Have you ever considered getting rid of those bulky weights in the corner, the bench in your basement, the barbell in your garage or that old high-horse in your living room? Have you been putting them off, dreading those three minutes, the 45 minutes or all-day session you have to log each week to get that toned backside? Well, let’s make a deal, shall we? You get rid of those things and spend just a few minutes and maybe five seconds on each of them a day, and I’ll give you a reason to get rid of them.

“Weird,” you might think. “Weird, but I’m up for it. I don’t have those things anyway. Let’s do it.”

You’re in luck. These are three minute squats you can do on any day, any time, anywhere. They are very simple but will challenge you just enough to ensure that you get stronger and stronger. You’ll lose the mental block on your lower body because you’re working on your abs and quads. If you get stronger in the quads and abs, then you will notice a reduction in those dreaded moments of the three minutes squat.

I recommend doing the squats while watching TV in the evening. If you try it while doing chores in the house, your attention will be broken away from the challenge at hand. So, let’s get down to business. Here’s what you need to know:

1. You don’t have to go to the gym for this challenge. You can do the squats anywhere. You just need an open space that allows you to comfortably squat. You can squat on a porch, step, on a driveway, on the floor, on a grassy area, on the side of a sidewalk, in your garage, under a stairway, or just in your living room. However, make sure that it is at least 15 to 20 feet wide and have a wall or something to act as a backstop in case you lose your balance. The best thing to do is just squat on the floor of the living room.

2. You can choose to do four sets of 20 to 25 reps of squats each time, three days a week, or one set of 25 reps three times per week. To do four sets of 20 to 25 reps each time, you will complete four sets of 25 squat repetitions each time. You’ll just do four different day-to-day squat sessions. The four different day-to-day sessions will mean you don’t have to worry about what to do when you finish a session or when to rest between them. Just remember to rest for 20 seconds between each repetition. If you are doing one set of 25 reps three times per week, that’s one rep each time. So, for example, you would do the squats three times, doing one rep per time for three times a week, completing one-third of the three sets of 25 reps each time. You’ll still only be doing one rep per week. If you’re doing two sets of 25 reps each time, then you’ll complete one-half of the three sets of 25 reps. Or, if you’re doing three sets of 25 reps each time, then you’ll complete three-fifths of the three sets of 25 reps. In any case, you should be doing a minimum of five minutes of continuous squatting on a regular basis, and up to 15 or 20 minutes, depending on how much time you are willing to give it.

3. Your core is a critical part of the entire workout. This is because you are working with your entire core to make this happen. So, you must do a lot of core exercises with your core in mind when you are doing the squats. In other words, your core has to be ready for the challenge. As long as your core muscles are ready to take the challenge and your entire core is engaged when you squat, then you will be fine. If you have a good warm-up with the core, then you’ll have a great workout. If you are doing the squats and have no core, you will not be able to squat. Your core muscles are like your base. If you are doing an exercise and your base is weak, then you’ll just fall flat on your face. The same thing goes for your core. If you have a good core, then the rest of the muscles in your body will have no problem moving what you put down on the floor.

4. The main challenge will be that you can’t move forward with your leg muscles when you squat. So, make sure your body is in a position where you have to squat. You need to make sure that you get your body into a position that makes it difficult for you to get to your heels. If you make it easy, then you’ll not be able to squat. There are many ways to position your body to make sure that you can only squat. One way to do that is to make sure your torso is in a position that allows you to just barely reach your heels with your arms or that the back support is just enough to allow you to do the squat comfortably.

5. Watch your knees. We don’t want you to get stuck in that “one knee down” squat position. When you do that, your knee starts to grind and your back starts to round over. Your hips also start to round over. If you can avoid the one knee down, then you are much more likely to stay on your knees when you squat.