Replace your squats with these...

You've probably heard me say before that squats ARE NOT the king of exercises.

Most people can't even sit into a full, deep squat so they certainly shouldn't be loading up the weight and doing it for reps.

I've seen too many awful squats over the years to count, and every time, I just wait for the "POP" and the scream, waiting for their back or knees to give out.

Luckily, I've only witnessed this once or twice, but for most, it's just a matter of time before it starts to take its toll in their bodies.

People don't tend to relate aches and pains to a particular exercise unless it happens whilst they're doing that exercise.

But that back and knee pain you have may well be from the squats you've been doing for years.

That's also a common argument: "It can't be that, I've been doing it for years without a problem"

It's a bit like someone claiming that smoking can't have caused any issues because they've been doing it for years without a problem... Or eating junk can't have caused any issues because they've been doing it for years...

You see where I'm going with this!

Just because something seems to be ok now, doesn't mean it's not adding a little more damage each time that'll build up over time.

Your body is quite resilient, but it can only take so much.

So what should you do instead of squats?

Something more natural.

An unloaded, bodyweight squat should be accessible to everyone with a little work and is definitely something to practice, but if you want to build strength or size in your legs, yes, you'll need to use some resistance.

My personal favourites for building stronger, ore functional legs, with far less risk of injury are:

• Sled Pushes (just load up a sled, and push!)

• Walking Lunges

• Step-Ups

• Multi-Directional Lunges

Essentially, pick a movement that you encounter in every day life, and add some resistance to it.

DON'T sit yourself on a machine designed to 'target' muscle groups because they almost certainly won't make you move in a natural way.

Try swapping these out in your training and replace the squats, leg extensions, hamstring curls etc.

See how you get on and let me know.

Mark