The Squat: Simply The Best Exercise For Muscle Gain
Truly, squats are the most difficult, intimidating, and painful exercise for muscle building that you could even start to think of performing.
You need major discipline and willpower to do them right.
You’ll know exactly what I’m talking about once you have performed a set of squats to failure.
Even from a technical viewpoint, this exercise for muscle building is difficult to master.
Ultimately, squats are THE most effective, growth-inducing exercise for muscle building that you can do.
They can add more size and strength to your lower body than any other exercise for muscle building out there, and since their level of difficulty is so high, they encourage your body to produce higher amounts of anabolic hormones like growth hormone and testosterone.
Muscle size is added onto your entire upper body as well, thanks to the increased secretion of hormones.
Plus, this exercise for muscle building leads to a “spillover effect” that translates into a strength gain in almost all of your other exercises.
When I began performing squats to failure, I noticed an almost overnight increase in the amount that I could bench press-a whopping 20 pounds more.
Your search for the best exercise for muscle building ends with the squat.
In a nutshell-it works.
Unfortunately, there are several lifters who have not yet sought the many bonuses that come from heavy squatting.
But too many lifters will make any excuse they can to avoid the squat rack.
The old “Squats are too hard on my knees” or “I heard they stunt your growth” is an all too common excuse.
What do I say about that?
That’s BS.
If you workout because you want to make the most of your body muscle gain opportunities, exercise for muscle building is critical.
Proper Squatting Technique
Stay safe by doing your squats in a cage or power rack.
This gives you the ability to set the height at which you clear the bar, not to mention the ability to drop the bar on those safety pins if you need to.
Set the J Hooks at roughly the level of your nipples, and put the safety pins just below the depth you are squatting to.
Here’s the form you need to maintain during a squat: your head should be pulled back, your chest raised, and you should have a slight arch in your lower back.
Keep your gaze straight ahead and not up or down, and ensure that you don’t lean too far forward.
Grasp the bar with both hands, maintaining the same width as in a bench press.
The bar should sit evenly along your traps before clearing.
When you place the bar, it needs to rest across the lower portion of your traps and your rear delts.
It might feel like it’s about to roll off your back.
Clear the bar and then take the necessary amount of steps backwards.
Believe it or not, most squat injuries occur when backing up, so make sure that you only back up as far as is necessary.
As for your feet, they should be about shoulder width apart, pointing at a 45-degree angle.
With a deep breath, descend.
Your motion is not lowering yourself straight down; rather, it should be as if you’re about to sit on a chair.
Make sure your knees remain in line with your feet and don’t bow in.
Get those thighs parallel to the ground as you lower down!
As soon as you’ve reach this position, start ascending.
Do not keep yourself in that bottom position!
Use your legs and back to return to the upright position as quickly as possible.
When you reach the upright position, take another deep breath and continue the exercise until you complete the required number of reps.
In Conclusion.
Get into the squat rack-it’s the best thing you can do for your body.
If you treat this lift with respect, you will be surprised at the amazing muscle gains.
My advice is that you perform 2 sets of squats (5 to 7 reps each) once a week.
You need to focus on pushing yourself hard with this exercise for muscle building and constantly add more reps and weight.
Want to double your workout’s effectiveness? Here is a quick trick borrowed from Arnold. See link below.
By Don Demarco. Don is a fitness coach and writer. Have you been misled by these popular fitness myths? Don debunks them at Men’s Workout Heaven Are you self sabotaging your results with a wrong mindset? Here is a simple mental trick borrowed from Arnold that will supercharge your muscle building: Men’s Workout Videos
Related posts:
- Top Exercise For Muscle Building: The Squat
- How To Squat For Better Results
- Different Ways To Squat For Better Results
- 7 Exercises You Will Need for The Most Effective Weight Training Exercise Program
- Muscle Building Workouts, How To Exercise Your Shoulders
- The 3 Core Muscle Building Exercises You should be Doing
- Weight Lifting Programs – Which One Is the Greatest and What Exercises to Use
- How To Gain Weight Through Exercise And Discipline
- Tips To Help You Gain Muscle Mass
- Weight Training for Women – 7 Exercises to Lose Fat and Be Strong as Soon as Possible