The squat is the king of all lower body exercises. Squats work every muscle in your legs as well as your abs and lower back. Since your legs are such large muscles, they require lots of blood and oxygen to perform squats. This makes squatting a great way to give your heart and lungs a workout too.
To perform a squat, stand up straight with your feet approximately shoulder width apart. Reach your arms forward and bend from your hips, knees and ankles, lowering until your hamstrings make contact with your calves, while being sure to keep your heels flat on the ground the entire time.
Pause briefly at the bottom before standing back up to the top position. Experiment with different foot positions. Some people may feel better with their toes turned out, while others will prefer to keep their feet parallel.
Don’t Know Squat
A lot of personal trainers might tell you the proper form for a squat requires you to keep your knees behind your toes. However, this is not always the case. Telling a client to keep their knees behind their toes during squats is a cue to help them understand the mechanics of moving from the hips. It isn’t necessarily the literal truth for everyone. As long as your heels stay down, it’s perfectly fine if your knees wind up a bit ahead of your toes.
Dorsi Flexion
The term “dorsi flexion” refers to the movement that occurs at the ankle joint during a squat. People with more ankle mobility can keep their heels flat and put their knees in front of their toes at the same time because of dorsi flexion. Just be sure to initiate your squat from the hips, keep your heels down and maintain a tall chest. If those requirements are met, then you’re good to go.
How Low Can You Go?
Another common cue is to lower down until you’ve reached 90 degrees of flexion at the knees. This is another generalized cue that is true for some, but not ideal for all.
Use as much range of motion as you can, and aim to eventually work toward a full squat if you are not able to get there currently.
Watch the video below for more info:
Advanced Squat Techniques
Pistol Squats
This is a one legged squat where the non-squatting leg is held in front of the body. Don’t be fooled by the phrase “one legged squat” however, the pistol squat is an exercise that requires full-body strength and tension.
Shrimp Squats
The shrimp squat is a one legged squat where the non-squatting leg is positioned behind the body, rather than in front as it is with the pistol. Some folks might find this variation more challenging, while others may find it more accessible.