Will squats really make a difference to fat burning?

S

sophienaz

New member
Hi,

Yesterday for the first time in my life I started doing squats, with I think its called the Smith machine. I absolutely loved it. Only ever did lunges with free weights before. It felt good and I had no weird knee twinges like I get with lunges.
So my question is, will doing regular squats during my weight training days really significantly help boost my metabolism and help get rid of my stubborn fat? I'm guessing that becuase it uses the ass and legs, the biggest muscles on the body, it should make a difference....
Also, I started with a real woosy weight, just used the bar and put 5kg on either side, I'm guessing with the weight of the bar, it must have weighed a grand total of around 10-15kg. I'm 5feet 6 and weight 130lbs and I'm pretty strong for a girl, I've been told...so what should my squatting weight target be? I want an ass of steel....so.....should I aim for say...I dunno....grand total of 40-50kg? Is this too much? Will the fat on my ass disappear somewhat with all the squatting? Or will it just look and feel firmer???
Thanks for any advice... :)
 
I don't know about significantly, but it will definitely help. It uses the biggest muscles in your body.
 
don't use smith machine, it really doesn't do you any favors, completely removes a lot of the benefits of doing squats.

But yes, anything that you're able to do thats very intense where you run out of energy fast will blast your metabolism into the stratosphere. Squats are one of the ebst exercises for this, load up the bar and squat yourself into the ground. Catch is it's also a VERY technical move, and not one that you should do unless you have proper form.. small things can make a big difference.. youtube has some good squat videos to get an idea about form. But some basic rules, your hips, knees and toes should be in alignment throughout the motion, and your back and shins should always be parallel to each other. Knees are fine if they go past the toes, ignore the clowns who say otherwise. As long as your back and shins are parallel knees will be good. Core should always be solid and tight throughout the movement, breath fully held in. Your hips go _below_ parallel to the ground. No half squats. If you were to have someone watch you from the side, the bar goes straight vertical down and back up, so thats a good way to tell if you're trying to cheat on the way back up with a good morning.
 
Resistance training is an excellent way to raise your metabolism and burn off loads of fat.

If you can incorporate squats with sit ups and push ups along with cardio and a good dietary plan, it would definitely make a huge difference in the amount of fat your body burns.

Also remember that there is no such thing as a targeted work out. In other words, just because you do squats does not mean you will lose fat and gain muscle in that one area if you don't incorporate other forms of exercise to make it a more holistic workout.
 
Jynus said:
don't use smith machine, it really doesn't do you any favors, completely removes a lot of the benefits of doing squats.

But yes, anything that you're able to do thats very intense where you run out of energy fast will blast your metabolism into the stratosphere. Squats are one of the ebst exercises for this, load up the bar and squat yourself into the ground. Catch is it's also a VERY technical move, and not one that you should do unless you have proper form.. small things can make a big difference.. youtube has some good squat videos to get an idea about form. But some basic rules, your hips, knees and toes should be in alignment throughout the motion, and your back and shins should always be parallel to each other. Knees are fine if they go past the toes, ignore the clowns who say otherwise. As long as your back and shins are parallel knees will be good. Core should always be solid and tight throughout the movement, breath fully held in. Your hips go _below_ parallel to the ground. No half squats. If you were to have someone watch you from the side, the bar goes straight vertical down and back up, so thats a good way to tell if you're trying to cheat on the way back up with a good morning.
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Oh thanks for that, especially the tips about form. I didn't realise the Smith Machine was bit of a no no, I shall try free form and use the mirror to optimise my alignment. It is very technical and I reckon its quite an advanced exercise to do in terms of weight training. I see a lot of clowns in the gym doing it free form and it looks so bad, I'll go check out the links on u-tube. Thanks again!
 
VeganInTraining said:
Resistance training is an excellent way to raise your metabolism and burn off loads of fat.

If you can incorporate squats with sit ups and push ups along with cardio and a good dietary plan, it would definitely make a huge difference in the amount of fat your body burns.

Also remember that there is no such thing as a targeted work out. In other words, just because you do squats does not mean you will lose fat and gain muscle in that one area if you don't incorporate other forms of exercise to make it a more holistic workout.
Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for that. I hear you about spot-eliminating the fat. I wish it were true, but I reckon genetics may play a big part, i.e. my butt/hip area may always be high in fat even if I lose more weight, this is just the way I'm made. I am doing a lot of core work and cardio work as well in my work outs so hopefully it will all work together in making me stronger and boosting my metabolism.
 
sophienaz said:
Oh thanks for that, especially the tips about form. I didn't realise the Smith Machine was bit of a no no, I shall try free form and use the mirror to optimise my alignment. It is very technical and I reckon its quite an advanced exercise to do in terms of weight training. I see a lot of clowns in the gym doing it free form and it looks so bad, I'll go check out the links on u-tube. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

The Smith Machine gets a bad name, but many people cant do squats properly (especially when starting out), i couldnt... I found the smith machine to be an excellent machine as a new-comer to the gym.

