Visceral fat - the fat around the organs that's killing us off with diabetes, heart disease and cancer is hard to get rid of. You can do sit-ups till your blue in the face, but working your biggest muscles, i.e. your legs will help burn that fat off. For this I like the squats and done properly you can feel it in your quads, hamstrings and abdominal muscles.
Squats can be done a number of ways; with a barbell, with dumbbells, in a Smith machine to name a few. The important thing is to do them correctly. You have to squat down far enough so that your thighs are parallel with the floor. Try putting a bench there and lower yourself down onto it- preferably, just till your butt touches it. Then stand up again pushing yourself through your heels. There is definitely a potential for injury if not done correctly, so ask a trainer to help you before you try it.
Some people scoff at using the Smith Machine for squats, but I use it because I put my feet way out in front and keep my back vertical and my head up. With squats I aim for higher reps and less weight at first, then after a few sets, I'll up the weight and do less reps. Also, I'll try not to rest too much between sets like I would with other routines. I'll often follow a few sets of squats with leg extensions making sure to incorporate a drop set in there somewhere.
One things for sure, if I've worked really hard it makes me walk funny for a while after and I know I'm making progress.
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