Even if you don’t exercise regularly, you perform squats every day. Every time you sit down and stand back up, you’re doing a squat. By making squats a regular part of your exercise program, you’ll strengthen key muscles in your legs and glutes that will help to keep you active as you get older. Squats are also a great way to firm up your legs and glutes.

How to do a squat: Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, arms at your sides. Bend at your hips and knees and sit back until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. Bring your arms out in front of you to help you balance. Hold for a second, and then slowly stand up.

Tips for a perfect squat:

• Keep your chest lifted and head up.
• Shift your weight into your heels.
• Keep your abs tight.
• Don’t let your knees roll in or out as you lower.
• Keep your knees behind your toes as you lower.
• Your feet can be pointed straight ahead or out to the sides slightly. 

Take the 2-week squat challenge: You’ll gradually build up to 100 squats, but don’t worry, you don’t have to do them all at once. You can break up any of the daily recommendations into sets, for example, you could do 5 sets of 10 to get 50 squats in on Day 7. Or maybe 4 sets of 25 to hit the 100 squats goal. You can even spread the sets out throughout the day. Make sure you execute the reps with good form and technique. If you can’t, stop, and take a break. If you experience any knee pain, check with your doctor. Do what is comfortable for you and enjoy the results.

Day 1: 10

Day 2: 20

Day 3: rest

Day 4: 30

Day 5: 40

Day 6: rest

Day 7: 50

Day 8: 60

Day 9: rest

Day 10: 70

Day 11: 80

Day 12: rest

Day 13: 90

Day 14: 100

To continue progressing, you can hold dumbbells as you do squats to amp up strength and toning benefits. The more weight that you are using, the fewer reps you’ll need to do.