Of the various forms of aerobic exercise, running is probably most popular. However, today walking, use of the stair climbers, rowers, stationary bikes, eliptical machines and other types of exercise equipment are giving running a serious challenge. One of the reasons for this is that running often leads to injuries of the support structures, especially of the foot, knee, hip and trunk. These problems usually occur in people who are approaching their late mid-years, approximately 40 to 60.
The substitutes for running, however, are not always 100% safe. Many injuries still occur from people using stair climbers, rowers and stationary bicycles. Most of the injuries occur from improper technique in using the equipment, just as many running injuries occur from improper running technique. Very often participants in running or other methods of aerobic training do not have the physical abilities to do the extensive workouts that they perform. This too leads to additional injuries.
One effective substitute for running and the other methods of aerobic training is to do squats. According to Eppa, 100 squats are equivalent (in terms of aerobic conditioning) to one kilometer of running. However, this does not mean you should begin with 100 squats. As in all activities, the increase in the number of squats executed should be very gradual.
In addition, squats should not be done more than three times per week. There should be one day in between workouts for recovery. One way of ensuring a gradual load increase is to do about 10 squats in each workout for the first six weeks. In the second six weeks you should gradually increase the load by one to two squats until you reach 50 in one workout. Beginners usually need another six weeks before they can execute 50 consecutive squats. According to the researchers, after achieving 50 squats you should increase the load according to the following schematic.
NUMBER OF SQUATS WEEK 1st STAGE 2nd STAGE 1 50 120 2 55 130 3 60 140 4 65 160 5 70 180 6 75 210 7 80 240 8 85 270 9 90 300 10 95 340 11 100 400 12 110 450
By doing squats you can better prepare yourself for running and other methods of aerobic training. For example, when you use the steppers or if you use a step program, you use the same muscles and joint actions as in squatting only the range of motion is somewhat different. Thus, by doing squats you can improve your ability to perform in these aerobic training regimes.
In addition, doing squats will help immensely in cycling, running and rowing since many of the same muscles and joint actions are involved. Those who do not wish to continue running or using the other aerobic training methods can stick with the squats and increase the number up to 600. This will correspond to 6 kilometers of running. This is a substantial load especially if you do 600 squats, three times per week!
At the beginning you should squat at a slow tempo, taking 5-6 seconds for one squat. A slow tempo is needed to ensure safety during execution. If you do the squats faster when the muscles are not prepared for faster movements, you could injure the knees on the change from the down to the up movement. As you become used to the slower tempo with a slight pause in between repetitions, you should then work up to 50 squats in approximately five minutes, which is basically the same pace.
After this you should increase the pace of doing the squat. There should be no pausing in between repetitions and the movement should be slightly faster but without any bouncing or quick changes in the down position. At this time you should do 600 squats in 30 minutes. However, if you are not prepared for 600 squats at this faster pace, then you should continue to execute them at a slower pace and only gradually work up until you can handle them. In essence, you should seek the number of repetitins and tempo of exercise that fits you best.
To make the squat workouts safe and most effective the squats should be executed correctly. The feet should be approximately shoulder width apart and the spine should be kept in its normal slightly arched position at all times. As you go into the squat, inhale and hold the breath until you rise up and pass the most difficult part of the up-phase. Then exhale forcibly, especially when beginning to become fatigued.
When you inhale and hold your breath the diaphragm presses against the abdominal wall which creates intra-abdominal pressure. This, in turn, helps to keep the spine stable. Most important, however, is to maintain contraction of the erector spinae muscle to maintain the slight arch in the lower back and to keep the feet flat on the floor. On the descent, the trunk should incline forward about 45 degrees to keep the body in balance. You may even find that raising the arms in front to the level position as you squat may help your balance. Bring the arms down as you rise up. By moving the arms you help to increase the aerobic effect.
For an even greater aerobic effect, include arm work during the squat exercises. In one variant you can hold a wooden pole in your hands shoulder width apart. As you squat, raise the pole overhead and hold it overhead until you rise up. Then lower the pole back down in front of you. Doing this extra movement requires greater balance but the aerobic effect is increased.
In another variant you can use the back stretch strap. In this exercise you hold the handles of the strap approximately chest high when you lower your body into the squat. You then use the arms and legs to rise up to the standing position. In this variant you get a good stretch of the shoulders along with strengthening of the shoulder and arm muscles as you continue to develop more strength endurance of the leg muscles from the squat. See dryessis.com for more information on the back stretch strap.
In still another variant, you can use a pole to assist in the squat. In this case, hold the pole on one end with both arms and place the other end of the pole against the floor in front of you. Go into the squat and when you are ready to rise up, press down on the pole with the arms to assist the legs out of the bottom position as you rise up. Using the arms in this manner increases the work load on the upper body while relieving some of the work done by the legs. In addition, you will find it easier on the lower back when you use the pole for assistance.