Category: Exercise & Workouts

Hey,

Thank you for your question.

Squatting is a natural movement a child does unconsciously. I have a 2 year old son, and he does a perfect squat every time:)

I am from Haryana, India, where villagers there sit in a low squat position my dad calls “Ukudu” meaning a low squat. When females clean the house with a broom, they do a low squat as well.

My friend’s wife recently had a baby girl with a natural birth. He made sure she performed hundreds of free squats daily.

Further, a quote by Giulia Enders in her book “Charming Bowels” which sold a million copies quotes:

” Over 1.2 billion people who squat have almost no incidence of diverticulitis and fewer problems with piles,”

Thats the power of free squatting.

Some studies on barbell squats:

A studydiscusses whether the depth of squat has any effect on knee health or even lower back health, and results were clear that there was no effect.

In another study, 27 male powerlifters and 28 males weightlifters were analysed and no effect of squat trading on knee stability was demonstrated.

Next comes the frequency: How many times can you effectively squat in a week?

Well, this depends on your goals, nutrition status, genetics, how much sleep you are taking etc.

Ideally squatting 2-3 times a week is more than sufficient provided that overall your workout volume is low (squat being a compound exercise challenges your lower back).

I do squat few months a year, but since my structure is more suited to parallel grip deadliftsI prefer the latter.

Hey,

A lot has to do with your nutrition and how much rest you are taking overall.

When you are trying to gain weight, you need to progressively overload which allows you to build more muscle mass.

Ideally, I recommend lifting weights 3 times a week. Here’s why.

In order for progressive load to happen, you need to fully recover before you go for your next training session.

Now, I feel working out 3 times a week (which equates to roughly 3 hours) is not enough and one needs to stay active overall.

You have two options in this case:

Walk

(and/or)

Cardio

I personally walk a lot and clock more than 50,000 steps a week. I feel this is the best form of aerobic training for 2 reasons:

1-You can easily think clearly and use this time to plan your day, set your goals etc, and at the same time get aerobic benefit. You can power walk if you wish to. Steve reeves (my role model) was a firm believer in power walking.

Steve Reeves—Power walking with a pair of light dumbbells.

2-Walking won’t interfere with your recovery, especially your nervous system. You see when you lift weights, you are not only training your muscular system but also your nervous system which takes a longer time to recover.

But if you love (this is the key word), doing cardio—like going for a jog, or do it on your favourite recumbent bike, by all means go ahead.

But limit it to 2–3 sessions for a total of no more than 90 minutes. This however depends on how good is your nutrition, how much sleep you taking everyday, genetics, and most importantly whether you are progressing in the gym or not.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

Here’s what goes on in my mind:

Since, I only workout 2 to 3 times in a week, that’s like 2 hours in the whole week (not even 1% of your time), so might as well make it count.

For me, going for a workout its like going to war for me. I need to prepare myself mentally, and I start shutting from the outside world usually an hour prior. Its very tough to gym, especially during peak timings, fortunately my work allows me to workout in the afternoons when no one is around:)

So I am focussed. I have a training dairy that I have been maintaining since 2 years which has detailed records about my weight, reps, total volume etc. Since, my overall goal is to gain lean muscle, I know I need to progressively overload my previous weight. I need to make sure to make every set, every rep count. You build muscles quickly when you can concentrate fully on the muscles being worked as you start to develop superior line of communication between the brain and muscle.

Few more tips:
-Don’t use your phone, except for stop watch
-Don’t watch TV
Yes, you can listen to music only if it appeals to you, boring music can really put your mood down, idea is to excite yourself and get into the ‘zone’ so that you can give your best.

Don’t try and impress the opposite sex by lifting more than you can. Seriously stay away from ego lifting!
Of course this is the ideal case scenario, and one needs lot of mental strength to have consistent workouts like that, but my aim has always been to progress not perfect:)

Hey,

There are many benefits of using a trap/shrug bar over conventional deadlifts:

-The center of gravity of the resistance is in close alignment with the center of gravity of the lifter when using a trap bar. This enables the lifter to remain more upright and takes stress off the lower back, making trap bar deadlift a quad dominant movement as opposed to a hip dominant one.

-Your shins are spared using a trap bar.

-Trap bar deadlift works more musculature than its conventional counterpart, as there is more knee flexion, which then results in more muscle growth over time

You can read the full articlehere.

Hey,

Pull-ups works your latissimus dorsi. Infact its one of the best exercise to train your back!

I can perform 15 pull-ups at a time, and also use a weighed belt.

However, I was not strong many years back. Just like many gym goers, I wasn’t able to do even a single pull-up!

There are two alternative’s to pull-ups until you get strong enough to pull your own body weight:

1. Lat pulldown Machine

2. Assisted Pull-up Machine

3. Band Assisted Pull-ups (in case you don’t have the assisted machine in your gym)

Hope this helps:)

Hey,

-Plank exercises helps your build a stronger core.

-It can help you with your posture

-It is a great complementary exercise along with other flexion and extension movements

-Its super-safe as it requires no extension/flexion so it doesn’t put any stress on your lower back

-You need any equipment to perform plank

Its mandatory to ensure good form.

The alignment of plank is of prime importance.

For example, in the pic below notice the alignment.

Most people distort their neck position which disrupts the entire balance.

There are many plank variations one can do.

Beginners can start with a Knee Plank and then move unto a standard plank and then onto advanced versions of plank like

Plank Walks

Plank Ups & Down

Bird-Dog Plank

In the video below, I have given 11 Plank variations that will challenge your core like anything.

I highly recommend to do your Plank exercises on off days or After your workouts, as they tire the core easily.

You don’t want to squat with a tired core do you?

Enjoy the video and let me know if you have any comments.