Reading Time: 2 minutesEach Day This Week, Do (at Least) 20 Air Squats
Simple Instructions:
- Each day this week, do at least 20 air squats. You may pick a higher number if your fitness allows.
- Be sure to pick a number of daily repetitions that will challenge you: 20, 50, 100, 200, etc.
- Do the same number of repetitions every day for seven days.
- If you don’t have any experience with air squats, start at 20 per day.
Performing the Air Squat:
- Start at standing with your feet at shoulder width.
- Your weight should be slightly biased toward your heels throughout the squat.
- To begin, sit back as if you’re sitting in a chair, pushing your butt back and down.
- As you sit back, push your knees outward (without moving your feet). This will create room for your hips. Be sure to keep your eyes level and your chest up, creating a flat back.
- Sit back until your upper leg is just below parallel with the floor.
- Return to standing.
Why Is This Practice Important?
This simple bodyweight movement builds leg strength and burns fat. More importantly, it will get you in the habit of regular exercise, preparing you for the upcoming New Year’s Challenge.
Through this practice, you’ll learn that lack of equipment or space is never an obstacle to getting in a workout. A set of squats only requires a few square feet and no equipment. The same can be said for many other bodyweight movements—as you progress over weeks and months, you can incorporate push-ups, sit-ups, squats, planks, and sprinting into your exercise routine, all without needing a gym or a room full of machines.
Even better, a set of squats is over extremely quickly, so no schedule is ever so full that you cannot get in a workout. Even a quick set will fit into your day, so you’ll be able to pursue fitness in small doses.
Previously, he founded Again Faster Equipment, a functional fitness equipment company created to serve the CrossFit community. Established in 2006, Jon took the Company global in 2012, twice landing on the Inc. 500/5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies.
From 2007 to 2013, he served as a Senior Lecturer for CrossFit, Inc., training aspiring CrossFit trainers at over 100 seminars, including engagements in Iceland, Afghanistan, Moscow, Holland, the United States, and Canada. Jon also served on the CrossFit L1 Advisory Board, helping establish policy for the organization’s training efforts from 2011 to 2013.
He’s also done stints in state government, gym management, and consulting — and currently teaches classes at CrossFit City Line.
Jon graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2003, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Psychology. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Finance and Control from the Harvard Extension School, 2006, and has completed coursework in data analytics.
