I'm going to reveal to you one of the best tips I learned from a great friend of mine.

Here it is... Squats!

The story starts off with me complaining about some extra body fat that I just could not seem to get rid of. I had been running on the treadmill quite a bit the few weeks before but it wasn't working for me. My friend suggested I try changing up my workout by adding squats to my workout routine. Now to tell you the truth, up until this point in time, I had rarely worked out my legs aside from running and doing the Stairmaster machine. I was in for a treat.

Now for those of you who don't know what a squat is, I'll spend a bit of time describing the exercise. It's a compound lower body exercise that focuses largely, but not exclusively, on the quadriceps and the glutes (that's science talk for thighs and butt). You place a barbell across the back of the shoulders and descend in a sitting motion into a crouch or squatting position, bending the knees. Hence the name: squats. There are many different variations of the squats which I won't go into here as that can be a whole other article on its own, but as an example, you can change the focus and target muscles just by changing to a close, shoulder, or wide stance. So basically, with a weight on your back, squat down, stand up but don't lock your knees, and repeat. Put in the effort to keep your heels on the ground, to maintain balance. If you feel your legs burning with joy, congratulate yourself. You're one step closer to a beach body and you are going to learn to love that sore muscles feeling all the bodybuilders crave.
Now you must be wondering: why are squats so great and how are they going to help me lose weight? I'm so glad you asked.

• Firstly, your legs are a pretty much half of your body. In fact, your thighs are the biggest muscle in your body! This means when you do your squats, you're going to use up a lot of energy and energy = Calories!
• Working out your legs will also make your legs stronger so you will perform well in any activity requiring leg strength. It will also make your legs more firm and toned. Who doesn't want a pair of great legs?
• Squats are a great cardio exercise, especially if you're doing a very high number of repetitions. Give it a try and monitor your heart rate. You'll be surprised as you feel your heart rate jump up to speeds on par with the rate you get when sprinting.
• During resistance training, studies have shown that our bodies naturally increase testosterone and growth hormones. This increase is more significant when squatting. This is beneficial because it promotes muscle growth throughout the rest of our body and not just our legs! We want muscle growth because the more lean muscle we have, the less flabby we look and the higher our metabolisms are. And don't even worry about turning into a huge muscle head body builder. It's VERY difficult to become big and bulky. It takes years of planning, eating, and dedication to become like that.

Now here are some squatting tips you can take to the gym.

• Make sure that you go for depth. You want to get as low as you can get at the bottom, and stand as high as you can up at the top. Never use a weight that you cannot handle. I see a lot of people using more weight than they should. They only go down about 4 inches and come back up. From afar it looks as if they aren't even moving. I rather you use less weights and do a full squat than use heavy weight and do a third of a squat.


• Place the bar on the back of the shoulders across the trapezius muscles region. Use a cushion on the bar to reduce pressure on the neck area.



• Keep your motions controlled and use proper form. You don't want to hurt your knees, your back, your neck, or any part of yourself for that matter.


• Use a spotter (someone to watch you), and make sure you use a squat rack equipped with safety bars in case your legs decide they've had enough. It's always best to keep safety in mind when doing any type of exercise, and this one is no different.

Never allow your body to get used to a workout. It's a good practice to change your workout every so often to keep your muscles confused. That way your muscles will always be working it's hardest to keep up with the exercises you throw at it. This will ensure your progress and eliminate your chance of hitting a plateau.

• Power / Heavy / Low rep - use the heaviest weights you can mange to do a squat with (with a spotter of course). Aim for 6 sets of 3-6 reps each


• Endurance / Moderate / High rep - use a moderate weight, something you are completely comfortable lifting for maximum reps. Aim for 5 sets of 20 reps each


• Explosive / Light / High rep - use lighter weights, control your speed on the way down and give each rep a small hop on the way up. It helps to have a cushion to reduce impact on the back. A towel works just as well. Aim for 6 sets of 10-15 reps each.


• Stability / Medium light / Low rep - exactly like a kung fu horse stance, squat down halfway and hold the pose when your legs reach the 90 degree angle. Hold the rep for as long as you can.

Make sure to have a healthy, high protein meal as soon as you can, following a workout - especially after doing something as intense as squats. Without proper nutrients your body cannot repair its muscles, so eat your vegetables and bottoms up with the protein shake!

Remember, I don't care what the infomercials on late night TV say, doing crunches and using special machines won't get rid of stomach flab. Spot reduction is a very common myth and the only way to get rid of unwanted fat in a particular area is to get rid of fat everywhere. In other words increase your lean muscle mass and lower your body fat percentage by eating healthy and exercising regularly. Get your metabolism high and it will work FOR you - not AGAINST you. The higher your metabolism, the more calories your body naturally consumes daily, the more fat your body will burn away.

So there you have it boys and girls. That's how you effectively and efficiently use the largest muscle group in your body to promote lean muscle growth, raise your metabolism, and get rid of those bad boy love handles.

For more information and other great exercise tips, visit http://www.HowtoGetRidofLoveHandlesBlog.com From the How to Get Rid of Love Handles Blog 2009

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