What You Need to Know about Gaining Weight and Squatting
More than any other exercise, squats are the best exercise for building mass and gaining weight. Not surprisingly many guys don’t do them. They aren’t usually a favorite lift for those in the gym. Why is that? Well there are several reasons. For one they are a difficult exercise. They also aren’t an upper body exercise and most women don’t typically drool over a guy who has big legs. There’s also a lot of wrong information out there about squats being bad for your knees and back.
The reality is however squats that are done correctly are great for you! There really is no other exercise that gives you the benefits that squats do. What many guys don’t understand is that squatting causes your body to produce testosterone. This will naturally cause you to build more muscle which in turn makes it easier to burn fat. Your upper body is also utilized far more than people realize when squatting. Not only are you working your core muscles to support the weight on the bar but you also use your back and arms. This is partially why they are such a difficult exercise. As you increase the weight when you squat your upper body will be forced to adapt to support the weight and therefore grow bigger and stronger.
Bottom line if you’re not squatting you need to start. You must follow proper form or you can get injured. I recommend starting off extremely light to work on technique and to start strengthening your stabilizer muscles then start adding weight very slowly but consistently. Start out by doing 5 sets of 5-6 reps. (after you have done 2 warm up sets) Don’t over do it to start with. Remember this is about consistency so you don’t want to injure yourself or make yourself so sore that you can’t work out for a week.
Proper form is absolutely key especially with an exercise like squats. If you feel knee pain or back pain chances are you are not doing them correctly. Make sure that as you squat your feet are slightly wider than shoulder width. Point your toes out just a little bit. Look straight ahead. Keep your back straight. Squat down to where your thighs are parallel to the floor (you can go a little deeper than this if you desire but go to parallel as a minimum). Keep your knees behind the tips of your toes then push up.
Again, start out light. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Focus first on technique and on building up the support muscles before you start going heavy. Make sure that you are squatting safely using proper equipment such as a squat cage with safety bars and safety clamps in place. If possible have someone spot you.
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