Squats testimonies?

they work (although not posting pics like the sexy woman up there did!!!!!) i started out with squats alone and now use a medicine ball or wights to make it more effective..... and FINALLY i am starting to see more than a flat butt!!!! but may need to stop because hubby can no longer keep his hands to himself....

bump

Bumping because there is some great info in here. Thank you.

Squats are definitely where it's at!!!! Wish I would have started squatting a loooooong time ago....

I remember the first couple weeks I started squatting. I hobbled around like a crippled person, and sitting down on the toilet was torture. LOL! If you can get through that initial 'WTF' phase you're golden. Now the only time it hurts is when I decided to increase my weight on the bar. Then it's 1-2 days of ouchie....

Edited to add that I started out with just body weight. Then I held dumbells, then a barbell, then added weights to the barbell. I actually transitioned to Stronglifts 5x5 where squats are the main lift. After 12 weeks, my butt was noticeably firmer and shapelier!

Stiff leg/romanian deadlifts are a much more direct butt exercise than squats.

That is true, especially compared to the half-squats most people do. Every time I see someone in the gym stop even before parallel I want to scream, they are only getting 1/3 the benefit from the lift. In comparison to a properly done full squat, a straight-leg probably is 25% better at hitting the gluteus maximus. It is a good choice for a supporting lift, or rest day.

The downside though is the same as all isolated joint exercises, you lose a ton in time and effort. A compound lift like a full squat hits no less than dozen muscle groups in some capacity, so you get a ton of bang for your time and effort. A full squat's main drivers are the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteus maximus. It also works indirectly the calves, low back, spinal erectors, abdominals, minor gluteals, hip adductors and abductors, deltoids, and trapezius. When you go from being a hinge-joint to a z-shape, all the support muscles come into play.

The best workouts are short and stupid-simple. You don't build muscle in the gym, you break it down, and it is your rest day(s) that rebuild it. No 7-day a week cardio, no body-part alternating stuff, you should need no more than 3 days a week, 1 hour each session. Lift heavy, hit all the body in 3-4 exercises, then take at least one full day off, with a solid high-protein diet.

When you're trying to build muscle you need a balanced diet, and at least 40% of your calories should be protein in some form. Whether your a Veggie or not, make sure you get lots of dairy and eggs, they are hands-down your best protein sources for muscle building. If your a Vegan, make sure you are getting enough of the critical amino acids, Glutamine, Creatine, Arginine, Leucine, to name a few.

I'm doing squats on the squat rack up to 70kg, leg press on cybrex eagle machine 180lbs and lunges with 10kg dumbbells. Also Spinning and BodyPump class which use a lighter weight on the bar and higher reps and more bottom half movements. Deadlifts are also real good.