Back Squats

The absolute most important exercise. The squat uses more muscles than any other move. The second most vital exercise is the Deadlift, in which you hold the bar at your waist, yet in the squat, the bar rests above your back, crushing your entire body. I have found the squat to be the most complex exercise in my routine. You should be able to squat your own weight (1x bw) even as a beginner. Here are the points that I find are the most important:

1/ Bar position - High Bar Position is when the bar is above your shoulders and is resting on your traps.This is a position better for having a more vertical torso like emphasizing quads. Low Bar Position is having the bar tucked behind and under your deltoids (shoulders). It promotes a more forward lean for the torso, and emphasizes the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, calves, lower back). You can lift heavier in low-bar position. The glutes are the strongest muscle in the body.
2/ Stance (feet width distance) - A narrow stance targets the quads, while a wider stance hits the adductors and is in a better position to hit the posterior chain.
3/ Grip (hand width distance) - Too narrow a grip can cause arm pain and can unbalance you. Too wide may also unbalance you and prevent a tight enough squeeze in your back.
4/ Down Position Depth - Too high will put tension on the knees. Going to parallel is good, and just a little lower is the sweet spot of hitting the stretch for the quads.
5/ Torso Position - A vertical torso would put more pressure on the quads, whereas a horizontal torso would help you sit back more, using the posterior chain.

Eyes should be looking downwards, and worse straight ahead, but never look up as it throws off your spine and puts your neck at a bad angle. You should focus on contracting your leg muscles in the down position of the squat. Take a breath before performing. Don't breathe during the squat. Push your feet downwards and apart as if spreading something. Come out of the hole by rising your hips and back at the same speed. Beginners often rise their backs before their hips, and this causes the exercise to resemble a Good Morning. It's dangerous to perform Good Mornings with heavy weight as you would a squat, so you'll back will be injured quickly. I don't see it taught often, but the squat should be performed powerfully. Sit into the down position, below parallel, and rise upward and extend your hips in a lockout. The squat and deadlift are very hip dominant. The squat being more knee dominant.

Squat in different rep ranges to fully understand the exercise. 20 rep squats make you breathe hard, having an endurance trait, while having a long period of muscle under tension. I'm currently doing 15 rep, 12 rep, 8 rep, and 3 sets of 6 reps.

Stomach Vacuums

Attaining an abdominal six-pack or eight-pack is the goal of many, yet few achieve it. The most common reason I've read is the person's diet, referring to the point that abs are made 'in the kitchen' and not in the weight room. This may be some people's downfall, but I found more important components. Increasing my decline sit-up with weight from 5lb to 60lb did not give me the results I sought. I often had a layer of fat below my navel, and I couldn't figure out why, though I suspected my diet.

I've found the solution: stomach vacuums. Upon first hearing of the exercise, it was too daunting to practice, and the instructions on performing a vacuum wild greatly. Thankfully, I've returned to them and have found a good form to use:

1/ Breathe in through nostrils, filling your muscles and contracting them.

2/ Hold the breathe for 10 seconds.

3/ Exhale through your gut, and continue to exhale, while contracting your abs (crunching into them) and pulling your navel to your spine. Try to exhale every last bit of air from abs like ringing a wet towel.

4/ Hold lack of breathe for 10 seconds.

5/ Repeat 10 times.

After this is done, immediately, you can feel a closer mind-muscle connection with your abdomen. You will also notice by looking in a mirror that your abs are both pulled in and contracted somewhat involuntarily. I find my stomach is so drawn in through these repetitions that yoga poses like Plow become much easier as your stomach does not get in the way or interfere with breathing. By exercising the muscles around the stomach, you exercise the organs as well, and this speeds up the digestive system and speeds up metabolism. A surge of energy is granted to you. The deep breathing relieves stress, helps calm and focus your thoughts.

I feel the abs are very neglected as we do not tense them through exercises as we should. You can perform an exercise with loose muscle and tight muscle. There is more strength and power in the tight muscle. Largely, I feel that exercising is about learning to control your muscles. In the life of the untrained man, he pays no mind to his muscles, and simply performs tasks, not caring which muscles are used. Such a man will never have highly developed muscle, nor extraordinary strength and power. He will also succumb to sickness and injury more quickly as he is somewhat blind within his body.

The awe inspiring thing about stomach vacuums is that anyone can do them. They're easier in concept to do than mere push-ups. But, don't let their simplicity fool you into not taking them seriously. When inhaling for the vacuum, it is important to fill the serratus anterior muscle, for this is key for more advanced abdominal control in vacuums. Another factor I admire about the vacuum is that it can be practiced in any bodily position. I recommend lying on the floor face up to begin learning this move. Gravity works with you to pull your abs downwards. Other positions include: lying face down, sitting, kneeling, standing, on all fours, driving, lifting, during yoga, during jogging, etc.

The results are very immediate with vacuums, and recovery is quick as well. It should be practiced multiple times a day. Of all the muscles to learn a connection with, the abdominal are highly vital and highly beneficial to us. Our greatest strength comes from the hips, and the abs connect the chest to the hips, along with the rest of the upper body. A tight torso down to the hips is like a boa constrictor. There is the power of the gods.