How To Do Squats Properly – Full Guide

Squats are the best functional exercise. The compound movements target major muscle groups in your body and help strengthen the calves, quads, adductors, hamstrings, lower back, core, and glutes. But if you are a beginner or are not squatting properly, you may run the risk of injuring your knees and back. In this article, you will learn, practice, and master squats in a few simple steps. You will also learn how to do modified versions of squats to lose weight and shape up. Let’s begin and see how to do squats properly!

The Beginner’s Guide To A Perfect Squat

Things You Need To Squat

• Comfortable clothes
• Training shoes
• Headband and/or hair band

How To Squat Properly

Step 1: Starting Position

Stand tall, with your back straight, feet a little more than hip-width apart and in a straight line, toes pointing slightly out (about 5-20 degrees), shoulders relaxed, and chest lifted. Look straight, with the arms extended in front of you, and squeeze your glutes so that your pelvic region is in symmetry with the imaginary straight line drawn from your left foot to the right.

Step 2: Start Squatting

Look straight ahead, keep your back straight, and engage your core. Inhale, push your buttocks out, and start bending your knees. Your weight should be on your heels and NOT on your toes.

Step 3: Full Squat

Push your buttocks out and look straight ahead. Sit down with your body weight on your heels. Your knees should not overshoot your toes. Go down until your hip joints are lower than your knees. Yes, this is the correct full squat. If your hip joints are not below the level of your knees, it’s a partial squat.

Step 4: Hold

Keep your arms in front of you or grasp your right wrist with your left hand, and look straight. Make sure your pelvic region is in alignment with the toes, and your knees are not overshooting the toes. Your hips need to be pushed back, core tight, and glutes squeezed. Hold this pose for 3 seconds.

Step 5: Getting Back Up

Exhale and start getting back up. Keep the body weight on your heels, shoulders pinched backward, and chest up. Push your hips forward and squeeze your glutes. Keep your legs straight.

Step 6: Repeat

Again, inhale and go down to the squat position. Hold for 3 seconds, and come back up.

Tip: Be slow when you are learning how to squat. There’s no hurry. Squatting correctly is more important than doing 3 sets of 30 squats.

So, you see, squatting is not rocket science. You just need to be patient, observant, and open to unlearn the wrong squatting technique that you were following. Now, before we move on, I would like to introduce you to the advanced level of squats. You can do these exercises as part of your full body exercise routine, but make sure you do them correctly.

8 Squats For Full Body To Burn Calories

1. Pulse Squat

Target

Quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, calves, adductors, and core.

Duration – 7 mins

Steps

1. Stand straight with your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointing out, shoulders pinched back, chest forward, and hands in front of you.
2. Inhale and push your hips out and squat down and keep your body weight on your heels. Make sure your hip joints are a little lower than your knees, and your knees do not overshoot your toes.
3. Now, instead of coming back up, pulse in the squatting pose – go up and down at frequent intervals.
4. Pulse and count to 10.
5. Exhale and slowly get back up to the starting position.
6. Do 2 sets of 5 reps. Increase the reps and sets as you advance.

2. Explosive Squat

Target

Quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, calves, adductors, core, lats, biceps, and neck muscles.

Duration – 7 mins

Steps

1. Stand straight with your feet a little wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly pointing out, shoulders pinched back, chest forward, and hands in front of you.
2. Inhale and push your hips out and squat down. Keep your body weight on your heels. Make sure your hip joints are a little lower than your knees, and your knees do not overshoot your toes.
3. Now, get back up from the squatting position and before you fully stand up, propel your body into a jump. Simultaneously, lower your hands to the sides to help propel your body up.
4. Land softly on your feet, move your hands from the side to the front, bend your knees a little, and go down to a squat pose again.
5. Do 2 sets of 10 reps. Increase the reps and sets as you advance.

3. Squat Jump Forward And Back

Target

Quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, calves, adductors, chest, and core.

Duration – 10 mins

Steps

1. Stand straight with your feet a little wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly pointing out, shoulders pinched back, and chest forward. Clasp both the hands together, and keep the elbows slightly bent.
2. Inhale and push your hips out and squat down, keeping your body weight on your heels. Make sure your hip joints are a little lower than your knees, and your knees do not overshoot your toes.
3. Get back up from the squat pose and squeeze your glutes.
4. Jump forward and back, keeping your legs in the same stance and toes pointing out. Make sure to land smoothly on your feet.
5. Once you have jumped forward and back, inhale and squat again.
6. Do 2 sets of 10 reps. Increase the reps and sets as you advance.

4. Plie/Sumo Squats

Target

Adductors, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, calves, core, and back.

