Once you really, really have your posture down, and can honestly say you aren’t kidding yourself, Castle-Mason thinks the best way to progress would be to aim for 10 squats a day, over one week. Then, aim for 20 per day the next week, and so on. In this manner, you won’t overload your muscles by doing 100 in one day, then nothing for a week. Work every day and your legs know to expect X amount of work per day, instead of being shocked into pushing out 100 reps all at once.

Still having trouble? Arnot has a few exercises that can help you build on the basics: “Sit on a chair, and stand up.” Got it? OK, thanks for reading, and have a great day. Oh, hang on, there’s more: “Try lower chairs, then try hovering just above the chair seat for 10 seconds. Once you’ve mastered that, you can try the bodyweight squat,” he says.

Not only will this absolutely burn out your hamstrings (in a good way) it’ll help build the stability required for big numbers of squats. And once you’ve got that down, you can work towards your 100. Try 30 seconds of squats, with 60 seconds off. Keep at it until you’ve managed 50 squats. When this becomes easy, cut down the rest period. For example, you might do 10 squats in 30 seconds, resting for 15, meaning you’ll achieve 50 squats in 3.5 minutes. You can then build up to 75 squats, and so on.

Arnot’s method is obviously different to Castle-Mason’s but both will work. It’s just a case of seeing what works for you. If you’re confident you have your posture down, and want quick results gained safely, Arnot’s might work for you. If you want to gradually work your way up safely and slowly, Castle-Mason’s might be a good shout.

Anything Else I Need To Know?

Funny you should ask. Yes. Avoiding injury should be the most important aspect of your squatting technique. It doesn’t matter if you can do 100 one day if you can’t walk for the following week. Worthington suggests a vigorous warm up of leg, hips and upper back stretches, as well as getting a PT to work with you through your squats.