Squat Clinic with Certified Personal Trainer Matthew Creech:

Colorado is full of outdoor activities and sports, such as climbing, skiing, biking and hiking. To improve your game or to prevent injury, strong legs are needed. There is no better exercise than the simple squat. Yet even so, many people have not grasped how a proper squat should be done.

First of all, it is not true that squatting farther than a 90 degree angle is bad for your knees. On the contary, squatting at a 90 degree angle or less may actually make your knees more susceptible to injury. Also, squatting properly uses more muscles than almost any other exercise, so doing squats can be a simple and easy way to burn fat fast.

To do a good squat, a person should stand up straight and keep their feet at about shoulder width apart. Then, he or she should make sure that the feet are pointing forward; not pigeon toed, and not pointing out. The squatter should keep his/her head straight and be sure not to look at the floor or the ceiling. When going down, the squatter should go down ALL the way. If he/she cannot do this without the heels coming up (they should always stay on the floor), there is an imbalance in the musculature in the buttocks and hips, and possibly calf stiffness. To correct this, practice doing deep lunges with toes pointing forward, and stretch your calves thoroughly before your workout.

If you are trying to lose weight, you should do 3-5 sets of 30 squats 3 days per week.

If you are trying to gain athletic strength, do these squats and jump.