Doing bodyweight squats, also known as free squats, or air squats, might be the simplest and most convenient form of resistance training there is. You can get a pump in your legs and boost your metabolism – without even having to get your hands dirty! Effective enough to build muscle in your legs, but light enough to be done daily, free squats are a fantastic form of calisthenics to add to a fitness regimen, or do as a standalone entrance into resistance training. But when’s the best time to do your squats?
The best time of day to do bodyweight squats will depend on your schedule and goals. But for most people the best time will be either first thing in the morning, or some time in the evening. The best time to do your squats is whatever time you’ll actually do them. The only times to avoid are before bed, and before engaging in other physically demanding activities or work, and directly after a meal.
You have several options, and there’s a few different angles you could take, so let’s take the discussion a little deeper.
This article is written and intended for those who are healthy enough to work out with some degree of intensity. Be sure to get the go ahead from your doctor before starting to do squats or any other type of workout regimen. This is even more important if you have pre-existing health conditions or injuries.
Bodyweight Squats In The Morning
Knocking out your squats first thing in the morning can provide a number of positives. Most noticeably there is a tremendous boost to your metabolism, this will wake you up and get you burning fat.
Testosterone is highest when you wake up in the morning, so this is a great opportunity to boost it even higher by doing some squats. You may find that this time of day is when you get the best pump.
If you perform your squats right away upon waking, you’ll start your day with a sense of completion. Knowing that you have already accomplished something productive before even eating breakfast will set you on the right path toward productivity for the whole day.
Building the habit of doing them first thing in the morning allows you to avoid the scenario of getting tired or being rushed by unforeseen events later in the day and making excuses not to do your squats.
Bodyweight Squats During Work?
Depending on what type of work you do, throwing some squats into the shift may or may not be appropriate. If your job is largely sedentary and you spend most of the day sitting or standing, doing some squats can do a lot to help your circulation and prevent stiffness and muscle loss. If you work a fast paced or physically strenuous job, outside of work hours will probably be a better choice.
For all you office drones out there, try spreading 10 sets of 10 squats throughout your day, or knocking out 50-100 during your lunch or coffee break.
Your work may fall somewhere between the extremes of cubicle work and construction. For example, warehouse or restaurant work may not involve strenuous lifting or climbing, but you might remain on your feet for long periods of time with light carrying and lifting. You may walk around a sprawling campus or facility. If you do this type of work, you should be able to squeeze a few squats into your day without it slowing you down. Squats can really help your knees and hips stay limber as you’ll tend to stiffen up when you stand for long periods of time.
Bodyweight Squats Before You Shower
This is when I do my squats. Having formed a mental association between showering and squats, I can no longer take my evening shower without first cranking out at least 50 prisoner squats. The hot water of the shower helps relax the muscles afterward, and may help prevent blood pooling by aiding your circulation. If you bathe in the evening, following up the hot shower with a nice, thorough stretching session makes for a great combination. This way, you have the pleasurable sense of completion from doing your daily squats, and then be thoroughly relaxed and prepared for rest.
By associating your shower with your squats, you will find that it only takes a minute or two to do 50-100 squats if you’re really ready to get them done. For me, sometimes I’ll be feeling lazy and will get in the shower, but the guilt will make me do them in the shower. Doing squats in the shower is not recommended, and is recognizably unsafe, (you could potentially slip and suffer a serious injury or worse). But the point is, I feel guilty if I don’t do this simple and easy exercise, which keeps me doing them!
The bottom line is to your squats whenever the best time is for you. That may be before breakfast, late afternoon, during your lunch break, before your shower, or anytime that you find convenient. The only times to avoid would be right before getting into bed or being completely sedentary, (e.g. driving for several hours) unless you stretch for at least 5 to 10 minutes right after your squats.
Find what works for you, set a specific time or situation that occurs daily, and get in a routine.
Frequency vs Weight vs Volume
There are many different approaches to training. You can either go heavy, do a lot of sets and reps, or train very often (daily). As long as you are pushing yourself in one of these areas, you should continue to see results. Heavy weights will cause more muscle soreness, and may be more of a safety issue, especially for beginners and older individuals. High volume workouts with moderate weight, although easier on the joints, can still cause a great deal of muscle soreness and be time-consuming.
The high-frequency approach sort of hits a sweet spot for the casual exerciser, or the individual who has to be able to function properly at work or doing other activities and doesn’t want to be shaking in pain after “leg day”. A short but effective workout that can be repeated daily with minor increases in weight (intensity) or reps (volume), that will cause minimal soreness and will not require more than 24 hrs to recover from. This way, instead of being super sore and waiting a whole week to train a body part again. You’ll be able to stay at, or close to, your peak strength level every day. This way you can train a muscle group more frequently, pumping nutrient rich blood and oxygen into the muscle daily. This is also a great idea for weak point training.
How Does High Frequency Training Work With Bodyweight Squats?
50 squats is a pretty manageable amount for most fit adults. This is also enough to give pretty much anybody a fantastic pump in their quads. So doing this 1-3 times a week might not present much of a challenge. But doing 50 to 100 squats every day (one rest day a week is okay if you need it) will mean that your legs will be getting a good pump virtually every day. This will be beneficial for low body muscle growth and helpful for improving your body composition (lowering bodyfat %) due to the metabolic boost and the enhanced release of testosterone and growth hormone.
For maximum fat burning, try doing your squats upon waking and fasting until lunch. This way your increased metabolism will have a chance to consume fat reserves before food is introduced to the system.
Remember that there are a ton of ways to increase the intensity of your squats. Besides using weights or resistance bands, you could experiment with different foot positions, sissy squats, one-legged squats, pistol squats… the possibilities are innumerable. Also lunges and calf raises can really add some muscularity to your legs and make for a complete lower body workout.
It is important to track your progress with other metrics besides just weight and what you look like in the mirror. The scales will not tell the full story of what’s going on with your body composition. I highly recommend you track your body fat using a body fat monitor, and use a retractable tape measure to keep track of the size of your waist, hips, arms, and legs. This will give you a more complete picture of your progress.
