Strength-building? Start with a squat

It can enhance functional capacity and reduce the risk of injury — if the exercise is performed correctly

What is the best strength building exercise you could be doing right now? Squats.

“For lower-body strength and flexibility, there is probably no better exercise,” said Bryan Christensen, a professor of biomechanics at North Dakota State University, US, who studies resistance exercise. And the benefits are not only confined to the lower body. Squats require core stability and train the back.

Some people worry that squats can imperil the knees and hips, but the exercise can actually help protect and improve the workings of these and other joints, said Sasa Duric, an exercise scientist at the American University of the Middle East in Kuwait. The movement “helps maintain the flexibility, stability and function” of hips, knees and ankles, he said.