Hindu squats or Uthak-baithak (Hindi: Standing and sitting) is an Indian calisthenic bodyweight exercise used by Indian wrestlers and other athletes to build leg endurance and strength.
Five benefits of Hindu squat training:
- Change your body composition — specifically build lean muscle and lower body fat percentage
- Improve strength related stamina — the ability to apply force for long periods of time, also known as muscular endurance
- Develop functional strength — focus on creating applicable strength that can be used in each of triathlons three disciplines
- Develop muscular balance — this would mean less chance of injury
- Develop muscular flexibility and range of motion necessary for coordinated muscle recruitment
Fat loss with Hindu Squats
Did you know the best way to burn belly fat is a shock to most people? They have never even heard of Hindu squats.
Most will guess, “Crunches”, “Situps”, or “aerobic cardio” as the best way to lose stomach fat. But none of those work best, or even work at all!
In fact, I often get asked, What’s the best way to burn fat and lose my belly? Do aerobics work better than interval training? What should I eat to lose stomach fat? All of those are common questions.
But here’s the truth. Cardio is not the best way to burn fat.
In fact, I’ve met very few people who have successfully used cardio to lose stomach fat. And most of those people were young men, and anything works for them when they want to burn fat.
If you want to lose stomach fat fast, you need to increase the intensity of your workout by using both resistance training and interval training to lose stomach fat.
Australian researchers, such as Professor Steve Boucher, even believe that interval training can lead to a spot reduction of belly fat. That’s something that no amount of abdominal training can do.
Unlike a normal squat, the heels are elevated when performing Hindu squats, shifting the knees far forward. This places more stress than usual upon the knee joint, both the knee extensors (quadriceps) and the ligaments as well, when highly flexed at the bottom if hyperflexion begins to occur.
Due to the increased stress, there is a higher risk of injury to the knee while squatting this way, especially if done ballistically. Some feel that this risk is not worth doing the exercise, others that doing it with control and awareness will, over time, strengthen the knee in response to the increased stress to become more resistant to other injuries.
Due to the elevated heels, the plantar flexors are recruited more than in regular squats.
Due to the lack of stability in the exercise compared to a normal squat, adding additional weight must be done more conservatively. Barbells are not a good idea, but rather something affixed to the body such as weighted clothing or using a medicine ball. The exercise is more suited to higher repetitions which compensate for the lack of maximum resistance. Even when adding it, one can build up to higher repetitions with a lower weight before switching to a higher one.
Variations of Hindu Squats
- The hands may remain stationary throughout the exercise, or move in tune with the movement
- Breathing may be done normally (exhaling on the concentric) or reversed (inhaling on the concentric). Any negative or positive effects one way or the other are hard to notice due to the lack of resistance and are more of a cardiovascular consideration.
Hindu squats training
Hindu squats are an exercise that has been used by Indian wrestlers for centuries to build explosive power, speed and endurance.
Unlike barbell squats, which often cause severe trauma and injury to knee joints and lower backs – Hindu squats actually rehabilitate the knees while strengthening the muscles of the legs. The key is working on them slowly. Never force progress in this exercise.
Many people involved in weight training are shocked at how difficult this seemingly simple-looking exercise can be.
Can you get stronger doing this so-called “freehand” leg exercise while also staying away from barbell and dumbbell squats? Absolutely. Can you develop greater muscle mass with this bodyweight exercise?
Fat Fighter by Hindu squats
Here’s a very basic program to try out that includes Hindu squats.
At the end of this program rest for 5 mins and, If you are able, do a good steady 40minute walk to really stimulate the fat-burning effect.
Supported by a good diet this workout will burn plenty of body fat.
The Hindu Squats Fat Fighter 200
- 25x burpees
- 20x push-ups
- 30x situps
- 25x Hindu squats
- 30x Russian twists
- 20x Hindu pushups
- 25x leg lunges
- 25x burpees
Ladder Workouts for Hindu Squats
I’ve been thinking about using the concept of ladder workouts for bodyweight training and applying it to Hindu squats.
I have to admit I haven’t tried this yet, so it may not work. Usually, with ladder workouts, they increase the sets by 1 or 2 reps each time, but I was thinking of groups of 5.
My idea is:
5x Hindu squats,5x Hindu pushups
10x Hindu squats, 10x Hindu pushups
15x Hindu squats, 15x Hindu pushups
and so on until you reach failure.
This would provide a massive whole-body workout. If it’s too much starting out I would suggest a rest after every 3 sets for about 1 minute or so and then continue on.
