Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.
We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Must we squat?

Jthanmyfitnesspal
Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,557 Member
edited February 21 in Debate Club
Do we all gotta do so many squats or are there other ways to gain leg strength?

Must we squat? 9 votes

Yes, gotta squat.
66%
neanderthinythannahteanahkhipper502katemcd495AstralCrazy 6 votes
No, hit the bike and ride up some hills.
33%
Jthanmyfitnesspalmrkukuajennyell85 3 votes

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,534 Member
    Squat the movement? Yes, we must. Essential for long-term independent life. We need to get up off the toilet, pick up boxes without over-much straining our backs, get down on the floor without toppling sideways like a falling tree . . . let alone get back up again. :wink:

    Squat the exercise? Not essential, IMO. There are other ways to train and support the squat-the-movement muscular and flexibility requirements, and not all of them involve spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on a bike. (That's not a diss. Even low-end decent rowing shells cost more than low-end decent bikes. I only own one bike, but two shells. :D )

    I suspect that for a lot of people, the most time efficient and convenient way to maintain squat-the-activity ability is to do squat-the-exercise, if only something like squats to chair level or below while watching TV or something. If they're not biking, rowing, or doing some other exercise that has benefits for maintaining daily life squatting capability, I'd encourage them to do squat-the-exercise.

    Even when regularly doing a sport that involves oh, 800-1000 squat-like movements per hour against resistance (though horizontal rather than vertical), I still occasionally do some exercise-type-squats, with or without resistance beyond bodyweight.

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,800 Member
    This thread reminded me that I've been meaning to start doing a few sets of squats a day. I did them yesterday, goblet squats, 3x15 and was like "eh, I'll need to add some weight" and then this morning I'm sore haha. Thanks for the reminder!!
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,557 Member
    No, hit the bike and ride up some hills.
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    This thread reminded me that I've been meaning to start doing a few sets of squats a day. I did them yesterday, goblet squats, 3x15 and was like "eh, I'll need to add some weight" and then this morning I'm sore haha. Thanks for the reminder!!

    I know what you mean! I do them and think “no big deal,” but, yep, I’m sore!
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,557 Member
    No, hit the bike and ride up some hills.
    I thought this question was going to generate a lot more discussion. I suspect that a lot of people don't like doing squats. They're kind of like burpees-- one is easy, 20 is really hard!
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 13,153 Member
    Didn't realize you wanted discussion, thought you were simply asking a yes/no question, which was adequately answered earlier.

    I love squats...didn't always, learned to love them based upon how much they impacted both my legs and everything else...believe it or not, my bench press improved when my squat improved, because there's a lot of synergy going on.

    And if you think 20 squats is hard, you can imagine the day I did a 100-rep squat challenge. This was years ago, but I sure do remember it as if it were yesterday...
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,534 Member
    My knees don't like them (osteoarthritis, torn meniscus), and I don't like them. Upthread, I said I do them occasionally. Occasional is the key word. I'd probably be better off if I did them - cautiously - more often, even though my legs are pretty strong from frequent rowing/biking. (Last time I did physical therapy for knee issues, the PT agreed that neither leg strength generally nor quad strength specifically were a significant factor in my problems. We worked on other things.)

    But I'd never tell people not to do squats, assuming they're able.

    Just because I do dumb stuff doesn't mean I should claim it's the correct course of action, and urge other people to do dumb stuff.
  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,381 Member
    Yes, gotta squat.
    Yes you need to squat, for the reasons outlined by both Claireychn and Ann. It doesn't have to be a weighted gym-based squat but you need to preserve that mobility and function.

    I'm a natural squatter, it's always been my position of choice for doing lower level things like getting something from a bottom shelf or gardening. Or kissing one of the dogs. So I add weight and do some variations to challenge my muscles because I want to live independently for as long as possible into old age.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,557 Member
    No, hit the bike and ride up some hills.

    Another variant of this question: do you need to do free-weight squats if you use the leg press machine? I find the machine to be very convenient.

  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,905 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48518004#Comment_48518004

    I'd say no. If you do the leg press, I would consider that an alternative to the free weight squat.

  • pdskelly0904
    pdskelly0904 Posts: 3 Member

    Squatting is one of the five functional movements; pushing, pulling, squatting, hinging, and carrying. It’s a compound movement that stimulate the primary movement muscles and a host of accessory muscles. The squat can also utilize all three energy systems and the central nervous system by challenging balance and coordination. In terms of pure functionality, squatting offers the most benefits for the time and effort required.

    One could replace squats with alternative exercises that impact the same anatomy. But it requires a lot of different exercises, including the additional time, to get similar stimulators effect. And there is no combination of exercises that demand similar power generation, balance and coordination as the simple squat. Of course, some sports enjoy better utility from alternative exercises and more power to them. For anyone, whether an athlete or a sedentary person, they will receive greater functional benefits from squatting throughout their lives.

  • mrkukua
    mrkukua Posts: 1 Member
    No, hit the bike and ride up some hills.

    No. You can do leg presses, box step ups, high knee steps, etc. Plenty of movements that mimic the same movement of a squat. Pick some you prefer and do them with some intensity in mind.

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,469 Member
    edited March 11

    oops.

Categories