The squat is just always going to be one of my favorite workout moves.
It’s so simple, yet majorly effective. Squat is also a word that if you think about too much starts to sound really weird. (You’re welcome)
I make sure to throw in a round of squats at least 3 times a week when I train!
Why squat?
Squats are amazing because they’re a functional movement — that is, it’s a movement you do in real life. It’s rare that we’re lunging around our houses, but you know you gotta squat to lift up a heavy box.
A squat is also a compound movement, meaning it involves two or more joints (hips and knees). It also recruits the majority of your muscles. We tend to think of squats just as a booty-building move (and it will help you build up that #peachbutt), but it involves not just your glutes but also all of your legs, core, hips, and back. Hold a weight in your hands while you do it and it might just work almost every muscle group in your body. Stronger muscles means improved physical health and decreased risk of injury — starting to get why I love squats yet?
There are of course different variations of squats. For example, if I need to drop down to the ground for some reason (like to play with my dogs), I tend to prefer to hang out in malasana (which is a yoga squat that’s fairly deep), instead of sitting (it’s definitely strange). If you can rest in that position comfortably, it’s way better on your back than slumping cross-legged, even if it does look a little odd. In many countries around the world, especially in Asia, that’s just how they hang out. Walk around Bali and you’ll see lots of vendors chilling a couple feet off the ground. They know what’s up.
(BTW — you should also be squatting to go the bathroom. But that’s for another post.)
Today I want to talk about the basic bodyweight squat, since that’s the squat most of us know and love/hate.
It’s a fitness move you’d think everyone would basically do correctly, but you’d be wrong, my friend.
I have seen some jacked-up squats when I’ve taught them in my classes.
So let’s go over correct squat form.
Here’s the right way to do a standard bodyweight squat:
- Stand with your feel slightly wider than hips’ distance and slightly turned outwards
- Push down through your heels so your weight pulls backwards
- Bend your knees as you pull your hips back and down
- Keep your back long and in neutral (low back maintains natural curve)
- Your pelvis should also stay in a neutral position (no tucking!)
- Keep your chest broad
- Engage your core
- As you sink you hips down, only go as far as you can while maintaining your long neutral spine
- Watch your knees and make sure they do not bend past your toes
- Also focus on keeping your knees tracking over your 2nd and 3rd toes so they don’t cave in or bow out
- Grip the floor evenly through all ten toes
- The goal is to get your hip joint below your knee joint (this position is called “parallel”) — but work up this and only lower as far as you can while maintaining proper form
- Squeeze your seat when you come back up to standing
- Do at least 3 rounds of 15 sets
- You can also up the intensity of your workout by holding your squat down as low as you can for as long as you can, then adding little pulses, moving your hips up and down 1″. Get ready for that booty burn!
Now here’s what NOT to do:
I can’t even stand to look at this one. Like just looking at my back makes me want to scream.
What’s funny is that I was posing in this horrible Gollum position for this photo when a couple walked by… they must have been so confused watching my husband taking photos of me like this. I like to think they assumed that I was attempting to do this squat as I tried to look super cool on Instagram with this beautiful Hawaiian view and that no one had the heart to tell me that I really sucked.
This was actually the second round of photos we took showing the bad form, because in the first one I didn’t jut out my knees far enough for it to look wrong. It hurts to do! Guys! Why do you do it?!
This picture is obviously overly exaggerated, but sadly I actually do see these mistakes quite often when I teach. Thankfully not often all at once though – it’s actually fairly difficult to try to squat this horribly!
To recap, here’s what’s going wrong in this photo:
- My spine is rounded forward – and my chest is caved in
- I’m also hanging my head down so my neck is rounded forward, too
- My hips are tucked under like a dog with a tail between its legs instead of in neutral
- I’m not using my core at all
- My knees are going way too far forward – past my toes!
- They’re also caving in towards each other instead of staying in line with my feet
- My weight is forward in the balls of my feet, not my heels
- I also have my feet too close together and slightly turned in
And now a video to bring it all together:
Here I talk through and demonstrate how to do a squat correctly — it’s nice and quick for whenever you need an easy refresher!
One final note:
I usually do squats barefoot, but this coral happened to be a bit too sharp for my feet, so flip-flops it was! (They’re Oofos, which are incredibly comfortable and super supportive — here’s a link if you want to buy some!
When you do squats barefoot instead of in shoes, it helps you get better grip with your toes and strengthens the muscles in your feet. If you want a way to give them a little TLC after your barefoot workout, I recommend stretching your feet out.