The following squat exercise routine works like the Story of Milo of Crotana...

There was a boy named Milo from the city of Crotana, Greece who carried a baby calf a certain distance into town everyday, and with each passing day the calf grew bigger and heavier, while Milo also grew bigger and stronger for his efforts.

This phenomenon from the preceding story is referred to as progressive resistance OR the overload principal. Increasing the amount of weight each time forces your body to grow bigger and stronger, if you don't, then your gains stagnate.

The squat is the best pound for pound complete muscle and strength builder of any exercise out there...when Tom Cruise said "You Complete Me," in the movie Jerry Maguire, he was actually alluding to squats, NOT Renee Zelweger's character ;)

This article will go into the simple, and most importantly wholesome, squat exercise recipe that can put 30lbs of muscle on your body in 6 weeks from the book Super Squats, by Dr. Randall J. Strossen.

I was often told in my baseball days, while training at Fresno State, the following squat system is the natural way of "shooting up" without using a needle, rubbing on, or ingesting a special hyped-up supplement. We did them once per week and I was a solid 185lbs, now I'm around 176 without the specified squat exercise.

How can this CORE Creations squatting system benefit YOU?

Benefits include:

• Shorter gym time, and get more out of it than longer conventional workouts.
• Forces the body to adapt, get bigger and stronger after every workout, which means NO stagnating results!
• Build a stronger butt, leg muscles, and gut translating into BIG Power. AND
• Whenever our CORE gets stronger, the better our posture, not to mention becoming more attractive to the opposite sex!

What are the ingredients for the squat exercise routine?

Remember to check with your Doctor first, before starting any new exercise routine or diet.

1 set of 20 repetition squats, 2-3 times per week with at least 1-2 days rest between squat lifting days. Start with 55% of your 1-rep max and add 5-10lbs of weight each new lifting day. Also, drink at least 2 quarts (1/2 a gallon) of milk (whole has more nutrients) per day along with your normal eating routine, and get plenty of rest. The author of Super Squats gained 30lbs of muscle in 6 weeks on this program! If you're buying milk at a bulk food store, like Costco, this should cost about $30-40 extra per month; a tiny investment for your gains in performance.

Equipment you'll need, if you don't have access to a gym, is very easily obtained, won't take up a lot of room, and fairly inexpensive; you'll need a steel Power (Squat) Rack, adjustable weight bench, and a 300 Lb Olympic Weight Set, total brand new should run about $1,100, and used for nearly half that.

You can also save space adding a Bowflex SelectTech adjustable dumbbell set for another $474 (brand new). These are simply brilliant for the fact you won't take up a lot of space in a home gym with tons of iron/rubber clad dumbbells laid out all over the place, AND it makes changing weights super easy and quick.

You can also search eBay for fantastic deals on NEW and USED equipment with the below links:

• Search for 300 LB Olympic Weight Sets on eBay
• Search for Power Squat Cage Racks on eBay
• Search for Adjustable Weight Benches on eBay
• Search for Adjustable Dumbbells on eBay

7 Crucial Squat Safety Concerns

1. Make sure to breath deeply from the belly as you do the squats, not from the chest because you'll most likely get a head ache or pass out during the lift.
2. If you don't have a squat exercise rack with safety bars, then make sure to have a good spotter to watch over you at all times.
3. Squat from your heels (like you're sitting down in a chair), NOT your toes...squatting from your toes puts too much stress on the knees.
4. Keep the toes pointing straight ahead if possible, and feet about shoulder width.
5. When descending into the squat, focus on keeping the knees tracking in line with the toes.
6. Make sure to get your thighs to at least parallel to the ground.
7. Keep your chest up and back as straight as you can, do NOT arch your spine!

If anything, please pay close attention to the above squat exercise video for the proper form. Just like in hitting, squat technique is very important and precautions should be taken during the beginning stages of motor learning. If anything, start with smaller weights to get form down, then steadily increase it.

The above CORE Creations squat exercise routine is very simple and wholesome, 1 set of 20-Rep squats, 2-3 times per week, 2 quarts of milk per day, and plenty of rest. That's it! You're now on your way to bigger stronger legs & core, more force behind the ball, and most importantly, faster bat speed :)

BONUS Thoughts...

What about working your chest, back, shoulders, etc. along with the 20-Rep Squat Exercise routine?

As a hitter, you want to stick with dumbbells because they force your body to stabilize the weight more effectively than using a barbell, and most vital, they simulate the movements you'll be doing on a baseball field better anyway.

Here's a list of powerful multi-joint exercises you can do along with your 20-Rep Squat Routine, just pick 2 extra exercises total per workout, with separate muscle groups. In other words, don't do everything on this list every workout. Remember less is more.

• CHEST: Dumbbell (DB) Chest press, DB Incline Chest Press, Decline Pushups/DB Press
• BACK: Single Arm DB Row (on a bench), DB Bent-over Row, Pull Ups/Lat Pulldowns
• SHOULDERS: DB Military press (be careful with this one), DB Upright Row
• OTHER: Straight Arm Standing Lat Pulldown, Bench Dips, Regular Dips

The following squat exercise routine works like the Story of Milo of Crotana...

