Written By: Upneet Pansare | Published : November 13, 2018 6:06 PM IST
Image credits by: Have you tried box squats? ©Shutterstock
One of the most popular exercises, squats are very beneficial to tone and strengthen your lower body which includes your glutes, quads, hamstrings, lower back and calves. Squats are also good for improving your balance. You may be aware of regular squats. Here are some squat variations you can try.
Goblet squats
The goblet squat targets your thighs and your hips while revving up your metabolism and it will help strengthen your core while you work the muscles of your hips and back. Doing this several times also increases your heart beat and helps you burn calories.
How to do goblet squats
Hold a dumbbell vertically in front of your chest and stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Slowly bend your knees and push your hips back to lower into a squat. When you bend your knees, your elbows should be brushing inside the sides of your knees.
Push yourself back to complete one repetition.
Complete two sets of 15 repetitions of this exercise.
Sumo squats
Sumo squat will target your quadriceps, glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, inner thighs and calves.
To do sumo squats
Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart. Keep your hands by the sides of your body and turn your toes out to 45 degrees.
Bend your knees and hips and lower yourself down as you raise your hands to meet your chin. Ensure that you keep your back straight and your abs tight and do not let your knees move past your toes while you lower your body. Lower till your thighs are parallel to the floor and slowly rise to complete one repetition. Start with eight repetitions of sumo squats and move on to doing more once you are comfortable with it.
Box squats
These help to strengthen the lower body muscles to support lifestyle movements.
To do box squats
Keep feet pointed slightly outward. The knee should not cross the toe level while attempting box squat. To keep your back upright, one would need to keep their arms straight, slightly above shoulder level. This can also help improve any posture issues with regards to thoracic spine mobility. The box squat is done to improve the squat posture. Hence, you need to go down and touch the bench, box or chair (whatever you use) while doing the squat, and not sit on it.
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