More squats

We've started a friendly competition at work to see who can lose the most weight or the highest percentage of body fat (or both) in a specified amount of time. I don't expect to win—primarily because I don't have that much to lose in the first place. Don't get me wrong—I've put on a lot of padding over the long winter, but I know others who are competing have a lot more to lose and thus have a bit of an advantage.

In spite of the wealth of information that now exists about the benefits of weight training, I still see women straying far away from the barbells in favor of running and walking. And that's just wrong.

Too many people—especially women—pay more attention to the number on the scales than they ought to. Weight is only one small factor to consider in the body composition picture. With the proliferation of body composition scales, it's really the bodyfat percentage reading that should mean more.

Just today when I was having a conversation with a co-worker (sorry, Lisa) about her progress, she mentioned that she'd been running every day and that her knees were sore.

I like running; running's great. But the one point I make to every running enthusiast as that I have never ever experienced knee pain or soreness from squatting.

What I would say to any person—male or female—about what they ought to be doing to get in shape for summer and the beach is, simply, squat. No, no, not Smith Machine squats, good, old-fashioned barbell squats.

And as assistance movements, you might also throw in some frontal squats and goblet squats.

Naturally, that's not the only exercise you should be doing, but it ought to be number one. And you should probably throw in some bench press as well and some chin-ups and bent-over row and some deadlifts. You can go easy on the deadlifts, but it's probably the single movement that has changed my body composition the most.

The squat, however, should be the king of exercises, especially for those conscious of body composition who desire a significant change. Squats employ by far the largest muscle groups in the human body. That means a lot of muscle activation and high caloric expenditure. Couple that with the long-term benefits of added muscle, and you've got the perfect formula to transform your body into a fat-burning machine.

For those just getting started, I recommend following the StrongLifts 5x5 routine. The routine consists of completing three workouts per week, performing three compound movements in each workout. Those exercises consist of squats, bench press or overhead press (OHP) and bent-over row or deadlift. Every workout begins with the squat. You alternate between two different workouts substituting OHP for bench press and deadlifts for bent-over row in the second workout.

The benefits of this routine are first that it focuses on heavy compound movements—which activate the most muscle fiber, burn the most calories and can effect the greatest change in LBM—and second that it incorporates the squat in every workout. A third benefit, and perhaps the most important one of all, is that its simplicity. It focuses entirely on very basic, compound movements. You don't have to go to the gym with a complicated chart filled with cornucopia of exercises.

In short, it represents the best possible combination of movements to build muscle and lose fat. And, yes, as long as you eat enough protein, you will build muscle following this routine.

Now, that being said, I don't know if it's the best routine to follow forever. Every serious weight training routine needs some assistance work to go along with the heavy compound stuff. That's why after a few months on the SL 5x5 plan I switched over to Wendler's 5/3/1. SL 5x5 is great foundational program. It establishes the necessary building blocks to support a more advanced approach. But I found that I started plateauing after being on the SL program for a few months. To shake things up, I moved to something new.

If you get to the point in your routine that you feel like you need more, than Wendler's plan is an excellent alternative that focuses on heavy compound movements while incorporating a lot of assistance work.

Now, I know what most women will read this and think it's not for them because these are powerlifting and bodybuilding programs. But that's exactly why they need to follow these programs. Instead of struggling with overly restrictive diets and exercise programs that consist solely of walking and/or running, more people—especially women—should be not only lifting weights, but lifting heavy and following intense routines.

You don't have to give up on running altogether, but it's time we changed our thinking about the best way to approach a weight loss and fitness program.