How do I squat at the gym?
If you’re looking to pack on lower-body bulk, your first port of call will always be the king of leg exercises: the squat. The squat is your one-way ticket to bulking up your legs and receiving a whole host of other health benefits. However, with a wealth of information available proclaiming to have the secret to ‘nailing the perfect squat’, which way is best?
What Are the Benefits of the Squat?
Squats burn calories and might help you lose weight. They also lower your chances of injuring your knees and ankles.
As you exercise, the movement strengthens your tendons, bones, and ligaments around the leg muscles. It takes some of the weight off your knees and ankles.
How to Do Squats:
As with any exercise, the key to doing squats properly and avoiding potential injury is good form and technique. Follow these tips before you get started:
- Keep your back straight. Avoid rounding your back when you’re lowering or rising during a squat. A rounded back on weighted squats can cause injury to the spine at the upper or lower end.
- Track your knees over your toes. Keep your knees from going past the tips of the toes. This is generally not good for the knee joints.
- Plant your feet: Keep your heels planted firmly on the ground and your knees lined up with your feet.
- Look straight ahead. Try not to look down. Be aware that your back and butt are in the correct position, with your back straight and your butt extended. Standing in front of a full-length mirror to check your form is recommended.
- Start with lighter weights. Don’t start with weights that are too heavy. Try one to three sets of 6 to 10 squats using lighter weights. If you’re new to exercise, you might skip the weights and work on your form using your body weight.
5 Types of Squats to Try:
1. Basic squat
This is the holy grail of squatting. Master this foundational move, and you’ll be in great shape as you work your way through this list.
- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly out, and your arms down at your side.
- Start to hinge at the hips and bend your knees, sitting back like you’re going to sit down and allowing your arms to raise up in front of you. Ensure that your knees don’t fall inward and your back stays straight.
- When your thighs are parallel to the ground, stop and push up through your heels to return to starting.
2. Side squat
It’s important to work in all planes of motion while exercising—tthat means not only front and back but side to side as well.
- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms down at your sides.
- Begin to hinge at the hips and bend your knees, stepping your right foot out to the side and allowing your arms to raise up in front of you to a comfortable position.
- When your thighs are parallel to the ground, stand up, stepping on your left foot to meet your right.
- Repeat, stepping your left foot out and bringing your right foot to meet it.
3. Single-leg squat
Not to be confused with a pistol squat, a single-leg squat is just that—aa squat on one leg. The main difference is that in a single-leg squat, the free leg doesn’t have to be parallel to the ground.
- Start by standing with your feet together and your arms out in front of you.
- Lift your left leg off of the ground in front of you and squat down on your right as far as you can go, stopping when your right thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Stand up, then switch legs.
4.Bodyweight Squat
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out, arms at your sides, and palms in.
- Engage your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat as you shift your weight into your heels, push your hips back, and bend your knees to lower into a squat. Bend your elbows and bring your palms together in front of your chest. (You can also just hold your hands in front of your chest the entire time.)
- Drive through your heels to stand and squeeze your glutes at the top for 1 rep.
5.Jump Squat
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out, and hands in front of your chest.
- Engage your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat as you shift your weight into your heels, push your hips back, and bend your knees to lower into a squat.
- Jump as high as you can, swinging your arms down by your sides for momentum. Keep your back straight and your chest lifted.
- Land with soft knees for 1 rep.
6.Squat Jack
- Stand with your feet together. Clasp your hands together in front of your chest.
- Jump your feet out so that they’re slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Engage your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat as you shift your weight into your heels, push your hips back, and bend your knees to lower into a squat.
- Drive through your heels to stand and jump your feet back together, squeezing your glutes at the top, for 1 rep.
7. Dumbbell Front Squat
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out, and a weight in each hand on the tops of your shoulders, palms in.
- Engage your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat as you shift your weight into your heels, push your hips back, and bend your knees to lower into a squat.
- Drive through your heels to stand and squeeze your glutes at the top for 1 rep.
8. Squat with knee drive.
- Drop down into a basic squat.
- As you come up, drive your right knee up as high as it will go.
- Drop immediately down again to another basic squat, pushing up and driving your left knee up this time.
9. Squat to Lateral Leg Lift
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out, a weight in each hand at the tops of your shoulders, palms in.
- Engage your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat as you shift your weight into your heels, push your hips back, and bend your knees to lower into a squat.
- Drive through your heels to stand, and squeeze your glutes at the top. Then lift your right leg out to the side, flexing your foot and keeping your leg straight and your toes forward. You’ll have to put more weight on your left leg, but focus on keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
- Lower your right for 1 rep. Do reps, then switch sides and repeat.
10. Barbell Back Squat
- Grab a barbell inside a squat rack with your hands a bit wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Duck underneath the bar and push your upper back against it.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades to create a muscular “shelf” for the bar to rest on.
- Stand tall, unrack the barbell, and step back. Place your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and turn your toes out 20 to 30 degrees.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat, pushing your knees slightly out to the sides.
- Drive through your heels to stand and squeeze your glutes at the top for 1 rep.
How Low Should You Squat?
‘Physiologically, not everyone can hit rock bottom,’ says pro PT and founder of Muscle Evo, Christian Finn, ‘but someone with very shallow hip sockets will find it relatively easy to perform a deep squat without compromising their technique.’
For those with deeper-set joints or mobility issues, dropping until your knees are at 90 degrees is the gold standard.
Benefits and Risks of Smith Machine Squats:
Some experts believe that the smith machine provides safety because the bar is contained between two rails.
Researchers have also noted that smith machine weighted squats offer a broader range of exercise positions than the free squat and more possibilities for adjusting the distribution of muscle activity and joint loads.
Many fitness trainers say that the limited range of motion during a smith machine squat compromises proper posture for many exercisers who haven’t yet perfected their squat form and technique.
Conclusion: Squats are a fundamental human movement pattern and an excellent exercise to work your lower body and core. Changing your variations for weighted squats may keep you from getting bored with one type and can help improve your form while targeting your muscles in novel ways. If you are unsure how to perform any of these squat variations, get assistance from a personal trainer.
