5 Reasons You Should Do Squats Every Day

Squats are known as one of the best strength-training exercises you can do, not just because of their physical benefits, but because you can do them every day from the comfort of your own home. It’s easy to fit a squat routine into your schedule. You don’t need any additional machinery, equipment, or accessories to do squats.

Of course, if you’re accustomed to the exercise and have a routine going with weights, that’s just as GR8. If you’re not, no worries, all you need is your own body and a little bit of space (the right clothes and footwear help too). Squats help with strength training, but the benefits go far beyond just working your muscles. Keep reading to find out why.

Five Reasons Why You Should Do Squats Every Day

Squats are a lower-body workout that focuses on the major muscles in your legs, such as your quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes. But did you know squats can help more than just your legs?

1) Increase Your Metabolism

Strength training, which includes squats, can help increase your metabolism. Strength training and the increase of lean muscle in our bodies helps lead to a boost in metabolism. You’ll be able to burn off calories faster, and even improve your resting metabolic rate. All those squats won’t just help your legs. They’ll help your whole body.

2) Increase Joint Strength

As you put weight on your lower extremities with squats, not only do you engage your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, but you’ll also be training the joints in your ankles, knees, and hips. Repeated exercise leads to the strengthening of the joints, and can help avoid injuries in the future. This can be helpful to individuals who have arthritis, as long as the exercise is done correctly, and can help prevent joint degeneration in individuals without any current chronic problems.

3) Improve Your Cardio Efficiency

Strength-training is just one part of your fitness journey; everyone needs some cardio in their lives. Aerobic exercise, or “cardio” as it’s commonly called, has been referred to as “the best” workout for heart health. It can lead to lowered blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Where do squats come into play? Cardio, which includes activities such as running, bicycling, and swimming, relies on your lower body strength to keep your legs going. Increase your lower body strength, and you’ll increase your cardio efficiency.

4) Improve Your Posture

Performing squats correctly can take a while to learn, because they require a very particular posture. Once you’ve mastered the posture, which includes keeping your back straight, your feet and knees at the right positioning, and then holding the position for the duration of your routine, you’ll notice that after a while you start to maintain a better posture throughout the day. In the long-run, squats can help with back pain.

5) Create Definition in Your Legs

We know you’ve been waiting for this one, GR8NESS readers. A lot of people perform squats with the goal of toning and defining their legs and buttocks. Squats are the perfect exercise for this, as they engage all the key muscles simultaneously. Do squats every day, and you’ll see a difference in the definition of your legs.

Getting Into a Routine

Since you don’t need a gym to do squats, you can start your routine right at home- today! Once you start, don’t quit. If you’re beginning, it’s recommended that you start with twenty squats a day as you gradually increase your strength and ability to do more. Once you’re ready, add weights to your routine to maximize your strength gains.

Physical fitness is an integral part of maintaining our overall well-being. If you need a nudge, find a workout buddy or speak with a personal trainer. Whatever you do, don’t quit. We believe in you.