Exercise what is a squat

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Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M. What muscles do squats work? How to do a basic squat. Share on Pinterest. What are the benefits of doing squats? What benefits can you get from squat variations? Keep your weight in your heels as you start to sit back and down, with your trailing leg straight. Lower until the thigh on your bent leg is parallel to the ground or ideally lower, then push back up while maintaining your wide stance unlike in the side lunge where you would step your feet back together.

Squatting on one leg greatly increases the difficulty of the exercise and makes it more beneficial to sporty types, because it strengthens the muscles in a way that will add more power to your running and make you more resistant to injury.

Stand on one leg with the raised leg held slightly behind you, and squat down as low as you can without toppling over. Hold both arms out in front of you to help with your balance when you first attempt the exercise. A particularly challenging version of the single-leg squat.

With the pistol squat you hold the raised leg out straight in front of you and lower all the way down until the hamstring on your standing leg touches the calf. The goblet squat can be performed with a kettlebell or dumbbell, which should be held to your chest with your elbows tucked in. The goblet squat is a good way for beginners to add weight to their squats while ensuring they maintain correct form, and acts as a stepping stone from air squats to barbell back and front squats.

Keeping the weight close to your chest is also beneficial for your back stability and core strength. The daddy of compound lifts, the back squat does it all when it comes to strengthening your lower body, boosting the benefits of the movement through the increased challenge of the weight.

Start with the barbell resting on your rear shoulder muscles, then lower into a squat and power back up, keeping the weight on your heels as you do. A natural progression from the goblet squat, the front squat puts more focus on the quads than the back squat, and also challenges the core which is constantly working to keep the upper body balanced. Why it rocks: This challenging exercise fires up your inner and outer hips, inner thighs, core, and shoulders.

How to: Stand with feet under shoulders holding a kettlebell or dumbbell in either hand. Extend right arm straight overhead and bend left arm to bring weight in front of shoulder, keeping elbow close to body. Step left foot out wide to side, then sit hips back and lower down until thigh is nearly parallel to floor while keeping right leg straight. Re-straighten left leg. Perform 1o reps on each side, then continue on to your next move, resting as needed.

Why it rocks: Working towards pistols? This is a great way to ramp up your single-leg strength and balance. How to: Start seated in a chair holding one dumbbell with both hands in front of chest. Lift right foot a few inches off of the floor. Push through left heel to stand up on left leg, while maintaining a degree bend in right leg. Reverse the movement and lower back to start. Perform 10 reps on each side, then continue on to your next move, resting as needed. Why it rocks: Adding the med ball to your pistols provides counterbalance, helping you nail this advanced exercise.

How to: Start standing on left leg, with right leg bent, holding a medicine ball in front of chest. Extend elevated right leg in front of body and press ball straight forward while lowering down as far into a squat as possible.

Drive through left heel to stand up while pulling ball back into chest. Perform up to 10 reps on each side, then continue on to your next move, resting as needed. Why it rocks: This is a compound move that'll light up your obliques and shoulders, in addition to your legs. How to: Start standing with feet under hips holding a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height with arms bent and elbows by sides.

Sit hips back and lower down into a squat. Push through heels to lift up, pressing weights overhead and rotating torso to left side. Lower back into a squat, then repeat, twisting to the opposite side. Why it rocks: This compound move involves your legs, core, biceps, and shoulders. Talk about maximizing your time! How to: Get into a low squat position, with a kettlebell or dumbbell in each hand, arms extended straight down so weights are between feet.

Bend elbows and bring fists in front of shoulders. Then, press through heels to stand up and press weights overhead, stopping when arms are straight. Reverse movement to return to start. Perform 10 reps, then continue on to your next move, resting as needed. Why it rocks: Want to get your heart rate up with weights?

This fully-body move is the way to do it. How to: Start in a squat holding a kettlebell or dumbbell in either hand, with arms bent and elbows narrow. In one motion, drive through heels to stand up and press weights overhead, stopping when arms are straight.

Reverse the motion to return to start. The reason trainers love plyometric exercises so much? It sky-rockets your heart rate and works your muscles in a unique way by building power. Plyo squat variations are a one-way ticket to a badass lower body. Why it rocks: Get some cardio into your leg-day workouts without too much impact with this fun exercise. How to: Start in a squat with feet shoulder-width apart and arms bent, hands in front of chest.

Fold forward to place palms flat on the floor in front of toes, then jump feet back into a high plank position, shoulders stacked over wrists. Reverse the movement to return to start. Why it rocks: The quintessential plyo leg move, squat jumps make foundational bodyweight squats so. How to: Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out, and arms by sides.

Bend knees and sink hips to lower into a squat, then press through feet to explosively jump as high as you can into the air. Land softly on the balls of feet and immediately lower into next squat. Rather than rushing through the downward motion, take a couple of seconds to lower yourself. This will increase time under tension for your muscles, which will make them work harder. Inhale while you lower, and as you squat down, your knees should track laterally above your first or second toe, Tamir says.

Tracking too far in can also make your knees collapse inward, and tracking too far out can put extra stress on them. Knees extending farther than your toes can happen due to anatomical differences in your bone length. Trying to restrict that movement can actually make you lean forward more, which can stress your lower back, according to a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. As for when you should stop the move? Once you reach the bottom of the squat, pause for a second so you are not using momentum to push yourself back up.

You can also increase the length of your pause to add difficulty to the move. Make sure your feet stay planted throughout the duration of the squat, paying particular attention to driving through your heels on the way back up, says Tamir.

This will fire up your posterior chain—the muscles in the back of your body, like your hamstrings and glutes.