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The October exercise challenge is the Squatober squat challenge, that’s right, a month of Squats. This is one of my most popular monthly exercise challenges. It won’t take much time out of your day, so join in as we squat our way through October.
Keeping It Simple, Stupid, we will be performing only a regular bodyweight squat, no fancy lateral, split or jumps, and there is a good reason for this. Performing an exercise in repetition is what builds strength and endurance in that movement. This encourages muscles to develop muscle memory and builds stabilising muscles to aid with key support during the exercise movement.
The squat is a fundamental exercise that excels at building, toning, and defining the muscles of the legs and buttocks, as well as all the muscles through the posterior chain. It’s essential to know how to squat correctly, so check out the video below to make sure you perform the exercise with good technique.
Missed Squatober?
Not a problem, you can join in anytime with my 28 Day Squat Challenge.
Anyone can join in
You don’t need to be a gym expert to take on this challenge. You can complete the required repetitions throughout the day or, ideally, all at once if you’re able. If you’re particularly fit or looking for a greater challenge, try to do all the reps in one go. On the other hand, if you’re not as fit or find it difficult, feel free to break it down into smaller sets of 10, 20, or whatever works best for you.
How to Participate in the Challenge:
- Commit! Share that you are doing this challenge and share your progress.
- Download the target guide and scoring sheets to track your challenge.
- Recruit a friend to join you and keep each other motivated.
Challenge Levels
The challenge is split into three levels, for which you can score your progress. You don’t need to stick to one level; you can mix & match, moving up or down as needed. Each level has a score associated with it. Use the free-scoring sheet available for download below to track your progress and tally your total score for the month
| LEVEL | POINTS |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | 1 point |
| Level 2 | 2 points |
| Level 3 | 3 points |
Download the Scoring Sheet
The scoring sheet for the October Squat Exercise Challenge
Use this sheet to track and record your score for the challenge.
Challenge Design
This squat challenge has been designed as an ascending pyramid programme, adding reps every day. This type of programming makes the challenge progressive, encouraging progression in the squat with increased demand throughout the month.
Squatober Target Guide
To get started, download & print the SQUAT calendar below and pin it to your fridge (while you are at it, pin it to your challenge board on Pinterest) or somewhere you can reference it each day.
Warm-up
We should always perform a warm-up relative to the workout we are about to undertake. For this challenge at the start of the month, it’s a good idea to take the first 20-30 minutes nice and steady as your joints warm up and keep the tempo low until joints are lubricated. As we get into a higher number of squats, you might want a quick warm-up to include heel flicks and partial squats.
Lightly stretch it out!
Once you’ve finished your daily squats, make sure you stretch out. Focus on the hamstrings, quads, calves and glutes. Hold each stretch for 15-20 seconds. A quick, effective stretching routine for squats should include:
- Quads Stretch (Standing or Lying)
- Hamstring Stretch (Standing or Lying)
- Calf Stretch
This is a simple workout, at the start of the month, with low reps; you’ll only need a quick stretch out. However, if you are performing difficult variations, you will want to spend more time on the stretching.
How to Squat
- Stand with feet at hip-width apart.
- Toes forward or slightly out-turned.
- Squat down, lowering your hips to knee height.
- Keep knees behind and in line with toes.
- Bum should go back as if you were about to sit on a chair.
- Look forward and slightly down.
- Maintain neutral spine alignment.
Progressions
You can add intensity to this challenge by adding a little weight. The exercises you choose will depend on the type of weight or equipment you have available; it does not matter too much which it is.
More Squat Workouts
Why not complement this squat challenge with one of my leg workouts?
- Work from Home (WFH) anti-sitting Interval Workout
- Bodyweight Legs, Bum, ‘n’ Tum’s (LBT) workout
- 30-Minute Full-Body Tabata Workout
