How To: Get a strong core with cable squats

Learn how to do cable squats. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life.

Benefits
Cable squats aren't just a great leg exercise; they also activate your core, providing a more full-body workout.

Muscles Worked
Legs, Core

Starting Position
Set both arms on a dual cable machine at the lowest height setting with a single handle attached to each cable. (If you do not have access to a dual cable machine, use a single-cable machine and use a double-handled rope attachment.) Stand about two feet away from the machine facing the machine. Hold one handle in each hand and your hands held up near your face, with your arms bent all the way in toward you as if you were at the top of a bicep curl. Your palms should be facing in toward your body.

Exercise

1. From the starting position, bend your knees and perform a squat, keeping your weight a little more back on your heels than on your toes. Go down to the point where your quads are parallel to the floor without compromising your form. The tension of the cable in your hands should provide some counterbalance, allowing you to squat down further. Do not allow your knees to go in front of the line of your toes.
2. When you have squatted down fully, reverse direction, activate your core, and push back up to starting position, keeping your knees slightly bent at the top of the squat.