What does all of the of the following?
- Exercise your back
- Exercise your shoulders
- Exercise your legs
- Can be done with or without weights
- Can be done as a stretch of as an exercise
The answer? The Squat Bender!
Check out one of my new favorite exercises:
As you can see, it’s a squat merged with a toe touch. The two exercises together become a single movement that works out your entire body.
Note – This gentleman has great form. Notice how smoothly he moves between the forms, with no swaying back and forth.
How To Use
I love this exercise because it’s so versatile
- Add Weights – This makes for a great part of a resistance workout, particularly during a legs or back day. It’s a compound exercise that will workout multiple muscle groups and recruit others for stability. Best of all, you don’t need a gym to do this, just a pair of dumbbells.
- Slow It Down – If you slow this down and do it with a light or no weight, it becomes an excellent stretch. Take your time, do a full cycle in around 10 to 20 seconds and really listen to your body as you go through each motion. Do ten reps of this and your core will be ready for anything. Again, this can be done anywhere. Been sitting at your desk too long? Get up and spend a minute doing slow reps of this exercise. You’ll feel incredibly refreshed afterwards.
- Speed it up – If you can do reps of this in under 4 seconds your heart will start beating like you’re running a sprint. It’s an involved exercise and doing it at high speed requires concentration and stamina. A set of 20 fast reps would be a great part of a cardio calisthenics routine. Alternate a quick set of these with quick sets of push ups, sit ups and jumping jacks in your hotel room during a business trip for an excellent cardio workout on the go.
It’s an awesome tool for a variety of fitness goals.
Enjoy!
