All About Squats: Variations, Muscles Worked, Benefits and Alternatives

This is a complete guide to squats. Learn how to drop it low, plus get the best variations and alternatives for all fitness levels.

Reina Cowan

April 8, 2024

10 min read

We’re here: it’s the king of exercises, baby! Almighty squats are among the most fundamental exercises for bigger, stronger legs. If you’re looking for a way to tune up your lower half, you need to be doing squats.

Here, we’ll give you an overview of how to perform a basic squat, what muscles squatting works and how to progress for heavier squats.

Plus, we’ll supply you with information on squat alternatives like the leg press and the hack squat.

What Are Squats?

First off, what we mean when we refer to squats in a weightlifting context is generally barbell back squats. The back squat means placing a loaded barbell across your trapezius muscles on your upper back and dropping it low, resisting the heavy weight as you come back up to a standing position.

Not to be confused with barbell HACK squats, the barbell back squat is one of the biggest tests of strength you can perform. That being said, a squat can refer to any movement where you bend your knees to lower your hips and come back up.

Squats are a fundamental compound exercise that hits multiple muscle groups at once, namely, your quadriceps (quads), hamstrings and gluteal muscles (glutes).

At a basic level, to squat, you need to bend your knees and hips to lower your body down into a seated position. After that, you push through your heels to return to a standing position. It can be just as simple as that, or as complicated as you want to make it to perform a squat.

You can squat with just your bodyweight or with added resistance equipment like barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells. This move should be considered in your “big three” exercises that you need to do in the gym, along with deadlifts and bench presses. You can even perform squats and deadlifts with resistance bands!

The squat is highly effective for building lower body strength, power, and muscle mass. It’s also a functional movement. Just about everything you do, including walking, bringing your body down into a chair to sit or picking up your grocery bags to put things into the fridge involves some sort of squatting movement.

Squats are also a crucial part of athletic performance. Running, jumping, and holding an active stance all require squat positions. You can see that the squat applies to pretty much every type of exercise you do, so it’s important to become familiar with proper squatting techniques.

Nailing your technique is necessary to reduce injury risk and maximize effectiveness. A few key components of good squat technique are keeping a neutral spine, holding your knees in line with your toes, and engaging the core and glutes throughout the movement. We’ll get more into detail later, as we walk through how to perform a proper squat.

First, let's see what the muscles in your body are doing when you squat.

Quadriceps

Sitting on the front of your thighs, your quadriceps (aka “quads”) engage as you squat, especially as you push up from the bottom of this move.

Hamstrings

Your hamstrings help you stay stable during squats. These muscles on the backs of your thighs work together with your quads to control the up-and-down movement of a squat.

Glutes

Squats are among the best exercises you can do to get a perkier butt. Your largest butt muscle, the gluteus maximus does most of the work here, but your gluteus medius and gluteus minimus also assist as you squat. When you drive up through your heels to standing after a squat, the gluteus maximus is the most involved.

Calves

Your calf muscles, including the gastrocnemius and soleus muscle, are supporting players when you squat. What these muscles do is to stabilize your ankles so you keep your balance while squatting.

They also help with an ankle movement called “plantar flexion.” This means moving your foot away from the ankle joint. When your foot moves toward the ankle at the bottom of a squat, we call it “dorsiflexion.” On the other hand, when you drive through your feet to push up, your ankle joint “plantar flexes,” which the calf muscles assist.

Erector Spinae

These lower back muscles kick in to help you hold your spine “in neutral” throughout your squat movement. The erector spinae also make sure you don’t fall forward or backward.

Core

Don’t underestimate the abs! The muscles of your core, like the rectus abdominis, obliques, and transverse abdominis, engage in a squat to keep your trunk stable and help you hold proper posture in your squats, especially when you squat with a barbell or other equipment for heavier resistance.

How to Squat

Let’s get familiar with how to do squats:

Set-Up: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. Point your toes out slightly at around a 15-degree angle. Engage your core muscles and keep your spine neutral. Hold your chest proud.

Equipment: Place a loaded barbell across your upper back. The bar should sit across the tops of your trapezius muscles. Grip the bar with your hands facing forward. Keep them slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

Squat: Hinge from your hips as you bend your knees. Think about making the motion of dropping back to sit on a chair. Keep your weight on your heels and lower your body down until your thighs come to a 90-degree angle with your shins. Make sure your knees are tracking in line with your toes and that they don’t knock inward.

Reverse: Drive out of your heels, and push the floor away from you to come back up. At the top of the move, extend your hips and squeeze your butt slightly.

Reps: Beginners should aim for 3 sets of 10 reps. If you’re squatting for strength, aim for 3 sets of 3-6 reps or try a one-rep max with heavy weight. If you’re squatting for hypertrophy, aim for 3 sets of 8-12 reps.

For more recommendations on squat load, see Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance.

Benefits of Squats

Stronger Lower Body

When you squat, you’re mostly targeting the muscles in the lower body, like your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Squatting regularly helps you build muscle in these areas and work toward lower body hypertrophy.

