Skip the 10,000 Steps: The One Exercise That Matches a Full Day of Walking, according to a Fitness Coach

While 10,000 steps are considered the gold standard in fitness and most people try to complete the benchmark for their health, they are not the only way to achieve what you want. As fitness standards evolve, there are many other ways you can activate major muscle movements rather than just walking. A fitness coach recently suggested doing exercises that are mostly focused on other areas rather than just targeting daily steps - especially when it comes to staying youthful and metabolically active. On Instagram, Zarina Manaenkova advised taking short intervals of squats could deliver the same impact as a full day of walking. “Ten squats instead of 10 thousand steps,” Zarina’s post read, referencing a study that equated ten squats every 45 minutes

with 10,000 steps. Manaenkova explained the science behind her claim, stating, “When your muscles actively contract, they produce very important compounds that influence your brain, metabolism, and even your fat-burning processes. Meanwhile, a simple walk does not have this effect. So, if you want to stay young, squat.”

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A post shared by Zarina Manaenkova | Woman.Body.Mindfulness.Success (@zarina_del_mar_world)

What are squats?

A squat is a fundamental movement pattern that requires multiple joint and muscle integration. You need to perfectly bend over to do squats. As a dynamic strength training exercise, squats require several muscles in your upper and lower body to work together simultaneously. Experts believe many of these muscles help power you through daily tasks such as walking, climbing stairs, bending, or carrying heavy loads. They also help you perform athletic-related activities. Doing daily squats boosts your exercise performance, lowers the risk of injury, and keeps you moving more easily throughout the day.

Which muscles do squats involve?

Fitness experts believe that one exercise that can challenge most muscles in your body is squats. While the obvious muscles targeted are in the lower body, to do this compound exercise in the correct form, you need to use several muscles above your waist. The lower muscles targeted in a squat include your:

• Gluteus maximus and medius
• Quadriceps
• Hamstrings
• Adductor
• Hip flexors
• Calves

Apart from your lower body, the squat also targets your core muscles, which include rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominis, and erector spinae.

How to do a basic squat?

For achieving a proper basic squat, you need to just use your body weight for resistance. Variations of the squat include weights, like barbells or dumbbells, resistance bands, or yoga balls. To do a basic squat, you need to:

• Start with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes turned slightly out.
• Keeping your chest up and out and the pressure even in your feet, engage your abdominals, and shift your weight back into your heels as you push your hips back.
• Lower yourself into a squat until either your heels begin to lift off the floor, or until your torso begins to round or flex forward. Your depth should be determined by your form.
• Keep your chest out and core tight as you push through your heels to stand back up to your starting position. Squeeze your glutes at the top.
• Perform 10–15 reps. Work up to 3 sets.