Former professional baseball player turned personal trainer, Carlos Alonso, is known as the Squat Doctor of Miami. The squatting expert first got his nickname at a bachelor party, whilst talking to his friends about fitness and his personal gym routine.
Carlos told YouTube channel Truly, who were documenting his exploits as part of the channel's Miami Muscle series: "I was telling the guys; listen, you look super strong in your upper body, but what's up with these little chicken legs? I was giving them a hard time and told them I did squats at least two, three times a week. And they were like, 'Oh, yeah, okay, Mr. Squat Doctor'."
But what started as a joke turned out to be a very fitting nickname for Carlos, who as a personal trainer is known for spending extra time on lower body workouts and especially squats. Since the pandemic made it difficult for Carlos to workout at the gym, he and his girlfriend Vanessa came up with the idea to use each other's body weights as workout equipment.
Vanessa, also known as the Squat Assistant, has now challenged her partner to take on a squat challenge - using her weight as a barbell. Watch what happens below:
Watch Carlos and Vanessa's squat workout below:
Why do heavy squats?
Squats are often called "the king of exercises" because they're so good at developing explosive power and speed. Learning how to do a barbell squat, or even doing squats and deadlifts with a set of the best adjustable dumbbells, develops muscle in your legs, bum and core.
Weighted squats as opposed to bodyweight squats encourage your muscles to work harder, providing a peachy bum, a six pack and powerful legs. In addition, squats encourage the production of testosterone and other hormones produced by the endocrine system in your body, according to Czech Republic researchers.
Testosterone isn't just for men: increasing the activity of the endocrine system promotes muscle growth, better sleep and even an increased libido in both sexes. One study found 23-year-old subjects who tried resistance training temporarily increased testosterone production by a huge 44% after a short session. This temporary boost has a positive effect on all the factors listed above: bone density, heart health, muscle growth and libido.
Want to run faster, jump higher, sleep better and improve your sex drive? Squats are the exercise for you.
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