By Michelle Crouch

Seated? Please stand (don’t use your hands) to give tribute to the one exercise that fitness gurus say stands out among the rest for healthy aging. Now be seated again. Consider that your first rep.

Yes, a great workout challenges all of the major muscle groups in your upper and lower body. But if you have time for only one exercise, you’ll get the most bang for your buck by doing squats — the classic move in which you slowly lower your bottom to seated level, then stand back up. 

“The squat is the most important exercise for seniors,” says Eric Daw, a personal trainer dedicated to older adults and founder of Omni-Fitt in Toronto, Canada. “When you have to go to the washroom, that’s a squat. When you get in the car, that’s a squat. Every time you sit down or stand up, that’s a squat. If you don’t do them well, it affects the way you live.”  

Squats strengthen all of the muscle groups in legs, including calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, as well as muscles in the lower back and core. Those muscles provide the foundation for most activities of daily living.

Squats are the antidote to soft couch-cushion syndrome — those challenging moments when we struggle to get up from that deep, old sofa. They can also help protect joints, improve balance and prevent falls, says Denise Austin, for 40 years one of America’s best-known fitness experts and authors.

“Squats are one of the best overall exercises,” Austin said. “They strengthen the major muscles of the lower body we need to keep strong and also protect two joints we need help with on a regular basis — our knees and our hips.” 

Here’s how to squat:

1. Get in position.

Choose a spot where you can hold on to a kitchen counter, a table or another steady surface. That makes it easier to focus on your form without worrying about your balance, Austin said. Set your feet about shoulder-width apart or a little wider. (If you have hip issues, put your legs a little farther apart.) Toes should face slightly outward.

2. Lower into a squat.

Keeping your back straight, chest up and heels planted, push your hips back like you are sitting in a chair. Try to keep your weight evenly distributed on both feet, with your weight mostly on your heels, not your toes. Make sure your knees don’t extend forward over your toes, because that can hurt your knees. If you have knee or hip issues, you don’t need to do a deep bend. The coming-up part of the exercise is what really builds strength, Austin said.

3. Repeat.

Aim for two sets of eight to 10, at a tempo of two seconds down, two seconds up. Inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up. As you tire at the end of the set, make sure you’re not hunching over or letting your knees cave in. For the best results, do two or three times a week.

4. Get your arms in play.

As you start to build strength, try doing your squats without holding on to anything. For balance, let your arms rise parallel in front of you on the downward part of the squat, then drop them to your sides when you stand up, Austin suggested. Another option is to cross your arms across your chest. That can help keep you upright if you tend to hunch over, Daw said.

5. For a greater challenge, add resistance.

Once you can do two sets of 15 without feeling any muscle soreness afterward, you’re ready to add some weight. The easiest way is to hold a pair of dumbbells. “That’s how you build strength faster,” Daw said. Start with low weights and build up.

​Source: AARP. Michelle Crouch has covered health and personal finance for Reader’s Digest, the Washington Post and the New York Times.