There was a boy named Milo from the city of Crotana, Greece who carried a baby calf a certain distance into town everyday, and with each passing day the calf grew bigger and heavier, while Milo also grew bigger and stronger for his efforts.

This phenomenon from the preceding story is referred to as progressive resistance OR the overload principal. Increasing the amount of weight each time forces your body to grow bigger and stronger, if you don't, then your gains stagnate.

The squat is the best pound for pound complete muscle and strength builder of any exercise out there...when Tom Cruise said "You Complete Me," in the movie Jerry Maguire, he was actually alluding to squats, NOT Renee Zelweger's character ;)

This article will go into the simple, and most importantly wholesome, squat exercise recipe that can put 30lbs of muscle on your body in 6 weeks from the book Super Squats, by Dr. Randall J. Strossen.

I was often told in my baseball days, while training at Fresno State, the following squat system is the natural way of "shooting up" without using a needle, rubbing on, or ingesting a special hyped-up supplement. We did them once per week and I was a solid 185lbs, now I'm around 176 without the specified squat exercise.

How can this CORE Creations squatting system benefit YOU?

Benefits include:

• Shorter gym time, and get more out of it than longer conventional workouts.
• Forces the body to adapt, get bigger and stronger after every workout, which means NO stagnating results!
• Build a stronger butt, leg muscles, and gut translating into BIG Power. AND
• Whenever our CORE gets stronger, the better our posture, not to mention becoming more attractive to the opposite sex!

What are the ingredients for the squat exercise routine?

Remember to check with your Doctor first, before starting any new exercise routine or diet.

1 set of 20 repetition squats, 2-3 times per week with at least 1-2 days rest between squat lifting days. Start with 55% of your 1-rep max and add 5-10lbs of weight each new lifting day. Also, drink at least 2 quarts (1/2 a gallon) of milk (whole has more nutrients) per day along with your normal eating routine, and get plenty of rest. The author of Super Squats gained 30lbs of muscle in 6 weeks on this program! If you're buying milk at a bulk food store, like Costco, this should cost about $30-40 extra per month; a tiny investment for your gains in performance.

Equipment you'll need, if you don't have access to a gym, is very easily obtained, won't take up a lot of room, and fairly inexpensive; you'll need a steel Power (Squat) Rack, adjustable weight bench, and a 300 Lb Olympic Weight Set, total brand new should run about $1,100, and used for nearly half that.

You can also save space adding a Bowflex SelectTech adjustable dumbbell set for another $474 (brand new). These are simply brilliant for the fact you won't take up a lot of space in a home gym with tons of iron/rubber clad dumbbells laid out all over the place, AND it makes changing weights super easy and quick.

You can also search eBay for fantastic deals on NEW and USED equipment with the below links:

• Search for 300 LB Olympic Weight Sets on eBay
• Search for Power Squat Cage Racks on eBay
• Search for Adjustable Weight Benches on eBay
• Search for Adjustable Dumbbells on eBay

7 Crucial Squat Safety Concerns

1. Make sure to breath deeply from the belly as you do the squats, not from the chest because you'll most likely get a head ache or pass out during the lift.
2. If you don't have a squat exercise rack with safety bars, then make sure to have a good spotter to watch over you at all times.
3. Squat from your heels (like you're sitting down in a chair), NOT your toes...squatting from your toes puts too much stress on the knees.
4. Keep the toes pointing straight ahead if possible, and feet about shoulder width.
5. When descending into the squat, focus on keeping the knees tracking in line with the toes.
6. Make sure to get your thighs to at least parallel to the ground.
7. Keep your chest up and back as straight as you can, do NOT arch your spine!

If anything, please pay close attention to the above squat exercise video for the proper form. Just like in hitting, squat technique is very important and precautions should be taken during the beginning stages of motor learning. If anything, start with smaller weights to get form down, then steadily increase it.

The above CORE Creations squat exercise routine is very simple and wholesome, 1 set of 20-Rep squats, 2-3 times per week, 2 quarts of milk per day, and plenty of rest. That's it! You're now on your way to bigger stronger legs & core, more force behind the ball, and most importantly, faster bat speed :)

BONUS Thoughts...

What about working your chest, back, shoulders, etc. along with the 20-Rep Squat Exercise routine?

As a hitter, you want to stick with dumbbells because they force your body to stabilize the weight more effectively than using a barbell, and most vital, they simulate the movements you'll be doing on a baseball field better anyway.

Here's a list of powerful multi-joint exercises you can do along with your 20-Rep Squat Routine, just pick 2 extra exercises total per workout, with separate muscle groups. In other words, don't do everything on this list every workout. Remember less is more.

• CHEST: Dumbbell (DB) Chest press, DB Incline Chest Press, Decline Pushups/DB Press
• BACK: Single Arm DB Row (on a bench), DB Bent-over Row, Pull Ups/Lat Pulldowns
• SHOULDERS: DB Military press (be careful with this one), DB Upright Row
• OTHER: Straight Arm Standing Lat Pulldown, Bench Dips, Regular Dips