Rachel Riley completed 100 squats a day for 31 days, every day in August. The 40-year-old Countdown host took on the challenge to raise money for Cancer Research UK, and 3100 squats later, she’s shared exactly how she found it – and how her body changed.
‘31 days after this I can officially say challenge completed. 100 squats a day for Cancer Research UK for the whole of August,’ she says in a video on Instagram. ‘Congratulations if you did it too or if you gave it your best shot.’
She says the squat challenge felt most difficult at the very beginning, but her body soon adjusted: ‘I have to say, to start, my legs were on fire, but I got stronger and I completed it.’
Instagram @rachelrileyrr
What she’s describing is the process of her muscles adapting to the demand of 100 daily squats. When you first start doing a new exercise (or you significantly increase the volume – Riley had likely done squats before, just not 100 every day), your body isn’t able to supply its muscles with the energy and oxygen it needs to feel comfortable (you may feel that burning, on ‘fire’ sensation Riley describes). But the more you train your body to do something, the more efficient and strong your muscles become, so the same physiological effort feels easier.
At the halfway point of the challenge, she shared two big tips for taking on the challenge.
Number one was breaking up each daily 100 goal into smaller batches. ‘I realised pretty quickly that 100 squats in one go was a recipe for not being able to walk, so splitting them up is working nicely for @cr_uk’s #100SquatChallenge doing 100 squats every day in August to raise money in the fight against cancer,’ she said on Instagram.
Her second tip was choosing the right footwear. ‘I’m sure my squat technique is still terrible, not aided at work by wearing heels, but hey ho, I’m still going strong on day 13!’ she said. ‘My lovely colleagues kindly noted how mine resemble a certain dance move from the 2010s, IFKYK.’
Riley’s PT Emma Bord also took on the challenge and shared her own top tip for motivation: multitasking. ‘What’s great is that you don’t need a gym to do this one, or have loads of time. Follow me and get squatting whilst doing your daily activities or chores. Because we all love to multitask,’ she said on Instagram.
She shared her tips for proper form, too: ‘Good form is key, feet shoulder width apart, toes slightly turned out, knees following the line of the toes, core engaged and chest proud, heels stay flat on the floor, slow, controlled and delicious.’
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As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.