The squat. The favorite, time-tested, booty approved, best quad and glute workout there is. We love it. If your goals are to slim down your legs, build your booty, gain some lower body leg strength and see results fast, then this quick and easy 30 day squat challenge is perfect for you.
But before you get started, it’s important to understand what you’re going to get out of the squat challenge. And if you’re new to the fitness world, keep reading and you will find instructions on how to do a squat with proper form, as well as a “chair” trick you will find extremely beneficial. You’ve got to be able to do it right if you want to experience the optimum squat challenge results. Some encouragement and quick tips will propel you straight into the challenge and success.
Get ready fit girls: it’s squatting time!
Our favorite benefit of the squat is obviously how it tones, sculpts, and shapes the booty. Thank goodness for that. But while it’s doing that, it does even more throughout the entire body. Squats build the muscles in your legs, including your quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles. But one of the best things about squats is that they are also one of the strength training exercises that burns fat as well.
Because squats work multiple large muscle groups at once, they have a very high metabolic cost (especially when weights are added into the equation). In order to complete and recover from big exercises like the squat, our body requires a significant amount of energy (calories). We love that fat burning, muscle building combo — a combo that will result in an increased metabolic rate even when you’re not dropping ass to grass.
Along with your lower body, squats also work your core, including your lower back. (So if you feel some soreness in your lower back, that is normal. It means those muscles are working. Just make sure you use proper form, so there is not too much pressure back there).
Introducing a 30 Day Squat Challenge that Works
What else is great about the squat? It’s so functional. Even the most sedentary among us squat several times throughout the day to simply get in and out of a chair (we’ll talk more about that later). But think about it, keeping those squatting muscles strong will make other every day tasks easier for you — getting in and out of your car, climbing stairs, packing groceries, standing up from the ground with a child in your arms, and if your an outdoorsy girl, relieving yourself in the great outdoors. All of these tasks require the fundamentals of a squat. Perfect your squat and you’ll perfect your life, well, at least parts of it.
The squat provides many health benefits as well. For example, squatting brings about increased blood flow and oxygen to your joints, keeping them healthy and mobile. And while getting a bad rep for causing knee injury, when done correctly the squat can actually help strengthen and support the knee. In addition to improved joint health, squatting will also give your bones a boost. Squatting on a regular basis, particularly with weights, will work your skeleton from the neck down. Even more, the squat helps with mobility and balance, which then makes it easier to perform everyday tasks.
And one of the most convenient benefits of squats is that you can do them anywhere because they don’t require the use of any equipment. Strengthening the muscles in your legs and core, with the correct form, the squat challenge will bring you all the lower-body results you want.
Proper Squat Form
Squatting with proper form is essential. In order to work all of the muscles correctly, not injure your lower back or knees, and positively benefit your posture, follow these tips to master the proper squat form.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your eyes focused up the whole time. A good trick is to find a spot on the wall and keep your eyes fixed on it. This will help prevent your chest from falling forward (which could cause injury to your lower back), and it will help you stay balanced as you perform the exercise.
- As you bend your knees, performing the actual squat, make sure to keep your heels on the ground and your knees in line with your toes (not over your toes! That will put too much pressure on your knees and cause your heels to raise).
- Make sure you reach at least 90 degrees at the bottom of your squat before straightening your legs and returning to the starting position.
For those of you who are just beginning your squat journey, have no fear of the perfect form. Do you know how to sit down in a chair? Then you know how to squat. Sitting straight down in a chair, without using your hands, and then standing back up the same way (no hands) models the proper squat form. If you are nervous about having proper form, or just want the extra support behind you, practice your squats by sitting in a chair. You can even do the squat challenge with a chair in order to become more comfortable with the movement.
Falling Off the Squat Challenge Schedule
First things first, it’s ok! Life happens. Sometimes we forget, sometimes we are too busy, and let’s be honest, sometimes we just straight up do not feel like working out. If you miss one day that’s alright. The best thing to do is to start where you left off and don’t worry about trying to make up for a lost day. Just turn it into a 31-day squat challenge with an extra rest day. No big deal.
