The Basic Squat Fitness Test
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Are you fit enough to do squats and benefit from them? With this simple test you can find out your squat fitness and if at this point they should be part of your exercise arsenal or not.
Squat Fitness
There are few exercises I have been asked about more than the squat. It is, in certain circles, given almost mystical qualities, either as the mass builder No. 1 or as an indicator of male prowess. Mark Rippetoe’s “Starting Strength” is so deeply built around it, that its fans wear t-shirts sporting the line, “shut up and squat.”
To me it’s just another exercise, a mighty fine one, but still an exercise like any other. If it should be done or not depends on a trainee’s fitness level:
Speak Up And Think
So instead of shutting up and squatting it may be more worthwhile to stop and think: The main muscle trained during the squat is the quadriceps. But if your quadriceps can’t handle just getting out of the chair, what point is there in attempting the basically same thing with something heavy on your back or in your hands?
Picture courtesy of Andrew Blight.
17 Comments
I found obese clients rarely had the strength. I preferred to practice standing and sitting in a chair with them or squats holding onto a pole first.
Yes, overweight people already have to carry a lot of weight – adding to it isn’t really necessary.
WooHoo – I passed the test!
I do like that – simple test but great way to check strength.
Haha, Kim, I would have wondered A LOT if you didn’t were to pass it! 😀
“didn’t were”? Is that correct English? 😀
Me, too!!
But I am probably going to steal this test and use it (hope that’s OK!) with others!
Go ahead! If it manages to get one person working out without injuring themselves, it was worth it.
Right… You may want to add a negation somewhere 😉
But we do get the idea.
Oops, oh, yes! 😀
Where is the test?
You don’t watch my videos, do you, J? 😉
I have two responses 🙂
1) I have watched every embedded video you have put up. I thought that was just a photo. However, my computer will not play it on the Youtube site.
2) As a professor once said to me in med school when I answered his question with a question, “I’m the one asking the questions here!” 🙂
Yes, Professor J, Sir! 🙂
The test is in the video; basically I ask people to sit down in a chair and get back up without help of the hands or rocking forward. I reason that if they can’t do that yet, they don’t need to put something heavy on their backs to train the legs.
Thank goodness you are one of the nice professors because I passed the test.
I still did a serious leg workout yesterday because I want to pass it tomorrow!
Awesome test and I love your point. If you can’t get up from the chair without help then they definitely shouldn’t be doing squats.
Well … if my knees are a little wide I can pass the test. I actually do a lot of squat like exercises. My favourite is squatting with knees close together holding on to the TRX.
Knees a little wider nonwithstanding, I do believe that you possess a good bit leg strength already, Cindy.