Welcome to our Monthly Challenges
Did you know you subconsciously work harder when there’s an end date to your goals?
The shorter time frame keeps you actively putting effort in, particularly when it’s the end of the month.
Your Goal in February is: 100 Squats a Day
The Challenge
We can’t go the first two months without an exercise-based challenge, so here it is!
The challenge involves completing 100 squats every day in February.
Now this is not 100 squats in a row. My recommendation is to break it up into 5 sets of 20 squats. If you are a beginner you could even do 10 sets of 10 squats.
To reduce muscular soreness it is also best to spread these squats throughout your day.
An example would be 2 x 20 squats before your morning shower, 2 x 20 squats before dinner and 1 x 20 squats before bed.
Health Benefits
Doing these correctly will improve mobility in your hips and ankles, counter-acting all the tightness from prolonged sitting every day.
The movement will also improve circulation, getting blood flow to those cold hands and feet.
Beyond the obvious increase in leg strength you can expect, it should improve your overall fitness too.
It’s a great low impact exercise that should add strength to your core.
Some people will argue that you shouldn’t exercise every day. A low impact squat is not the same as lifting heavy weights, so it’s perfect to to daily. If you walked a mile to work on Monday would you be worried that you can’t do that “exercise” on Tuesday?
How Do I Squat Properly?
It is very important that you have the right technique, as incorrect form can cause lower back and knee problems.
Practice makes permanent. If you do it wrong every day, it will be harder to undo the mistakes, so make sure it’s right from day one.
- Stand so your feet are about shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forwards or slightly out to the side
- Initiate the movement by sitting backwards with the hips, as if you were sitting in a chair
- Stop at your natural range of motion. While a full squat is better for you, if you don’t have the flexibility you will compromise technique to get low enough, so don’t worry for now.
- When coming up again, push through the middle of your foot. A lot of people go up on their toes here, so you will hear trainers tell you to push through your heels to stop you rocking on your toes.
- Come back to a full standing position, then repeat
Thanks for reading this article, please share it with friends and family you want to team up with and tackle The 100 Squat Challenge together. Also check out The 30 Day Glute Challenge!
