Squat Your Way to Picture Perfect Legs

Squats are often referred to as the king of leg exercises. That’s a title that is truly deserved because no other exercise comes close to offering the benefits of squats. Whatever your fitness goal is, squats will help you get there faster. Squats ARE challenging, and you’ll need to learn to do them right, but your investment of time and effort will soon be rewarded!

Squats are a compound exercise. This means they involve two or more joints and multiple muscle groups all working together. In this instance, multiple muscle groups is something of an understatement – squats work virtually every muscle in your legs, and even some in your upper body too.

This not only means that squats are a very time-efficient exercise, they are also great for calorie burning. All of that muscular activity means that squats use a lot of energy. That’s good news if you want to tone up and lose weight at the same time.

Squats are also a very functional exercise. They closely replicate and benefit the activities of daily living. You will probably have done several squats already today – sitting down and standing up, getting on and off the loo, and getting in and out of your car for example. And walking up or down stairs? That’s a whole sequence of one-legged squats.

Because squats involve a lot of joints and muscles, as well as a large range of motion, they are a technically demanding exercise. Well-performed squats are the answer to your workout prayers, but badly performed squats can lead to aches and pains. You need to learn how to squat right!

There are lots of different types of squat you can perform, but they all share these common characteristics. Apply these rules to whichever type of squat you do, and you’ll get great results with fewer injuries.

1. Stand with your feet between hip and shoulder-width apart, with your toes facing in the same direction as your knees. Your stance depends on what you find comfortable, and taller people often prefer a wider stance. Experiment to determine which one works for you.

2. Initiate your descent by pushing your hips back. This will help activate your hamstrings and glutes, as well as keeping your weight on your heels for better balance and less knee stress. Just after pushing your hips back, it’s time to bend your knees. Do not allow your knees to travel forward of your toes.

3. Squat down until your thighs are approximately parallel to the floor or as deep as your flexibility allows. Do not round your lower back, and make sure you keep your chest up and look straight ahead throughout.

4. Drive down through your heels and stand back up. Stand fully upright but do not lock out your knees or lean back. That’s one flawless rep done, now keep going!

Squat variations

Regular bodyweight squats, also known as air squats, are a great exercise but if you can do more than 20-30 reps without feeling your legs working overtime, they are too easy to be of much benefit. Crank up the intensity with these more demanding squat variations. Remember though, whichever squat variation you try, make sure you do each and every rep properly, following the guidelines outlined above.

Goblet squats

Goblet squats involve holding a dumbbell, kettle bell, or medicine ball in front of your chest. This increases the demand on your leg muscles but also forces you to use great exercise technique. If you lean too far forward, the weight will fall away from your chest and you’ll end up with more weight on your arms than your legs. Goblet squats are an excellent way to learn and develop good squatting technique.

Barbell back squats

This gym staple is one of the exercises contested in power lifting competitions. With a barbell resting across your upper back, this is the squat exercise that will allow you to lift the most weight. However, it’s also a tricky and sometimes uncomfortable exercise to master. It’s a good job there are plenty of other variations to try!

Barbell front squats  

As the name suggests, where back squats involve resting and holding a barbell behind you, with front squats the barbell is held in front of you. It rests across your shoulders and is held in place by keeping your upper arms up and parallel to the floor.
Front squats are popular with Olympic weight lifters and are a divisive subject amongst exercisers. Some people love them, while others hate them, finding them awkward and difficult. Try them and decide which camp you are in.
 

Zercher squats

This unusually-named exercise is one of the most accessible ways to squat. Similar to the goblet squat, it’s very hard to do this exercise incorrectly. Light weights should present no problems but, as you increase the load, you may find Zercher squats hurt your arms. This is easily remedied by using a barbell pad or wrapping the bar in a towel.

Bulgarian split squats

If you have mastered squatting with two legs, why not try squatting with just one? That’s not exactly the case with this exercise, but roughly 75% of the work is done by your front leg and only 25% by the rear leg. This exercise is not just a good leg exercise, it’s also good for your balance and your mobility too. Master this exercise with just your bodyweight before progressing to dumbbells or a barbell.
 

How to program squats

With more than a few variations to try, there is nothing wrong with squatting twice or even three-times a week, preferably on non-consecutive days to allow time to rest. It’s also a good idea to use a variety of loads and set/rep schemes to avoid overtraining and boredom.
For example:

• Monday – barbell back squats, 4 sets of eight reps, heavy weights
• Wednesday – goblet squats, 2 sets of 20 reps, light weights
• Friday – Zercher squats, 3 sets of 12 reps, moderate weights

Some people think that squats are bad for the knees. This simply isn’t true. Performed properly, squats strengthen the knee joint and all the associated muscles. They can actually reduce or prevent knee pain. However, if squats DO hurt your knees, you may be doing them wrong or are using too much weight. Check your technique, dial back the load, and start over. Gradual progression is the key to successful squats and picture-perfect legs!