The Queen of all Exercises

In chess, the King is kind of a loser.

It can only move one space at a time. It always needs protecting.

When in a conflict, it typically runs away. After the pawn, it‘s the weakest piece on the board.

We all know who the real ruler of the chess game is - The Queen.

Now that is serious kick-ass ability. And that‘s why we’re going to call the best, most powerful, most beneficial exercise in the world:

The Queen of All Exercises.

I now introduce you to the Queen of your strength training program:

The Squat.

Of all the the weight lifting exercises we can do, nothing gives us more benefit than squatting.

The amount of muscles it activates, amount of bones it loads, the fullness of range of motion it goes through, and the strength it creates make it the most superior strength exercise on the planet.

It’s also the lift that’s most avoided in the weight training world because...... it’s damn hard to do.

Squatting not only takes a lot of physical effort, it also takes serious mental and emotional guts.

Putting crushing amounts of weight across your shoulders, then dropping your butt down close to the floor, only to push it all back up again, is something most muscle bound gym ‘Bros’ avoid.

If squatting is so hard, why do it?

Because with the greatest of efforts, comes the greatest rewards.

Squatting is so good for us, that regular application of this exercise alone can transform our 2nd 50 years.

Any strength training program that excludes the squat is a waste of time, and makes me wonder what the hell the developer of that program was thinking.

That’s how good the squat is.

Let’s look at the 2nd 50 Strong criteria and see how squatting fairs.

Simple?

Squatting down to a seated position and standing back up is all it is. There are no surprises here, but there is a right and wrong way to do it. The squat will never get more complicated, and using a barbell allows the exercise to adapt to your specific body size and shape.

Safe?

Your body is designed to squat. Your ancestors have been doing it since the day they walked this earth. This is a slow, steady, measured movement that you will be in total control of. Once you learn the proper technique, the weight goes up in small increments that you can handle.

Short?

I get my squat routine done in less than 30 minutes.

There we go.

Passed all three.

There are too many versions of squats out there. Front squats, Back squats, Sumo squats, Goblet squats, High bar squats, Low bar squats, Bulgarian split squats.......

I’ve tried, and studied most of them. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Low bar back squats rule, and they fit our 2nd 50 Strong program best.

But first, we start out with a regular old body weight squat.

With a wooden dowel.

All of us.

Don’t smirk.

The biggest problem we’ll encounter with these Core 4 exercises, is doing them the wrong way.

Their simplicity is a blessing and a curse.

The blessing is we all can learn to squat properly. The curse is some won’t think they need to learn to do them properly.

Bad form = eventual injury.

Not in this house.

After mastering the body weight squat, we’re ready to load it.