Why squatting is good for you

The whole way your physiology is built is around these postures. In the West, the reason people stopped squatting regularly has a lot to do with our toilet design. Holes in the ground, outhouses and chamber pots all required the squat position, and studies show that greater hip flexion in this pose is correlated with less strain when relieving oneself.

Seated toilets are by no means a British invention—the first simple toilets date back to Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium B. The next couple hundred years saw slow, uneven toilet innovation, but in a watchmaker named Alexander Cummings developed an S-shape pipe which sat below a raised cistern, a crucial development. Today, the flushable squat-style toilets found across Asia are, of course, no less sanitary than Western counterparts. Indeed the realization that squatting leads to better bowel movements has fueled the cult-like popularity of the Lillipad and the Squatty Potty , raised platforms that turn a Western-style toilet into a squatting one—and allow the user to sit in a flexed position that mimics a squat.

The only time we might expect a Western leader or elected official to hover close to the ground is for a photo-op with cute kindergarteners. Indeed, the people we see squatting on the sidewalk in a city like New York or London tend to be the types of people we blow past in self-important rush.

Avni Trivedi, a doula and osteopath based in London disclosure: I have visited her in the past for my own sitting-induced aches says the same is true of squatting as a birthing position, which is still prominent in many developing parts of the world and is increasingly advocated by holistic birthing movements in the West.

So should we replace sitting with squatting and say goodbye to our office chairs forever? Beach agrees that this is not a trend, but an evolutionary impulse. In a sense, squatting is where humans—every single one of us—came from, so it behooves us to revisit it as often as we can. By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz Privacy Policy. The only difference between those actions and squatting workouts is that while doing squat exercises, you deliberately maintain a correct posture to gain some intended benefit.

Squat exercises can be done with or without weights. Either way will benefit you, and by adding weights will lead to improvements to overall muscle mass. However, if you do use weights be sure to squat correctly to avoid injury. They work up your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, abdominal muscles, lower back and your butt too. Not many exercises can claim to recruit so many muscles at the same time!

Improving your flexibility should be part of any well-rounded workout training plan. Our muscles, tendons and ligaments become less elastic with age so doing all we can to slow down this process is a good idea. Squatting regularly will see you limber up and become more flexible as the exercise involves bending and stretching of the leg muscles. Not only do they develop leg strength, they also work out your core, stabilising muscles. These muscles help you to maintain balance, while also improving the communication between your brain and your muscle groups, which helps prevent falls.

The effort required to squat helps strengthen your cardiac muscles and improve your lung capacity, especially once you start adding weights.

Most athletic and workout injuries involve weak ligaments, connective tissues and stabiliser muscles muscles that aren't directly involved in a movement, but work to keep you steady so that your primary muscles can do their job. Squats actually help to strengthen these supportive tissues, which can mean the difference between an injury or not. Remember, though, technique is paramount when performing any exercise — including squats — in order to avoid injury.

As squatting engages your hips, knees and ankles at the same time, the load not only helps build muscle, but also improves joint health and joint strength. As squatting is a load bearing exercise, it helps with overall strength which is great for younger people, and also older people who may have a low bone density.

The strengthening will therefore help with injury prevention. As a result, your acceleration and jumping ability is improved. Great for your tennis game! Not only that, but a strong core can improve your balance, ease pain in your low back, and also make it easier to maintain good posture.

A study that compared core muscle activation during a plank with back squats found that back squats resulted in greater activation of the muscles that support your back.

Based on these findings, the researchers recommended targeting the core muscles with back squats to reduce the risk of injury and to boost athletic performance. Plus, incorporating squats in your overall workout routine also helps strengthen your tendons, ligaments, and bones, which, according to the American Council on Exercise , may help reduce your risk of injury. Calorie burning is often equated with aerobic exercises such as running or cycling. But performing high-intensity, compound movements like the squat can also crush some serious calories.

For example, according to Harvard Medical School , a pound person can burn approximately calories doing minutes of vigorous strength or weight training exercises, like squats. From getting out of bed, to sitting down in a chair, your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, and calves are responsible for almost every move you make.

Strength training exercises like squats can help strengthen and tone the muscles in your lower body. When these muscles are in good condition, you may find that you can move more comfortably, with less pain, and that everything from walking to bending to exercising is easier to do.

If you compete in a sport, adding jump squats to your workout may help you develop explosive strength and speed which, in turn, may help improve your athletic performance.

A study investigated the effects of jump squat training done 3 times a week over the course of 8 weeks. Based on the results of the study, the researchers concluded that jump squat training has the ability to improve several different athletic performances simultaneously, including sprint time and explosive strength.

Once you master the basic squat, there are many different types of squat variations you can try. Changing up your squats can help keep the exercise interesting, while also activating different muscle groups. Squats can be done with just your body weight. They can also be done with weights, like dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, or medicine balls, or with resistance bands or yoga balls. All you need is your body and enough room to lower your hips into a sitting position.

As you get stronger, add 25 to the afternoon. Changing up the basic squat allows you to target different muscle groups. Before moving on to squat variations, make sure you have mastered the basic squat movement. These exercises are more challenging and require more strength, flexibility, and core activation.

The back squat takes the traditional squat motion and adds resistance to the shoulders with a barbell. This variation engages your core, especially your lower back.

In addition, it works the muscles in your upper back, shoulders, and arms.