 Everyone knows that the squat is comparative to every day movements like picking things up from the floor, sitting on the toilet etc... but here are 4 more reasons to show you why squatting is the king of all exercises.
1) The #1 Exercise to Give You a Great Butt
That’s what a woman really wants, right? A lot of people mention “butt-toning” as their goal when joining The BOMB and so this is how the conversation usually goes:-
Member: “So I should do Hip Presses?”
Me: “No, just squat.”
Member: “How about Toe Taps?”
Me: “No, just squat.”
Member: “Mule Kicks?”
Me: **MY REACTION**
Member: “Ok, I’ll just squat.”
2) It’s Really a Full Body Exercise
Most people know that squatting builds strength in the quads, hamstrings and glutes, but it’s actually a full body exercise, especially when you add weights or variations to a regular squat. Your core has to be braced, shoulders engaged and strong. Performing a squat perfectly recruits a lot of muscle fibres in your body giving you a fantastic full body exercise all-in-one.
3) Increases Joint Flexibility & Injury Prevention
Ankles, knees and hips are all used when squatting. The movement of this exercise will dynamically stretch the muscles around these joints, not only strengthening them but helping prevent injury, especially low back pain. Make sure you are performing the squat properly or it can actually lead to low back issues, especially if you lift through the spine as opposed to the hips.
4) Makes You a Complete Bad Ass
Explosive squats strengthen the hip flexors enabling you to create more power in your jumps and running. Squatting regularly will make picking up your kids and going to the toilet a walk in the park.
So now you know the amazing effects of squatting and we hope to see you all at the $10 Squat Technique Workshop this Monday with Chris D to perfect your form. Otherwise, expect your squat to be picked apart come Tuesday :o)
Kevin
 We attended the Canadian Fitness Professionals conference in Downtown Toronto this past weekend. Here are some little nuggets of what we learned and encountered among the hustle and bustle of Lulu Lemon pants, sweat, and great looking people.
- Don’t mess with Zumba women, they are loud and will eat you for breakfast.
- Like the look of a fitness pro from your favourite health magazine? Well, you can easily add 10 years to most of them when you meet them in person.
- We picked up a ton of knowledge and you’ll see that implemented in the coming months, but it was also re-assuring that what we’re doing right now is on the right path.
- The onslaught of the latest fad fitness machines was at times, overwhelming, and they are not going away. If you’re looking to pick up a piece of equipment, get a trainer’s viewpoint first. Here’s a small gallery of some of them
SLIM BELLY | CORE STIX | BOX MASTER | - More men should take Pilates. If you can’t activate your glutes or hips then there’s no point adding weight to the bar.
- If you’re an actor or a DJ you’ll probably make a great spin instructor.
- Jillian Michaels is really, really nice. Use people like her as motivation but go to trainers to show you how to get the job done correctly.
- Fit Kids programs are very rare. Out of 400+ seminars at the largest fitness conference in the world there was only ONE session geared towards training children. There’s a child obesity problem and nobody is trying to fix it. That’s why we’re very proud to be running our Fit Kids After School program.
- Guys, if you walk around a conference with your shirt off, our baseline opinion of you is that you’re a douche.
- Canadians are really, really good at organizing events and running them on time. The conference was crazily, efficiently run.
- If a UFC fighter singles you out for great technique, your head doubles in size.
- Biggest WOW moment! Scientists have now discovered that you are able to turn on and off genes depending on what you consume. That is huge considering we always assumed genetics can’t be naturally altered.
- The best book we saw advertised was something along the lines of getting you in shape in 6 months. Not 5 days, not 2 weeks, not 2 months. Without the sensational book title, this presenter probably doesn't have a commercial book deal but he likely knows what he's talking about. Seek out more people like him.
Overall it was a great learning experience and we recommend it even if you're just a fitness enthusiast. There were some fantastic workout sessions and some really inspiring speakers. If you avoid the corporate back slapping and sales pitch work outs there are plenty of interesting seminars and presenters to take your health and wellness to the next level.
Victoria & Kevin
 Over the past month or two we’ve had many discussions with members about all the contradictory information out there surrounding ways to eat and train. We’re in an age where there’s too much information and nobody knows what’s right and what’s wrong. Every “expert” can give you a convincing explanation why their way is correct. This weightlifter says you should squat all the way to the floor, the other one says you should squat quad-dominant, so not as low. This nutritionist says you shouldn’t eat before bed but another one says it doesn’t matter. This guy says the Plank is useless, etc…
What it all comes down to is training biases. People trying to preach that their way is the best and you should all jump on the pilgrimage to Bethlehem with Him. Biases are not evil; it’s just a person’s view on a subject as a result of how they have garnered that knowledge through their life and coaching experiences.
When it comes to fitness writers/bloggers they usually get paid by how many views they get. So they create a “shocking” headline, refer to a lonely science article to back up their views, then sit back and see who jumps on the bandwagon. Intermittent Fasting is the latest cool kid on the block (I’ll let Wikipedia explain it to you). I’ve never tried it but it’s backed up by science and testing, and, hey, it could work for you or I... but a little bit of me feels like “Oh, we’ve run out of ways to teach people what to eat, so screw it, we’ll suggest they just don’t eat at all for a while.” Diet books are carefully titled to catch your eye and make your life easier so you’ll purchase them –“Drop Two Sizes”, “Top Secret Ways to Lose Up to 10lbs in Just 2 Weeks”, “The 4-Hour Work Week”. Most never work in the long-term.
But what almost all fitness experts won’t tell you is that everyone’s body reacts differently. If they did tell you that how can they sell you their product or way of thinking? Of the hundreds of people who got in shape using Insanity DVDs, another hundred didn’t, and the same goes for the Paleo diet and intermittent fasting.
So how do you weed through all this conflicting information, who’s telling the truth? The answer has mostly nothing to do with THEM… it’s all about what’s right for YOU. The solution is for YOU to create a goal (not just “I want to get fit”, or “I want to tone” – a proper goal)… then do some research on people who you think can help YOU achieve this… work out what their training history and philosophy is and if YOU think it aligns with reaching YOUR goals, then stick with their program for a sufficient period of time. Keep a positive attitude and if it works for you, great! If it doesn’t then try something else, it is really that simple.
Kevin
P.S. By the way, we think the plank is great. As we introduce kettlebell deadlifts and swings in our upcoming WORKSHOP you better have the form down to a ‘t’, and it all starts with a solid plank. But hey, that’s just our bias!This post was inspired by a blog post from one of our mentors, Ben Bruno. I highly recommend you give it a read HERE.
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