Strength training is a good thing to lean into in August. Most obviously, it makes us stronger. That physical strength often translates into strength of character and other kinds of resilience, and who doesn’t need that? Strength training has positive effects on our metabolisms and our body composition. Plus we look cool.
There are approximately eleventy bazillion strength training exercises, so choosing a favorite has a certain amount of challenge. If I had to choose only one, I would choose the squat.
Squats are the ultimate in practicality. We have to do them many times a day. They are the key to our independence in our old age: when we can’t squat, we can’t go to the bathroom alone, and that’s a problem.
They’re also flexible. We can do them with body weight wherever we are. We can do them with heavy weights. We can do them on one leg to work our balance. We can use a barbell across our shoulders, dumbbells in our hands hanging at our sides, or holding a kettlebell at our breastbones. Those of us who need a little more support can do them with a stability ball against a wall. For additional challenge, we can squat on either side of a BOSU.
No matter how we do them, we’re working pretty much our whole bodies. That’s efficient!
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