Tuesdays' Squat Workout Routine

Squat Workout Routine

(<=== I found this picture beside "useless" in the dictionary, and beside over-priced and over-rated)

Training is all about cause and effect.

And that's where most people go wrong.

They don't focus on the effect (the result of training), they focus on the cause (i.e. they focus on using gimmicky exercises).

People only worry about whether the exercise is "functional", not whether the result is "functional".

Their mistake is choosing the cause before they even think of the effect.

All people care about nowadays, it seems, is picking the most perverse exercise possible.

Take for example the able-bodied, late-twenty something girl in the gym yesterday.

She was doing squats on the bosu ball (pictured), with the inflatable side up.

Now to do that, you have to have your feet pretty close together. And when she was squatting, she would bend her knees first so the load was supported by her quads and knees.

This girl was strong enough that she could have easily completed 25 of these squats before they even got hard...yet she quit after about 10.

So what effect will her training have?

NONE.

Unless you count a "complete and utter waste of her time" as an effect of training.

She would have been better off to skip the gym and go on a hike up a hill in the fresh outdoors. Or climb the stairs in her house a dozen times. Either of these, and many more practical options would have given her a better result for her time.

There is no doubt that she learned this exercise from a trainer, or from another person that learned it from a trainer...

But what could the purpose of this exercise possibly be?

No doubt the word "balance" will come up...but balance for what? Standing on an inflatable ball? Here's a tip. just don't stand on inflatable balls. that will help your balance.

Squatting on a bosu ball with poor squat form is NOT a functional exercise.

Squatting, or split squatting, or lunging, on a flat surface with proper form IS a functional exercise.

Moving on to my workout...

My goal: I want to increase my squat strength. That is the effect that I am going for.

Therefore, I choose exercises that will cause a signficant increase in the strength of the muscles and the movement patterns associated with the squat.

See how easy it is to come up with an exercise program?

Review the goal you want to achieve (i.e. determine the EFFECT you are after), and then choose methods that will CAUSE you to get closer to your goal.

1A) Squat (3x2 reps) -- good result. Getting back to my previous all time levels of strength.
1B) I skipped the plank that I had been doing with this exercise in my previous workouts...as today's focus was on near max squat performance. Also, long (3-5 minute rests were taken between sets).

2A) Good Morning (3x10) -- still a weak exercise for me...I need to use variations of the GM to increase my strength...and this will help CAUSE the EFFECT I am after (increased squat strength).
2B) Kneeling Cable Crunch (3x20-25)

3) Glute-Ham Raise on Ball


People, especially trainers, should put more effort into designing their programs than coming up with foolish exercises,

CB


squat workout routine