When it comes to working your lower body – while burning fat and torching calories — there’s nothing more effective than the squat. Squats engage your body’s largest and most powerful muscle groups, a.k.a the glutes, thighs, and hamstrings, while working your core and giving you a cardio boost as well.

• Squats are mostly known as a leg exercise, but they promote body-wide muscle building by catalyzing an anabolic environment

• Squats are also one of the best functional exercises out there, promoting mobility and balance and helping you complete real-world activities with ease

• Squats also help you to burn more fat, as one of the most time-efficient ways to burn more calories continually is by developing more muscle

• Squats have long been criticized for being destructive to your knees, but research shows that when done properly, squats actually improve knee stability and strengthen connective tissue

• Squats are one type of exercise that should be a part of virtually everyone’s fitness routine, as they provide whole-body benefits