Want to Gain Weight? Squat!
By far the best exercise for building muscle is squatting. You may cringe at the thought of squatting. Let’s face it, most guys hate squatting because they are difficult to do, women don’t normally care much about a guys legs, they aren’t an upper body workout, there’s a lot of incorrect information about squats being bad for your back or knees, etc. You can probably come up with a few other excuses not to do squats.
Having said all that, let me now tell you the reality of squatting. Squats that are done properly are great. They are not bad for your back or knees. Even though squats aren’t considered an upper body exercise when you squat you have to use your core muscles, your arms and your back. As you increase the weight of your squats your upper body is forced to adapt to help support the weight. This means that squatting will cause these muscles to grow bigger and stronger. Squatting also causes your body to produce testosterone. This alone helps you build muscle substantially.
If you’ve been trying to build muscle but haven’t been squatting then you need to start right away. It’s imperative that you use proper form. I suggest you start out very light. Focus first on technique and get those stabilizer muscles used to supporting a little weight. Once your form is perfect slowly add some weight. Continue to add weight consistently. Perform a couple warm up sets first then do 5 sets of 5-6 reps to start with. Make sure that you don’t over do it right off the bat. Doing so can lead to injury or could cause you to be so sore that you won’t be able to work out for 2 weeks.
Form is of most importance when you squat. If you do them incorrectly you may experience knee or back pain. Follow these tips: Look straight forward. Spread your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart. Point your toes out just a little. Keep your back straight. Squat so that your legs are slightly past parallel keeping your knees behind your toes.
Don’t allow your ego to prevent you from starting out light. It really is important to get the support muscles ready before you expose them to heavy weights. You also need to make sure your form is perfect before trying to go heavy. Always use safety bars and safety clips when performing squats. Get someone to spot you as you increase the weight.
Regardless if you’re new to bodybuilding or are simply looking for some new strategies to get you past a plateau GainWeightQuick.com is an excellent resource. It has excellent information on learning how to gain weight by building muscle and strength.