“I'm old”: Actor and comedian Joel Kim Booster reveals why he stays away from barbell squats
The 'Outstanding' star Joel Kim Booster has a legitimate excuse to dodge the scary barbell squats. In a video recently shared by Mens Health on YouTube, where Booster has shared what his training sessions are like, he said:
"For me, I'm old and I have a lot of lower back issues, so barbell squats have sort of exited my life as of late."
However, you can't complete your training by avoiding squatting at all as some sort of different-impact activity is required. It happens to be Bulgarian split-squat for Booster:
"Because it's a unilateral exercise, it workd both parts of the legs and it also is a really great glute exercise as well. I's really difficult but it's extremely rewarding."
Everyone in training would agree leg day is the perfect example of no pain no gain, and Booster's opinion doesn't seem to differ, as he said:
"My least favorite exercise is, I mean like everybody else, leg day is a struggle. I don't skip it, it's hard, it feels bad, it's the only day I've ever puked at the gym, but it's the largest muscle group in your body."
Watch this video of Joel talking about his training routine:
He spoke about how the leg workout in fact helps boost the benefits of training in the whole body, saying:
"You'll see bigger and better gains in the rest of your body if you're focusing on leg day."
Morning workout sets me up for a better day: Booster
It is not easy to accommodate hours of workout in already-packed days of filming schedule, as Booster continued:
"When I'm filming, like my worout schedule is all over the place, but I try to maintain at least four days a week and that means prioritizing going before shooting or getting in at the end of the day , which can be difficult cause sometimes you're shooting for 12-14 hours a day and getting up at 5 is not ideal."
Life isn't always ideal, and one has to find out what works for them to function close to ideal:
"But for me, like making working out like the first thing I do in the day sets me up for a better day not just like physically how I feel but mentally as well."
Booster loved deadlifting but bad back prevents him from it
Barbell squats may be one thing Booster happily let go of because of a bad back. However, his lower back issues have also stopped him from doing an exercise he said he loved doing:
"I used to love deadlifting, I think my PR was somewhere around 415 before I injured my back. Now I do mostly deadlifting with either a Sumo deadlifter which is easier on my lower back."
Booster shared what his take on a healthier outlook sounds like:
"If you focus mostly on the strength gains, I think that is a healthier outlook for you."
Booster has also been in movies and shows like Sunnyside and Loot.