Goblet Squat - How To Do Them
The goblet squat is one of the best and easiest lower body free weight movements that you can do
. A lot of people don't know about the goblet squat because it's not as popular in all the shiny health clubs and fitness spas across America. But head to any hardcore strength and conditioning facility or Division I school and you'll see plenty of people doing the goblet squat. My guess is that you'll be seeing a lot of freshmen performing goblet squats just because they are so easy to do and still give you a great lower body workout.
The goblet squat is quite simple to perform. All you need is either a dumbbell or kettelbell to do them effectively. Simply grab the weighted part of the dumbbell with the palms of your hands and hold it in front of your chest with your elbows high. From there, just simply squat down and back up while keeping your chest up and the dumbbell around chin level.
The same can be said for doing them with kettelbells. You can use 1 kettelbell or 2, which of course is dependent on your fitness levels.
Now the real benefit with goblet squats is for people who can't perform a regular back squat or front squat. With regards to the back squat, it is quite tough for some people to do because they lack the hip mobility, the lower strength, the core strength, and even flexibility in their thoracic spine. Some even lack the flexibility in their shoulders and chest to be able to bring their arms underneath the bar. That should be a big wake up call to start stretching ASAP!
And for some with the front squat, it is really an awkward movement when you first start doing them. You don't want the bar to crush your throat (even though it won't), it hurts your shoulders, it hurts your neck and it hurts your collarbone. Overall, it's just a hard exercise to get used to, but overtime you do build up a tolerance to the pain as well as calluses in certain spots.
With goblet squats, none of this is an issue. The weight is never on your throat and crushing your collarbone. The weight is never behind you like on a back squat, making it really hard to get deep into the movement, and it's just a more natural motion to teach and perform.
That's why this exercise is especially important for beginners because it naturally teaches them perfect form for later in their lifting careers on how to squat properly. It naturally forces you to keep your chest up, to brace your abs, and push your butt back during the decent of the movement.
Oh and let's not forget since the weight is in front of your body, this is a killer abdominal exercise without even realizing it.
In fact to make it even better, you can pick up a kettelbell or dumbbell in the goblet squat position and do either step ups, reverse lunges, forward lunges or walking lunges. The amount of lactic acid buildup and calories you'll burn from these movements will be astronomical. Not to mention again the abdominal workout you will get.
Here is a good workout you can do using exclusively the goblet squat and it's many positions.
A) The Walking Goblet Squat 3 x 20
Simply grab a dumbbell or kettelbell and place it in positon. From there you will take a step, perform a squat and then repeat the sequence. Go for 20 steps with 20 squats.
B) Goblet Squat Step Ups 3 x 10 each leg
Grab a dumbbell or ketelbell and place it in position. From there, while keeping your chest up and weight at chin level, perform a step up on a bench. Come back down but keep your foot in position on the bench. Do 10 reps then switch legs. Be sure not to push off with the other leg that's in the bottom position. An easy way to avoid this is to point your foot upwards when it's on the floor to prevent your foot from plantar flexing.
C) Goblet Squat Jumps 3 x 10
This might feel a little weird but it's a great way to finish off your quads and your entire lower body if done right. The trick is to pick a light weight. From there, perform as fast as possible 10 jump squats with the dumbbell or kettelbell in front of you. You want to go as low to the ground as possible and explode up through the hole.
All in all, the goblet squat is one of the best lower body movements that anyone at any age can begin to do. You can get a great workout and at the same time prevent injury, which is the best of both worlds.
by: Jared DiCarmine
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