Use this guide to check your drop-it-low form, take note of the move's benefits, and learn how to scale or level up your own squats. Aside from making it easier to get off your super-plush couch, practicing bodyweight squats keeps your body strong and injury-free. Since bodyweight squats involve multiple major muscle groups, they help you build strength and muscle throughout your entire body—especially in your legs, back, and abs, says Nakhlawi.
The sweet secondary result of firing up so many muscles? You boost your metabolism, burning more calories , she adds. Do 'em quickly and you'll spike your heart rate and get in some cardio , too. Aside from getting you the most bang for your workout buck, bodyweight squats help your body move better all day long.
All good news if you want to feel strong and bendy in pretty much everything you do. Of course, if you want to reap all those juicy squat benefits, you've gotta nail your execution.
How to: Start standing with feet hip-distance apart, toes pointed out slightly, and arms at sides. Keep torso upright, engage core and glutes, shift hips back and down, and bend at knees to lower seat until thighs are at least parallel with floor.
Drive down through heels to return to standing. Simple as bodyweight squats may seem, there are a few common and crucial! For best results, repeat these key cues in your head as you move through bodyweight squats.
Brace before you begin. In the current "Age of the Booty," the squat has risen to the top of the exercise food chain, earning memes and emojis galore. But is this exercise move all it's cracked up to be? Short answer: yes. Long answer: hell yes. The bodyweight squat isn't just an exercise, but one of the five main foundational movements for daily life, according to the American Council On Exercise. That's why it's important to master, whether you're interested in tearing it up in the gym, building a super-strong booty, or just making it through life uninjured.
And, FYI, squats actually aren't the best exercise for building bigger, stronger glutes. How you perform a squat can identify muscle imbalances, mobility deficiencies, and other strengths and weaknesses that may be important to address during your fitness routine.
Feel like you haven't mastered the form quite yet? Try not to lower as far down. Perform squats while holding onto a TRX or other suspension tool or with your back on a stability ball on the wall. If you are in fact ready to progress, try some of the many bodyweight squat variations that'll work your lower body and core in slightly different ways, add some plyometrics, or incorporate weight to the standard squat using dumbbells, kettlebells, a barbell , or other resistance training tools.
If you're new to squats you can build up the required strength using assistance techniques. Gymnastics rings and suspension trainers are particularly effective equipment for this. These tools essentially support some of your bodyweight to make the exercise more achievable see Suspended Single Leg Squat as an example. Bodyweight squats are a beginners movement that many people quickly out grow, especially if training for muscle mass and strength rather than endurance or weight loss.
If you're ready to progress from the bodyweight version it's time to add some increased resistance. There are many ways to add resistance to a squat. The obvious choice is to increase weight, which can be achieved using a barbell see barbell squat , by wearing a weighted vest or holding dumbbells, kettlebells and other weighted objects. Alternatively, resistance bands can be a cheap, effective and ultra-portable method of adding progressive resistance to the squat movement.
Simply wrap a heavy-duty band round each foot and over the shoulders to secure in place. As with all strength exercises you should strive to make incremental and continuous gains.
Make small additions to the added resistance to safely progress. The information provided on this website is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. We are Are you on track to achieving your fitness goals?
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