Regardless, as a poster above said... what ever you do that targets your core and exhausts you fast is going to be a good tool to use. I think too many times people get caught up in what is "the best" or "most effective" exercise or technique. IMHO mostly only extremely fit people will notice a difference.

For all of us who want to lose weight, i think it can be as simple as working hard at the gym, diet and time.
 
sophienaz said:
Hi,

Yesterday for the first time in my life I started doing squats, with I think its called the Smith machine. I absolutely loved it. Only ever did lunges with free weights before. It felt good and I had no weird knee twinges like I get with lunges.
So my question is, will doing regular squats during my weight training days really significantly help boost my metabolism and help get rid of my stubborn fat? I'm guessing that becuase it uses the ass and legs, the biggest muscles on the body, it should make a difference....
Also, I started with a real woosy weight, just used the bar and put 5kg on either side, I'm guessing with the weight of the bar, it must have weighed a grand total of around 10-15kg. I'm 5feet 6 and weight 130lbs and I'm pretty strong for a girl, I've been told...so what should my squatting weight target be? I want an ass of steel....so.....should I aim for say...I dunno....grand total of 40-50kg? Is this too much? Will the fat on my ass disappear somewhat with all the squatting? Or will it just look and feel firmer???
Thanks for any advice... :)
Click to expand...

Squats work your legs, not your butt. Will your butt muscles get a tiny bit of a workout while doing squats? Yeah. But, it's not going to make much of a difference.

If you're looking for "an ass of steel", squats aren't the exercise for you.
 
ChefChiTown said:
Squats work your legs, not your butt. Will your butt muscles get a tiny bit of a workout while doing squats? Yeah. But, it's not going to make much of a difference.

If you're looking for "an ass of steel", squats aren't the exercise for you.
Click to expand...

LOL, actually yes they are, gluts are a huge component of squats.. They don't call it squatters ass for nothing amongst power lifters......
 
Jynus said:
LOL, actually yes they are, gluts are a huge component of squats.. They don't call it squatters ass for nothing amongst power lifters......
Click to expand...

I know "power lifters" don't call it that for nothing...they call it that because they're queers. ;)

I've done plenty of squats and none of them have ever given me an ass of steel. I played catcher for years (as well as fullback) and I used to do squats on a routine basis to keep my legs as strong as I possibly could. Even back in high school, I could squat 400+ lbs...but I never had an ass of steel.

As I said, do they work your butt a little bit? Yes. But you're not going to get an ass of steel because of squats and squats alone.
 
ChefChiTown said:
I know "power lifters" don't call it that for nothing...they call it that because they're queers. ;)

I've done plenty of squats and none of them have ever given me an ass of steel. I played catcher for years (as well as fullback) and I used to do squats on a routine basis to keep my legs as strong as I possibly could. Even back in high school, I could squat 400+ lbs...but I never had an ass of steel.

As I said, do they work your butt a little bit? Yes. But you're not going to get an ass of steel because of squats and squats alone.
Click to expand...

regardless of what you may think, glutes are a primary driver for squats. Look at any biomechanics breakdown of the movement. I will say this though, they don't fully engage unless you are doing them properly. IE: you're going past parallel. More than likely, if you are not getting glute activation, you're just doing them wrong... You sure you're going down far enough, and doing freeweight squats and not the terrible smith machine or hack squat machine?
 
Jynus said:
regardless of what you may think, glutes are a primary driver for squats. Look at any biomechanics breakdown of the movement. I will say this though, they don't fully engage unless you are doing them properly. IE: you're going past parallel. More than likely, if you are not getting glute activation, you're just doing them wrong... You sure you're going down far enough, and doing freeweight squats and not the terrible smith machine or hack squat machine?
Click to expand...

I don't care what the "biomechanics breakdown" may be - squats and squats alone aren't going to give you an 'ass of steel'.
 
"ass of steel" is created by lowering your body fat, however, you still build the glutes through squats. If your biceps are covered in fat they will not be hard as a rock either, but that doesn't mean there is no muscle there.
 
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