Very much an endurance workout and I would be interested in hearing how people adapt this idea to themselves and their own Hindu squat workouts.
Aching Muscle – Hindu Squats
How many times, the morning after you worked out, have you woke up with aching muscles? When I first started doing Hindu squats, my thighs hurt so bad, I couldn’t even walk normally for two and a half days. I thought that I had done something wrong, when in fact, I’ve been doing everything right.
Your muscles are usually supposed to ache after a hard training session – this I knew. I was just getting tired of it and I wanted to go back to feeling normal every day. My problem was, I would stop exercising for a few days until the pain went away – big mistake. So how is a guy (or girl) supposed to continue the same exercise that led them to feel like this in the first place? And how would we eliminate the pain in our muscles?
Keep Doing It.
That’s right. In order to get rid of muscle pain, you must keep exercising. Despite the pain I had in my thighs and calves, after the second day of pain, I decided to keep going. I knew of the benefits of doing Hindu squats every day (increased lung power and stamina) and my goal was to do at least 25 each day. So I didn’t want to stop achieving my fitness goals every time I felt a little pain in my lower body muscles. So when I warmed up and did 25 Hindu squats after 2 days of inactivity, I felt no more pain in my thighs or calves. I could finally walk normally without looking like a jackass. And this was right after I got done squatting.
While I did feel just a little bit of pain, it was nothing compared to what I was feeling. So if you still feel muscle pain when it’s time for your next training session, don’t worry about it. Fighting through the pain is hard at first, but after a while, doing whatever exercise you are doing (I recommend Hindu squats) will become easier and easier with the more reps you do.
The main problem I have with the article below is the presumption that the answer to getting rid of muscle pain is to just keep on doing the exercise, in this case, Hindu squats.
In order to keep developing an exercise you do have to keep doing the exercise, but, when it comes to muscle pain we need to consider recovery techniques.
What I would like to mention in relation to this particular article is the stretching that should be performed after you have completed an exercise routine. Stretching releases the blood and lactate buildup in the muscles, as well as stretching the muscle fascia. A series of stretching exercises for a good half hour after training will greatly reduce any potential muscle soreness that you may be worried about experiencing.
I’m at a point now with my own training where I rarely experience any soreness at all. Part of that is due to the repetition of the exercises, I have been doing them for a long time now and have greatly adapted to the movements. But the main factor is the stretching routine that I perform after EVERY workout. There have been rare times that I have skipped the stretching due to busy work commitments and I have felt soreness the next day.
That, to me, is the only evidence that I need to prove that thorough stretching after a Hindu squats workout will greatly relieve any aching muscles.
Three Reasons For Bodyweight Training
Many people are now motivated to begin bodyweight training as a form of exercise. The usual concern is overall health. Other motivators can be aging and the worry of staying fit and having energy on a budget… But whatever causes the interest in bodyweight training, there are three very convincing reasons why now is the perfect time to begin your bodyweight training.
All ages and fitness levels can do bodyweight exercises. So, there are no excuses for not beginning your bodyweight training program. Bodyweight training will build overall endurance, flexibility, and strength. Some bodyweight exercises even build all through in just one exercise.
Strength is defined as, “the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power, vigor. By utilizing the variety of positions and exercises available all forms of strength are created throughout your body.
Endurance is the ability to use your strength for as long as possible and with bodyweight exercises, you create the ability for your body to use your strength longer. You build within your muscles, joints, and tendons as well as the whole body the ability necessary to do more than just have instant bursts of strength but to have prolonged periods that help you in many daily tasks as well as have more fun participating in sports and other activities.
Flexibility is also known as limber, pliant or adaptable. Bodyweight exercises elongate muscles while creating strength and endurance. The use of stretching exercises or calisthenics teaches your body to be able to move in ways more healthy and fun.
Thirdly, you should begin bodyweight exercises now to make the most of the benefits. Bodyweight exercises benefit both your body and mind. They make you healthier both physically and mentally. You will be more physically fit, have more energy and have a better view of life by using bodyweight exercises.
By beginning bodyweight training, you can improve your overall health by becoming more physically fit and reducing your body fat. With the reduction of body fat, your body will appear more attractive and toned. A healthier body and reduction of body fat can also lead to reducing your risks for certain diseases such as heart disease, obesity, stroke, and diabetes. Regular exercise such as bodyweight training also reduces your risk of injury due to other activities and increases your body’s ability to heal from injuries.