Increase Your Squat

Not everyone trains their legs, and for those that do not a huge percentage carries out the best leg exercise of them all....the Squat.

For those that do use the squat exercise in their workout it can be demoralising to hit a plateau and not see any improvement in the weight and repetitions you lift in the squat week in and week out, well today this is going to change.

Today I am posting about the different ways you can kick start your squat training to get past that plateau you have been stuck at for a while and really start improving your squat lifts.

5x5 Squats

The first way to try and work past that squat lift plateau is to carry out a 5x5 workout technique on your squats. For this you need to lift as heavy as possible for 5 sets of 5 reps.

At first you will probably achieve 5 reps for three sets, 4 reps for one set and two to three reps for the last set. If this is the case stay on this weight until you can complete the full 5 sets of 5 repetitions then once you have achieved this add 2.5 kg to the bar and start again. Only add weight when you achieve the full 5x5 on the current weight you are lifting.

Explosive Squats

Use explosive squats to build power from the bottom of your squat. To do this go down slowly to the bottom of the lift then lift as fast as you can to the top like a jack in the box. This will build explosive power in your muscles.

Front Squats

Try building 3 sets of front squats into your workout to really work your quads and build more strength on the front of your legs. This will also improve your stability as front squats are harder on the stabilising muscles.

Hip Flexibility

Many people cannot squat properly and this impedes them improving their squat. Why not try out hip flexibility exercises to loosen the hips so you can squat deeper and with more comfort thus improving form and strength.

Squat More Often

Why not try the Texas technique and train your squat three times a week!

Using this method you have a heavy day, intermediate day and light day. These are broken up as follows

• Heavy Day - 1 heavy single, double or triple (1×1, 1×2 or 1×3).
• Intermediate day - 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight.
• Light day - 3 sets of 3 reps with the same weight.

Moving from once a week to three times a week will really kick start your squats and build more muscle from the feet upwards.

Ahmed Abukhater

Ahmed Abukhater is a powerlifter from Palestine who competed in his first major competition in 2006 when he competed in the (WABDL) World Powerlifting Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Before entering in this world championship Ahmed had competed in the regional competition of Central Illinois Championship in 2003 and also the national Heart of American Bench Press & Deadlift Championship in 2004.

In the Central Illinois Championship Ahmed gained first place in the Open Mens 165lb (75kg) category with a bench press of 300lbs (136 kg) which started his road to success.

Ahmed Abukhaters major success came in November 2007 when he entered he WABDL World Championship in Anaheim, California and won his division.

Throughout his powerlifting career Ahmed has broke many Palestinian national records in powerlifting.

As well as powerlifting Ahmed Abukhater is also a very intelligent man who has achieved many educational accolades such as

• PhD candidate in Community and Regional Planning - University of Texas in Austin
• Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning - University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign
• Architectural Engineering - Islamic University of Gaza

From his humble beginnings Ahmed has really proven himself both physically and mentally. I am sure he will carry on pushing the boundaries in Powerlifting and the academic world.

Green Tea

Green tea has been used as a hot beverage for thousands of years, the reason for this is not just because of its taste but also because of its great medicinal properties.

These medicinal properties actually have many benefits for weight lifting also.

When you drink a cup of green tea you are getting a good level of Catechins. Catechins are in the polyphenols family and are great antioxidants. In Catechins there are epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), these ingrediants provide a level of antioxidant activity that is nearly one hundred times more powerful than vitamin C or E.

Green Tea also has Theanine in it. Theanine is an amino acid that is known to give a calming and tranquilising affect on the brain!

Green Tea is also a great pre workout drink as it has some Caffeine in it yet also provides a relaxing affect on the mind without affecting the performance of the body. This is a great supplement to take instead of coffee or other caffeine products that can make you all anxious and jittery.

Finally it has been researched and confirmed that Green tea actually increases your metabolic rate by upto three percent if you drink two to three cup of green tea daily. Now this is perfect for those that want to lose fat and cut up for the summer!!!