Suplement Tip: Do you take a multi-vitamin? Yes, we all know the American Medical Association highly recommends taking a multi to make up for our sad diets. However, are you aware of the QUALITY of your multi? Are you taking synthetic copies of vitamins and minerals (that your body can't use anyway)or are you taking the real thing? Look for vitamins that are made from WHOLE foods. One recommendation is Garden of Life brand multi-vitamins.

THE SQUAT — A MUST FOR YOUR EXERCISE ROUTINE

The squat has long been called the "best exercise in the world" and the "king of exercises," and we think so too. To most the squat is a "leg" exercise, strengthening through a combination of ankle/knee/hip flexion and extension. It is actually much more than that; when you do a proper squat your core is activating to stabilize and your proprioception (balance and body control) is being improved.

HOW TO:

start position:
feet flat (and stay flat!), feet about hip width apart, toes angled out at about 30 degrees, stand straight, keep your eyes on the horizon, and raise your arms in front (like frankenstein).
execution:

1) Draw your bellybutton in (tightening up your "internal weight belt").
2) Throw your hips back as you start to lower, bending your knees and keeping your feet flat.
3) Lower yourself until your butt is just about even with your knees. Just like squatting to use the toilet, let your butt lead the way.
4) Press yourself back up in to the standing (start) position and reset everything before your next rep.

loading:
The most known squat variation is the 'rear' squat: placing the barbell across your upper back. The lesser known 'front' squat (pictured below) is when the barbell is placed across the top of your chest and upper arms. We highly recommend you front squat because it is safer and more functional. However, squats can be loaded in a lot of ways: holding dumbells, holding a medicine ball, holding a weight plate, or putting on a weight vest.

We see many people in the gym doing "assisted" squats when they are capable and will get more out of real squats (real squats are what I just described above). The ever popular ball-wall squat (leaning back into a swiss ball) and the smith machine (a "squat rack" that moves the bar up/down in a fixed range of motion) are, in fact, assisted squats. I know the bodybuilders don't want to hear that but there is a reason why they can squat 200 pounds more on the smith machine (you don't have to stabilize yourself on a smith machine, therefore you can push more weight).

So if you are interested in total body strength, start squatting and start squatting the right way.