Are your photos among the 72, 539 Instagram posts (at the time of writing) published using #ThisGirlCan? I know I have a few in the mix. And after attending a recent conference hosted by FCB Inferno – the creative agency behind the campaign – and the CEO of Sport England Jennie Price, I now have even deeper respect for the ubiquitous adverts.

You see, Sport England had a lot depending on this ad campaign – £10 million to be precise. And they were determined to see a significant improvement to the eye-opening 1.75 million wide gender gap that exists between the number of men and women who enjoy frequent sport or exercise.

As a regular at several of London’s newest and more established boutique fitness studios, and a sweat devotee at my local Virgin Active, at first I was shocked to hear that was the case. But then I remembered the hushed voices of many girlfriends who have asked, baffled, “how do you deal with all the guys in the weights room?”.

You may remember my Fit Friend Basma. She was weary of the weights room for this reason, too. The testosterone-filled space can feel a little intimidating to an outnumbered woman, but the balance will only shift when we fill that space with more capable and confident females. I knew Basma had made serious progress in both fitness and confidence when she told me she no longer thinks twice before going to the weights room and loading up a barbell. That mindset shift is exactly what This Girl Can has helped to achieve on a must greater scale.

So what one thing united girls from around the globe? 

When Sport England briefed FCB Inferno, they gave them over 600 pages of market research and surveys and instructed them to find the single most powerful explanation preventing women from taking up exercise. FCB Inferno’s answer is at the heart of the resulting This Girl Can campaign:

Fear of Judgement 

Fear of judgement is a universal barrier that takes the form of many different questions. How am I going to look? What if I can’t do it? Will people think I’m less dedicated to my career/family/friends if I spend more evenings doing exercise? All of those questions are extrinsic to the individual. So the challenge was set – Sport England had to find a way to internalise the dialogue about fitness. It had to be challenging. It had to be disruptive. It had to be empowering.

… And as the ad clocked up 3 million YouTube views, became the #2 trend on Twitter and secured 10 days of national media coverage, it was clear that This Girl Can was also extremely RELEVANT. People from all backgrounds and from all over the world were connecting in an unprecedented way with this campaign and its message. They understood it, and felt it understood them.

Although fitness for me is an area I do feel confident and empowered, I remember a time in school basketball try-outs when I shrivelled because a coach called me ‘shrimp’, thinking I was too short to get any kind of ball into any kind of net. Just last weekend I threw my husband into a fit of mild rage on the Brighton Pier as I smashed his score on the LA Lakers arcade game – apologies to the hubby for sharing ;-). I’m still not particularly tall, but I haven’t let that coach’s words convince me I can’t do something. Even if he did make me feel small (inside and out) at the time.

And now as I begin to enter another stage of my career (I sit my final Personal Training exams in just over a week, wish me luck!), I too face inklings of self-doubt every day. Am I too old to start out as a PT? Is my personality ‘big’ enough to join one of the amazing teams at London’s top fitness studios? Can I really set an example that others will aspire to?

And it’s OK to have similar self-doubts, whether it’s just before you enter the meeting room or the weights room. What matters is that you squash them well before they enter the sphere of self-judgement. Acknowledge them, then squash their very essence. Then hold onto that feeling when you come out the other side feeling braver and stronger. And remember – THIS GIRL CAN.

It’s hard to think of a part of the body that isn’t worked during squats. Arms, you might say? But there are so many combination exercises you can create around the humble squat, grabbing a pair of dumbbells or a resistance band to incorporate bicep curls or tricep extensions. For the purposes of this post, I’m sticking to squat variations that primarily engage the muscles of your legs – glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves. Low- or high-impact, squats work the biggest muscles in your body and therefore help you hit the calorie-burning jackpot. They also create balance in the lower body – working the fronts and backs of your legs equally so you avoid common weaknesses like “lazy glutes”, and the chunky thighs and flat bum that can result from imbalances.

It’s time to get your glutes in gear. Work your way through the following 10 squat variations, and try pairing them with these plank exercises to complement your new toned tush with a slim, strong midsection.

