Dumbbell Tap Squats
Dumbbell Tap Squats are used by many celebrities during Harley Pasternack’s 5-Factor workout. Dumbbell Tap Squats are good for targeting your quads and lower body. The key here is that you use a flat surface to insure proper form. Also, dumbbell tap squats gives your lower body support when your legs are parallel to the floor. This allows you to target your quads more than your hamstrings. It also makes sure that you have proper form during the squat exercise.
Harley Pasternack likes his clients to work their quads and hamstrings on different days. This is why he has his clients do dumbbell tap squats to work their legs. If you are following the 5 Factor approach, then do Dumbbell Tap Squats on Mondays. He has his celebrity clients do it this way, then you can focus on your glutes and hamstrings on other days. Dumbbell Tap Squats make sure that your knees are parallel to the ground, to get the full effect.
There is a mental cue that Harley Pasternack wants you to have through this exercise. He says that when doing the dumbbell tap squat:
Treat the bench as a chair behind you so that you sit down by moving your hips backward and down, rather than just down.
To perform Dumbbell Tap Squats:
- Sit on the end of a bench or chair, holding dumbbells in each hand.
- Lower your body until your glutes hit the bench or chair.
- Immediately, come back up to standing /starting position.
- Inhale as you sit down, exhale as you come back up.
As shown in the video below, you don’t need a bench. You can use a chair, if doing a home workout, instead:
Popular Tap Squat Workouts
- The Lady Gaga workout uses Dumbbell Tap Squats.
- The Megan Fox workout uses Dumbbell Tap Squats.
- The Halle Berry workout uses Dumbbell Tap Squats.
- The Katy Perry workout uses Dumbbell Tap Squats.
- The Eva Mendez workout uses Dumbbell Tap Squats.
Tap Squat Video
This video shows a couple variations. First, you can use barbell tap squats in place of dumbbells. This generally is used when you are increasing weight, and lowering reps for muscle gain. Barbells help distribute the weight across your back. Also, the bench in the video is below parallel. This will work the hamstrings and glutes more.
Tap Squat Safety:
If at any time your feet come off the ground, return to starting position. Keep your back straight throughout the entire squat movement. Don’t let your back carry the load. Let your legs, core and shoulders carry the force. Also, don’t move too quickly up or down. You want to breathe in on the way down, and exhale on the way up.
You can learn more about Dumbbell Tap Squats by learning about the 5 Factor Fitness Routine. Harley Pasternack, a celebrity personal trainer, wrote several books to detail how he works with celebrities:
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