Over a week into my Summer Squat Challenge and you are now realizing the power of this amazing exercise… The perfect tushy toner but with all of our variations, you are feeling it beyond the booty. We are just getting started so just wait until we start getting into more of our 95 variations that are revealed throughout the challenge…

I want to be sure you are making the MOST out your squats and avoiding these 6 common mistakes.

1. The Mistake: Your shoulders and back are rounded forward.

Without proper attention to pulling your shoulders back and chest forward, you aren’t as stable in your lower body. In order to be able to use your heels to press yourself up to the starting position, you want to be sure you are well balanced. Rounding forward will put more emphasis on your quads and potentially unnecessary stress on your knees.

G-FIT TIP: Pull your shoulder blades down and together. This simple switch will engage your core and keep your body from becoming relaxed, Be sure there isn’t any rounding of your back. Remember shoulders back, chest out. (I can hear my mom reminding me to stand up tall- “Gina, shoulders back, chest lifted,”) Her words have later improved my squat game…

2. The Mistake: Your knees fall toward each other.

Caved-in knees are a sign that your outer thighs are lacking in strength, If you allow your knees to cave in, you’ll only make this imbalance worse. If you notice your knees are caving in, be mindful to press the knees away from your body and take note that you need to do some exercises to strengthen your outer thighs.

G-FIT TIP: Ground your feet to the floor and as you stand up to the top of a squat, be mindful to rotate your knees out. This may mean that you slow down your squat and focus more on FORM and ensuring your knees stay facing forward vs. falling towards each other. To improve your thigh strength, browse the lower body exercises in the G-Fit App, especially the workouts using an exercise band. Band openers are an excellent way to strengthen your thighs with minimal equipment.

3. The Mistake: You never squat below parallel.

It is common to think that squatting below parallel is bad for your knees. That’s completely untrue. Squatting deep is perfectly healthy and can actually make knees stronger and improve your squat game ONLY if you are mindful to not allow those toes to travel past your knees. Low squats work different parts of your glutes than parallel squats so not only are they acceptable, they are fantastic for working your glutes differently.

G-FIT TIP: Take those squat low, especially those A** to Grass squats (one of my favorites).  There is no exact formula to how low you can go, every squat is different. Listen to the squat tutorial for each variation where I will help coach you through the proper squat depth. As long as you feel comfortable and in control, don’t be afraid to go low!

4. The Mistake: You’re not changing up your squats variation.

Squats come in all shapes and sizes just like we do.  You will see 95 variations in our Summer Squat Challenge- pretty awesome right!? While you don’t have to do all 100 squats the variation listed, be sure to challenge yourself and change up your squat. Don’t get too comfy with one variation or you aren’t getting the most out of your squats. Your body will adjust to whatever it is you do so if you are ONLY doing one variation, your body will not respond the same as changing it up.

G-FIT TIP: Mix up your variations for maximum results. While every type of squat will do wonders for your lower body, each variation emphasizes different muscles, such as your hamstrings or glutes and some even hit your upper body!  Try the squat variation of the day, even if it is just a few. Change it up, don’t get too comfortable with one variation and have the courage to try something new.

5. The Mistake: You don’t squat regularly.

Maybe you are someone who only squats during these summer months. If you don’t squat regularly, you have to start from square one when you do start to squat. The goal is to rock our summer of squats then to keep your squat goals flowing by incorporating them into your workouts throughout the year. The more you can practice our squat variations, the better you will get. If you don’t have to relearn the different squat variations each time, you can go straight into proper form and immediate results!  The less often you squat, the longer it will take to see results, both in terms of sculpting muscle and blasting fat,

G-FIT TIP: You have our Squat Variation PDF to USE beyond our Squat Challenge, use it! In the G-Fit app, we rock workouts and challenges all year long that almost always incorporate one squat variation or another. When it comes time to upping our summer squat game, you are already AHEAD, not to mention you get to reap the benefits of squatting all year long… The bottom line, don’t stop! The goal of our summer squats is to prime you and create habits you will take with you beyond our 95 days!

6. The Mistake: Your knees travel way past your toes.

The farther your knees jut out past your toes, the more you stress your knee joints. If you have sensitive knees, that could mean INJURY,

G-FIT TIP: Keep your knees in line with your toes. While it’s perfectly OK if your knees extend a SLIGHTLY in front of your toes, focus on keeping them behind your toes is a sure way to protect them and keep your knees healthy!

I hope this helps you up your squatting game. The key is to get the MOST out of every squat and I want to be sure you have ALL the tools to ensure the best results throughout our challenge.

Keep those squats LOW and VIBES HIGH! ♡ Gina

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