1. The King of all Lifts
Sure, doing squats will strengthen your legs, back and glutes, but did you know it'll strengthen the rest of your body, as well? Research studies have shown that performing squats releases both testosterone and human growth hormone into your blood, creating an anabolic environment in your body that helps your muscles grow. Also, because squats are a free-weight exercise, they force the small stabilizer muscles throughout your body into action with each lift. This increases your balance, as well as your strength, and improves overall muscle tone.
2. Squats Make You Run Faster and Jump Higher
This might sound like a cheesy advertisement for athletic shoes, but it's true. Researchers in Norway conducted studies on elite European soccer players in an attempt to correlate squatting strength with athletic ability. The results were impressive. The researchers found a strong positive correlation between the players' maximal squat and both their vertical leap and 30-meter sprints. They also discovered that squat strength had no influence over maximum oxygen uptake as measured by the players' VO2Max, dispelling the age-old myth that weight training makes athletes slow and unfit.
3. Use Squats to Improve Your Flexibility
Unlike leg presses and leg extensions, squats help to increase the range of motion in your ankles and hips. By dipping down with weight on your back, you force the large muscles of your hips and lower back to stay strong while remaining flexible. Amazingly, the large joints of your upper body also get a significant stretch during the squat, as gripping onto the bar pulls back your shoulders and opens up your chest. When combined with the stable back muscles that squatting builds, this makes sitting and standing with great posture a breeze.
4. Avoid Injury With Proper Technique
Like Olympic lifts and other free-weight exercises, maintaining proper alignment of your back, legs and knees during the squat is extremely important. Keep the bar high on your back, start the lift from your hips and never let your knees track forward past your feet. It's also a good idea to look up during the squat, which helps your back stay straight and push upward through the lift.
5. Squats Are Actually Good For Your Knees
A study done by the Mayo Clinic proved the squat's long-term benefit once and for all. The results of the study showed that men who squatted regularly had much stronger knees than those who didn't squat at all. This is great news for athletes looking to protect themselves from injuries to the ligaments of the knee, such as the ACL, but it's also great news for anyone who wants healthy, long-lasting joints in general.
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