If you happen to miss multiple days in a row, however, the rules change a little. After missing multiple days, it’s best to just take it from the top. Don’t feel bad about starting over though! Chances are you will be more determined to complete the squat challenge on your second go around. The challenge is designed to build your strength at a steady pace, letting your body adapt to the movements, making sure to not tear muscles or make you too sore to the point where you can’t complete it. So after missing a few days, instead of throwing your body right back into a higher rep range, you will get the most out of your 30 day squat challenge results by starting at day one.
30 Day Squat Challenge Quick Tips
Doing an exercise challenge is a great way to jump-start your fitness lifestyle, push yourself to new limits, reach new goals, and see the squat challenge before and after results you want. But they only work if you stick to them. Here are some quick tips to use when doing any fitness challenge to help you stay on track and have fun while you’re doing it!
Invite your friends to join you! Everything is more fun when your best friends do it with you, so make it a team challenge. This way, you will have your friends to keep you accountable, push you, and you can compare your squat challenge results together!
Listen to your favorite music! Even though it does not take too much time out of your day, working out is always more fun when you are listening to the hottest new hit or your favorite indie band.
Share the squat challenge on social media and make a competition out of it with your followers — there’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.
Don’t think of it as something you have to do, think of it as something you get to do. Nothing makes you feel more powerful than pushing your body to see what you’re really capable of.
Be consistent! Do the exercises for the challenge each day at the same time and in the same place (if possible. I know life is busy, so do this to the best of your ability). When you have a routine to follow, you are more likely to not miss a day, and experience better squat challenge results.
My quick tip for you for this 30 day squat challenge is to find a rhythm! Especially when you get into those high number of squats, you will find that if you have a rhythm with your squat pace, that also falls in line with your breathing, it will be easier to complete the number of squats you need to without having to stop.
Squat Challenge
Here’s how it works: in 30 days you will be able to do 100 squats. Don’t worry, you will build up to that number, increasing the number of squats you do every couple of days. For this 30 day squat challenge, you only have to do the number for that day one time, so it’s quick and easy. For those of you who are more advanced in your fitness journey and want to challenge yourself a little more while also improving your squat challenge before and after results, try repeating the days worth of squats three times each day. (That will be 300 squats by the end of the challenge. Hello legs and booty!)
Though it is ok to push yourself more on squat days if you want to be challenged more, do not skip rest days! They are very important because when you workout, your muscles tear. Rest days give them time to repair themselves, allowing your muscles to heal and grow. Recovery days are often just as important as your work days to allow adequate recovery for those hard-working muscles. And trust me, as the weeks go on, you’ll want to utilize your rest days. If you continue to follow this regimen, you can tone your legs and lose 15 pounds in a month with a healthy diet.
For this challenge, you will just be performing the basic squat (explained previously) so there are no tricks or surprises. Simply follow the chart, doing the given amount of squats each day, and you will be squatting like a pro in no time.
Pro Tip: Adding weights to your routine is one way to significantly improve your 30 day squat challenge before and after results. Don’t get me wrong, body weight squats are a completely sufficient way to get the job done. However, adding extra resistance by means of dumbbells, kettlebells or a barbell will greatly up the ante on those thighs and booty. Overloading muscles beyond their everyday workload will improve muscular strength and endurance and even coax those babies to grow a little bit. Flat butt? No thanks! If you opt for weights, start out conservatively. There’s no need to worry about increasing your resistance since you’ll be increasing your volume every workout instead.
Now it’s time to drop it low!
30 Day Squat Challenge
You did it! Congratulations! Just look at those legs and booty – it’s crazy what 30 days can do. As you continue your fitness journey, you can always return to this 30 day squat challenge. Next time, starting from the top, try adding 100 to all the numbers and work your way up to 200 squats.
After completing the 30 day squat challenge, comment below including a photo of your before and after squats pics. The Fitness Goals readers would love to see your squat challenge results for further motivation.
Too easy for you? Add our 30 Day Plank Challenge to really feel the burn!
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