to do at first. If you can get to 10 with each leg, then pick up a set of 25s and try it. You’ll never look at squats the same way again
I’ve done that. I challenge it was indeed. Did that sound like Yoda talking….?
I’ve got another method. However, you will need a child between 18 month and 4 years old- preferably your own. Start from a deep squat position with your hands under the child’s armpits and as you explode upward with your legs swing your arms up propelling the child about a foot into the air. Catch the child, and return to the starting position. Repeat 10-20 times- although the child will probably insist on one more rep no matter how many reps you perform.
The squeals of laughter and joy from the child tend to make the exercise more enjoyable. 😉
BTW swing by my blog Israel, I just posted an extensive review of my exercise and nutrition for Monday, May 26th. I think you might enjoy it. I’ve started keeping all my records in a simple Excel spreadsheet method.
That does sounds fun for my daughter. Will do.
DON’T DROP HER! The hardest part is being able to say no when you get too tired to continue. Better safe than sorry.
I was afraid of that. She is nearly 40 lbs, so this should be fun. I will try and get it on video for ya to see.
That is what my three year old daughter weighs. I am usually winded by the tenth rep and unable to continue by the fifteenth. Then I take a five minute rest and repeat with about the same results.
A medicine ball might be a good starting point, though it will not giggle…
HAHA. No it won’t giggle but you will still get a workout.
I need to get into doing more with the legs. Burpees is the main thing my legs see, unfortunately. Glad to see you have adsense back, not sure how long they were gone.
Working out your legs is crucial man, burpees helps though.
I also run stairs (though that might not really count). There might be some other things I do… Will have to think about it.
For me, I have never enjoyed doing squats. Very seldom do I do them, this is bad news hehe
Squats are not just for your legs, its a total body workout.
Ohh! Great tips! I’m going to try it out. I just found you’re blog and it’s not going to be the last time! 🙂
Nice post. I prefer the second way.
Great article Israel. I have a love-hate relationship with squats. I hate doing them but I love the results!
Your ‘one and a half squats’ idea sounds horrible (but I imagine they’d be horribly effective at the same time)! I guess I’m just a bit too soft…lol
Wasn’t really my idea, it was Muscle Bits…that lunatic!
Lol, well cheers for sharing it.
You are welcome.
I do the one and a half squats. Put simply…they hurt! But they no doubt prime you for growth! Squats are essential for muscle growth for your entire body because they enable your body to release more testosterone than any other exercise.
Spoking like someone who knows what he’s talking about. Right on.
WOW. I think the second way is really fun.
Good exercises. Is it true that doing let squats increases your testosterone levels?
They certainly do!
yes…it is.
It certainly is. Also deadlifts are good metabolic boosters to use in your workout mix as well.
Nothing like the big 3 (squat, deadlift, bench) to build a rock solid body. For endurance i cycle cause i like would like my joints to work for my whole life 🙂
I agree. Those 3 were big for us in high school and continue to be now.
These are some great ideas! I’ve never really tried any “burnout” types of routines for my legs (besides running sprints). I’ll have to try these out!
Ryan, you won’t be able to walk right or a few days. But that’s a good thing.
Thanks for the tips. Squats are one of the kinds of workouts that I absolutely dread doing. My thighs are fairly strong though and I can handle a few reps everytime I do some lower body workouts. Great blog btw! Keep up the great work.