Warm Ups for Equipment-Free Squats?

[putresVigil]

I am trying to get in shape and, after a month of soreness and muscle strain, I have come to realize my core sucks. Research (e.g. Google) indicates that one of the best exercises of all (and especially for the core) is squats. The problem is I do about four squats and I can't do them again or bend down to pick stuff up for 4 to 7 days. I did try to do 5 but fell backwards and cracked the back of my scalp open on a folding chair in my garage, getting blood all over the place.

After doing more research, here and elsewhere, I have learned that you are supposed to Warm Up before squatting and most indicate cardio and 1 to 4 light sets. Unless I tie bunches of balloons to myself I can't do a light set, really. I weigh what I weigh. I have tried the cardio but I can still only get to 4 and then it is nearly a week where I can't really use my stomach, back, or leg muscles very well. Luckily, I have a sedentary job so these muscles are superfluous to me, generally, but annoying to need to grab stuff to help myself up off the toilet or out of bed.

Is this normal and self correcting, where I will just get better if I keep at it, or am I doing something wrong here? Four to seven days feels like a long time to go between exercises so it feels like I am not getting anything done.

Thanks for the help.

[HomeWorkouts88]

Warm up with 5 minutes of light cardio and do 1 set of 1 rep every day. After your 1 squat, do 5 minutes of light cardio. On week 2, do 2 sets of 1 rep with 1 minute of light cardio in between. On week 3, do 3 sets of 1 rep with 1 minute of light cardio in between. On week 4, do 4 sets of 1 rep with 1 minute of light cardio in between.

On week 5, warm up with 5 minutes of light cardio and do 1 set of 3 reps followed by 10 minutes of light cardio. Every week after that, add 1 rep to your 1 set.

[Jetigen]

I have come to realize my core sucks. Research (e.g. Google) indicates that one of the best exercises of all (and especially for the core) is squats.

In my experience the best core exercise is ab wheel roll-outs.

[dlftunes]

You're right, squats are fantastic for overall strength gains BUT you have to do them correctly or you can really hurt yourself. Try using lighter weight, enough so you can do 8-10 reps before failure sets in and slowly increase it limiting your squat sessions to once every four to seven days.

As for your question about warming up just do light cardio. I read somewhere that the cast of the original 300 would run sprints before leg work to increase blood flow leading to increased vasocongestion (pump) however after trying this for myself I wasn't too impressed with how much of a hit it takes on your workout. Some body weight lunges or squats are also good for warming up before your main workout, just play with it and see what your body responds best with.

[KCUtah]

Rock Back and Frog Stretch can be done without equipment. If you have a dumbbell/kettlebell/plate, you can do a goblet squat. The weight is held in front of you and can act as a counter balance so you can stay upright.

If you do not have any of those available, you can hold onto a door knob, hand rail and drop down into a squat.