How Many Squats Should I Do a Day?
A Beginner’s Guide
A beginner needs to start with less than 10 reps per set. If you are not used to doing squats, then it will take some time before your muscles adapt to the new movement pattern. You need to increase the number of repetitions gradually until you reach 20 or 30 reps per set. After that, you can go up from there depending on your fitness level and strength levels.
You can choose between three ways to perform squats:
1) Using dumbbells.
Dumbbells are very easy to use and they allow you to concentrate on other parts of your workout. They also make it easier for beginners because they don’t require much strength and coordination. However, if you want to improve your technique, then using barbells would be better since they require more strength and coordination.
2) Using free weights.
Free weights include any kind of resistance such as bars, plates, cables, machines etc. These types of resistance are usually used by athletes and bodybuilders. They allow you to train at higher intensity which is great for building muscle mass. However, they tend to burn more calories than dumbbells so it is best to avoid them when trying to lose weight.
3) Doing single leg exercises like lunges or step ups while performing squats.
This is good for training your legs but it requires more balance and coordination. This makes it harder to master compared to the other two methods.
A Beginners Guide To Exercises
For some, the gym can be a confusing place. There are so many different types of equipment that it is hard to know where to begin. This article will give you a basic introduction to some of the major pieces of equipment that you will encounter in most gyms.
We will start from the ground up. You need to pick out some good shoes. This may sound like a strange thing to say but you are much more likely to suffer an injury if you don’t wear proper footwear. There are many different types of footwear available for use in the gym and these have been designed specifically for different activities.
For the big exercises such as Squats and Deadlifts you need to wear sturdy, flat soled shoes. If you don’t you are likely to slip and injure yourself. Tennis shoes are not ideal for these exercises, they may be comfortable but they provide no support or stability at all. You need a pair of weight lifting shoes.
Straight Barbells
The next most important pieces of equipment for weight training are barbells. Without these you can’t do the big powerlifting exercises or the core weight training exercises like the Bench Press. Barbells come in several different types. You have the option of a straight bar, which is simply a bar of varying lengths.
Alternatively you could get a ‘EZ Curl Bar’ (pictured right), which as the name suggests is particularly easy to use for bicep curls.
If you are really serious about weight training then you need a ‘Curl Bar’, as this allows you to perform a much wider range of bicep curls. In addition to this you have the option of getting a ‘Dumbbell Set’ (pictured left) which consists of two dumbbells of varying sizes. The great thing about having Dumbbells is that they can be easily stored, particularly if you have a small house.
The final type of barbell is called a ‘Glute/Ham Raise’. This piece of equipment allows you to perform Glute/Ham Raises. To be quite honest you can perform Glute/Ham Raises without any special equipment, however if you really want to focus on your Glutes then you may wish to consider getting this piece of equipment. If you get any of the above barbells, you may also want to get a Weight Tree (pictured right) which helps you store and organize your bars.
You can also use it to store plates.
Each type of barbell serves a different purpose and which one you should buy depends on your personal goals. If you are planning on doing a lot of heavy powerlifting then you will probably want to consider getting the Glute/Ham Raise, as well as a Weight Tree.
Plates
The next most important piece of equipment that you need are weight plates. You will need two types of plates, these are the ‘Metal Plates’ and the ‘Cloth Weights’. The metal plates are used for the big powerlifting barbell exercises such as the Back Squat (pictured left), Shoulder Press, Deadlift and Bench Press. You will need two small metal plates per side for the big lifts.
If you are not going to do these exercises, then you can skip this purchase.
Cloth Weights
The cloth weights are much smaller than the metal plates and do not have a hole in the middle like a metal plate does. You use cloth weights for exercises such as Dumbbell Curls, Preacher Bench Curls, Tricep Pulldowns and many others.
There are two types of cloth weight, ‘Dumbbell Weights’ and ‘Barbell Cloth Weights’. The dumbbell weights consist of a single weight with a loop of rope at each end (pictured left). These are used primarily for curls, as well as some tricep exercises. The barbell cloth weights are short lengths of rope with a metal ball attached to each end (pictured right).
These are used primarily for tricep exercises.
Note: You can use either metal plates or cloth weights for most exercises, however there are a few exercises such as Barbell Curls and Tricep Extensions where you need both a metal plate and a cloth weight to perform the exercise. For these exercises you must use a metal plate for one side of your body and a cloth weight for the other side of your body.
The last thing you need are exercise charts. These charts tell you which exercises you should be doing, how to do them and how much weight you should use. There are a number of different companies that make exercise charts and they all have their good points and their bad points. You need to find an exercise chart that works for you.
Some people like the fact that Body for Life does a good job of introducing you to several types of exercises and doesn’t just focus on one type of exercise such as weights. Other people like the fact that Muscle Megalast has more pictures and provides you with more instruction on how to do an exercise properly. There is no right or wrong answer here, it comes down to a matter of personal taste. We have provided a sample of each type of exercise chart below for you to look at. You can click on either one to get more information about that chart.
Once you have chosen an exercise chart, the next thing you need to do is to pick an ‘Inner Circle’. The Inner Circle is a group of people who participate in the Body for Life Challenge with you. These people provide encouragement as well as keeping you on track.
Sources & references used in this article:
Backpacker’s Start-Up: A Beginner’s Guide to Hiking and Backpacking by M Carrico – 1997 – Macmillan
A Beginner’s Guide to Setting Up a Summer Transformation Plan by D Werner – 2010 – books.google.com
A Beginner’s Guide to Fibromyalgia by BT Basics, YGTAS Back – rudymawer.com
Surface EMG made easy: a beginner’s guide for rehabilitation clinicians by R Belenguer Prieto, A Carbonell Baeza… – 2016 – gredos.usal.es
The beginner’s guide to travelling with children by L Hills – 2010 – Macmillan
Starting Smart–A Beginner’s Guide to Training Programs by GS Kasman, SL Wolf – 2002 – noraxon.com
Intermittent Fasting 101: A Beginner’s Guide by M Howard – Going Down Swinging, 2012 – search.informit.com.au