Duration – 5 mins

Steps

1. Stand straight with your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointing out (45 degrees), shoulders pinched back, and chest forward. Clasp both the hands together, and keep the elbows slightly bent.
2. Inhale, push your hips out and squat down, and keep your body weight on your heels. Make sure your hip joints are a little lower than your knees, and your knees do not overshoot your toes.
3. Hold this pose for 2 seconds.
4. Exhale and get back up to the starting position.
5. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.
6. As you advance, you can also do explosive plie/sumo squats or use a kettlebell to make it little more challenging.

5. Squat With Bicep Curls

Target

Quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, calves, adductors, chest, core, back, biceps, shoulders, and wrist extensors and flexors.

Duration – 7 mins

Steps

1. Stand straight with your feet a little wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly pointing out, shoulders pinched back, chest forward, and elbows slightly bent.
2. Hold 5.5-pound dumbbells in your hands. Bring your elbows close to the torso. Your palms must face forward, and hands must lie by the sides of your body.
3. Inhale and push your hips out and squat down. Keep your body weight on your heels. Make sure your hip joints are a little lower than your knees, and your knees do not overshoot your toes. As you continue to do squats with weights, lift your forearm until the dumbbells almost touch your shoulders. Remember to keep your upper arms stationary.
4. Hold this pose for 1 second.
5. Exhale, get back up, lower your forearm and come back to the starting position.
6. Do 3 sets of 10 reps. Increase the reps, sets, and weight as you advance.

6. Squat With Overhead Press

Target

Quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, calves, adductors, chest, core, back, biceps, shoulders, and lats.

Duration – 10 mins

Steps

1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointing out, shoulders pinched back, chest forward, and hold 5.5- pound dumbbells with your arms lifted and leveled with your shoulders. Your forearms should be at a right angle with the upper arms.
2. Inhale and push your hips out and squat down, keeping your body weight on your heels. Make sure your hip joints are a little lower than your knees, and your knees do not overshoot your toes. As you squat, extend your arms up and directly above your head.
3. Now, exhale and slowly get up from the squat pose, flex your elbows, and bring your arms back to the starting position.
4. Do 2 sets of 10 reps. Increase the reps, sets, and weight as you advance.

7. Barbell Sumo Squat

Target

Shoulders, glutes, lats, lower back, abs, quads, chest, triceps, biceps, hamstrings, calves, adductors, hip flexors, wrist flexors and extensors.

Duration – 10 mins

Steps

1. Position yourself inside a squat rack. Load the bar with weights on either side while it is still on the rack. Now, step under it and place it across the back of the shoulders, slightly below the rear deltoids. Hold the bar with your hands, palms facing forward and elbows close to your torso.
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades and rotate your elbows forward. Position your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and squeeze your glutes. Your chest must be out, spine neutral, knees slightly bent, and toes pointing out.
3. Remove the barbell from the rack. Push your hips backward and squat down. Continue going down until your hip joints are slightly lower than knees. Your knees should not overshoot your toes, and the entire weight should be on your heels. Inhale as you go down.
4. Exhale and get back up to the starting position.
5. Do 2 sets of 5 reps. Increase the reps, sets, and weight as you advance.

8. Goblet Squat

Target

Glutes, core, quads, hamstrings, lower back, and shoulders.

Duration – 7 mins

Steps

1. Stand straight with your feet a little wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly pointing out, shoulders pinched back, chest forward, and the elbows slightly bent.
2. Hold a 5.5-pound dumbbell with both your hands in front, close to your chest. Keep your elbows close to the torso and body weight on your heels.
3. Inhale and push your hips out and squat down. Make sure your hip joints are a little lower than your knees, and your knees should not overshoot your toes.
4. Hold this pose for a second.
5. Exhale and come back up to the starting position.
6. Do 3 sets of 10 reps.

These are the 8 different variations of squats that you can do to tone your body and shed the fat. As you practice more, you will get better, and squatting will become easier. Here’s a list of benefits that you get by squatting regularly.

Benefits Of Squats

• Help burn the fat.
• Tone the muscles.
• Build muscle strength.
• Make real-life activities much easier.
• Improve stamina.
• Prevent injuries.
• Help flush out the toxins.
• Improve blood circulation.
• Help to get rid of cellulite.
• Increase flexibility.
• Help build core strength.
• Improve posture.
• Strengthen the bones and joints.

To conclude, anyone can squat, but doing it properly is what you should aim for. Follow the instructions to know how to squat and master this simple yet high impact exercise. So, get up and squat down to get a fabulous and fit body. Cheers!