Could this simple move be your new best friend?
AKA What have squats ever done for us?
Rather like the Romans, you'd be surprised some of the ways that squats can improve your life.
And maybe you've never considered befriending an exercise like this, but I promise you that making squats your new BFF will bring you benefits.
1. Squats improve your ability to stay in your home as you age:
Nobody wants to be the frail old lady who can't go up and down stairs; walk to the shops; drive a car; or even get up out of a chair. And we'd all like to imagine ourselves staying independent in our own homes for as long as possible.
But to maintain our independence and keep doing all the things, we need lower body strength.
Squats strengthen your glutes (butt) and leg muscles (quads at the front of the thigh, and hamstrings at the back of your thigh) - that's to say, all the muscles you need to keep walking, climbing stairs, driving and getting out of a chair!
2. Squats improve your body's ability to manage glucose
When you perform squats, large thigh and glute muscles act like sponges, pulling glucose out of your bloodstream to use as fuel, which directly lowers blood sugar levels.
Doing squats regularly also makes your cells more sensitive to insulin so when it's released by the pancreas, glucose is moved more efficiently from your blood to your cells (And not to forget that insulin insensitivity is a pre-cursor to diabetes).
And by building muscle, you're also providing a place for glucose to be stored for later use which means you experience fewer sugar spikes after meals.
3. Squats reduce your risks of injury - particularly around knees!
Muscle in your thighs, hamstrings and butt act as a shock absorber so that the two bones that make up the joint don't rub together as much and your knees stay happier.
And this holds true as both a risk mitigation strategy to avoid getting arthritis in your joints AND as a way to manage osteoarthritis if you already have it.
4. Squats help you to get up from and down to the floor
Because you're using the same muscles!
We all want to be able to get down on the floor - whether that's doing stuff round our house or garden; or playing with kids/ grand kids - AND be able to get back up again.
How should you squat?
I started writing a whole big description...and then I thought, nah, what you need is someone showing you how to do it.
I'm too lazy to set up my camera, so I've linked below to a YouTube video of someone else doing it!
How often should you squat?
We should be aiming to lift weights a couple of times every week. But honestly, you can add squats every day.
Squat while you're waiting for the kettle to boil to break up a session of sitting.
Squat after dinner to help manage your blood sugar levels.
Squat while you're cleaning your teeth. In fact, why not double it up with some balance work? Squat and, as you stand, squeeze one leg to the side. Ding, ding ding!
How does Pilates help my squats?
Great question, thank you for asking!
Any of the exercises where we're bending and straightening our knees will help you build that "mind-muscle" link to do the move well.
And, as you well know, Pilates generally helps you build a better awareness of where your body is in space ("proprioception") so you can do everything else with good technique.
Well, I hope this has convinced you to make friends with the humble squat!
Got questions or comments? Or maybe you're interested in joining us on Friday mornings online for lots of lovely squats in Strength & Stretch? If that's you, hit me up with an email and let's get you in class
Watch this:
Diary of a CEO with Vonda Wright This interview is between Steven Bartlett and Vonda Wright, who's an orthopedic surgeon. It's a 2 hour investment of time, but there's a breakdown of the many topics covered included, so you can skip to bits that most interest you.
if you can watch it all, do! I found the two hours just flew past - she covers topics from aging well to the "Musculo-Skeletal Symptoms of Menopause" and frozen shoulder!