Basic squat

Assume a shoulder-width stance and lower your hips back and down while your arms float in front of you for balance. Try to keep your shoulder blades pulling back – this will prevent any rounding of the spine and keep your chest facing up and forwards. Aim to get your thighs parallel with the floor, then pause at the bottom for a moment before slowly returning to a standing position. Think about contracting your glutes and hamstrings throughout to get the most bang for your buck!

Wall squat

To feel the heat in your thighs, take your squat to the wall and hold an isometric position for as long as possible. I love wall squats because they’re great for partner work – one person can perform tricep dips off the other’s thighs, then you can switch as part of a great bodyweight circuit routine. To start out, simply stand with your back against a wall and your feet about a foot from the skirting board. Sink down into your hips until your thighs are completely parallel with the floor. Engage your core and hold tight. 30 seconds is ideal for beginners, while more advanced exercisers should aim to surpass the minute mark!

Dumbbell overhead squat

Grab a pair of light dumbbells and hold them in an extended shoulder press position straight above your head. Sink into your basic squat without bending at the elbows. Remind yourself to pull your shoulders down your back throughout. The extra lever of your arms in the air will increase the challenge on your core – so you strengthen your tum while sculpting your bum.

Single leg stability squat

Another take on the isometric squat, this move activates more of the stabilising muscles around your knees and hips. It’s great for athletes who need to build up resilience to quick changes of direction and prevent injury from overtraining. Drop into a basic squat and pull your bellybutton into your spine as you hover your right leg off the floor. Extend the lifted foot to the back, then out to the side. Repeat all your reps on one side before switching over to even out your glutes!

Walking burpee squat

A great alternative to the high-impact burpee, the walking burpee squat will elevate your heartrate for a cardio burst that won’t put stress on your knees or shake the floorboards for those of us who live in creaky flats. Lower into a basic squat and plant your hands on the floor between your feet, then step one leg at a time into a plank position. Walk the legs back in and reverse the squat until you’re standing. That’s one rep.

Sumo squat

To work deeper into your adductors (those inner thigh muscles everyone stresses over during bikini season), heel-toe your starting stance until your feet are just wider than your shoulders. Make sure your toes are pointing out to 45 degrees, then drop into a squat and keep your knees tracking over your toes. The temptation will be to let your knees fall backwards, but by squeezing your adductors and resisting this temptation you’ll get a beautiful streamlining contraction through your thighs.

Deep side squat

Assume the same wide stance as above, but drop your butt back and to the side so your hip falls over your ankle on the same side. Plant your elbow inside the knee and let the other toe come off the floor. As well as building up tons of strength in the working glute, you’ll stretch and lengthen the inner thigh.

Calf-activating squat

Preparing for your basic squat, lift your heels, tuck your pelvis and squeeze your lower abdominals to stabilise your body from top to toe. Keeping your back flat, lower your hips back and down into a parallel squat. Complete 10-15 full reps on your tip toes, then get an extra ‘burn’ in your calves by pausing at the bottom of the position and lower and lift your heels. You may need to shake out your legs after this one.

Touch down squat jumps

Watch out for creaky floorboards on this one. Combine your cardio with conditioning and take your basic squat up a notch with a bit of explosive lift-off. Lower into a squat and touch your fingertips to the floor on either side of your ankles before pushing upwards with maximum force. Gently bend your knees as you land and lower straight into your next rep. Keep this one smooth and steady. Warning: your breath will want to race ahead – that’s a sign you’re working hard.

Frog squat shuffle

Time to take that dynamic squat jump one step further – or forward. From the back of your mat or workout space, lower into a deep squat and explode up and ahead by a few feet. Land in a soft squat and maintain that position as you ‘shuffle’ your feet to the start position. Don’t stop moving. Just know that your fitness is skyrocketing with every rep.

Want to see variations of more of your favourite exercises? I always take suggestions on board, so please let me know how I can help to inspire your workouts! 

Watch the above video for my 10 favourite exercises, which are designed to work major muscle groups as well as targeting trouble spots like your bum and tum. Try them as a complete full-body circuit or add just a few into your existing regime. I recommend at least 10 reps of each and 2-4 sets.