The strength gains and larger muscles can help lead you to better functional movement and sports performance.

Core Strength

Because they require you to hold yourself upright, usually while lifting heavy weights, squats are a great core strengthener.

Engaging your core muscles helps keep your torso stable. The abdominals help you maintain proper posture, not only as you squat, but they can improve your core strength outside the gym too. You’ll feel more stable and oftentimes your balance will improve too.

Like squatting motions, core strength is something that carries through pretty much any type of athletic performance to help you. Plus, it’s important in your everyday life, especially as you age.

Functional Movement

What happens when you sit down and stand up? You squat of course! It’s usually second nature, but so many things you do daily require some degree of squat.

Although you may not be actively thinking about it, squats mimic everyday movements like bending over to pick things up or bending your knees to walk. Getting stronger through the muscles you use in these movements can help you simply perform better at everyday tasks.

Although you may not notice it when you’re young, in older age this comes in handy. You should always try and maintain your ability to squat easily.

Bone Density and Healthy Joints

Weight-bearing exercises like squats help you increase bone density. Especially for older adults, this can help reduce the risk of osteoporosis. You’ll improve your overall bone health which is important for healthier aging.

For more insights on bone density and aging, you can read:

Squats are great for your joints too. Working through a full range of motion helps you work toward better joint health and hip, knee, and ankle mobility.

What Are the Downsides of Squats?

On the flip side, there are a few key cautions that you should be aware of before you squat.

Injuries or Overuse

If you lift heavy weights or with bad form, you can risk serious injuries. Knee, lower back, and hip pain while squatting are especially prevalent.

A few common injuries from squats include:

Strains
Tendon or ligament issues
Sprains
Spinal problems

Make sure you’re following proper squat technique. If you’re looking to progressively overload, make sure you gradually increase your weight and listen to your body. This will help you reduce your injury risk.

Squats put a lot of stress on your joints. This is especially true for your knees, hips and ankles. If you’ve got pre-existing joint problems or mobility issues, squats can feel uncomfortable at best or painful at worst.

If this is you, it may be helpful to try a mobility test to see if squats are an accessible move for your joints.

Pressure on the Spine

When you squat with too much weight or bad form, you can do a number on your spine. Overloading your barbell increases your risk of compressing your spine or getting a herniated disc.

Always remember to engage your abs to help keep your spine neutral spine. Make sure your torso isn’t leaning too far forward and that you don’t feel like you’re falling backwards out of your squat either. All this can be tough on your delicate spinal column.

If your abs are engaged yet you still feel a lot of pain in your lower back, it can be a sign to drop some weight from your barbell.

Can Feel Intimidating

To do great squats, you’ll need enough space and the proper equipment to do them safely. When we talk about barbell back squats, you’re usually working at a squat rack or cage inside a commercial gym.

These areas can often feel exposed in the gym setting. Because the cages are big and tend to loom over you, you may feel like everyone’s staring at you when you squat!

Although this is far from the truth, let’s face it: squatting in a packed gym, especially if you’re new and you have five people in line for the rack behind you can feel awkward and vulnerable.

It’s also one of those moves that feels particularly embarrassing to fail if you go too heavy or lift beyond your means. All this can give you a sense of squatting being uncomfortable or awkward.

And if your confidence is shaken before you start, there’s no chance that you’re going to perform at your best when it comes down to it.

Not for Everyone

Finally, traditional squats may not be the most optimal move for your body. If you struggle with hip issues or lower back pain when squatting, the traditional barbell back squat may not be your best option.

Fortunately, there are some other squat variations you can try.

Squat Variations and Alternatives

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If your body just doesn’t love squatting, what other options do you have if you want to build thick thighs with strong quads and a round butt?

Here are some of the best alternate movements you can work on if you struggle to squat:

Hack Squats

The hack squat is one of the simplest squat alternatives if you suffer from lower back pain or poor balance. This machine-assisted option takes a lot of the work out of your stabilizer muscles so you can solely hone in on growing your quads.

The back pad also supports your lower back. If you struggle with pain in the lumbar spine during your squats, a hack squat or hack squat alternative may be a better choice for you.

Smith Machine Squats

Does your squat feel off-kilter? If you have muscular imbalances that cause your weight to travel in an uneven path or make you feel lopsided, Smith machine squats can help.

These are also a good option if you’re recovering from an injury as a form of rehabilitation. If you’re working out alone and don’t have a friend on hand who knows how to spot a squat, a squat Smith machine workout can be a great stand-in too.

Leg Press

It’s not a perfect replacement for barbell back squats, but if you struggle with your balance enough to prefer seated exercises, the leg press may be a better option if you’re looking for strong calves and jacked thighs.

Here are a few resources on the leg press and how you can build your leg press technique:

Squat Progression Exercises

Finally, to work up to a full barbell back squat, you may simply need a little more time to walk through some simpler progressions.

If you want to improve your squats, read our guide on how to progress in your squats here: Squat Progression.

This will give you a rundown of how to work through beginner progressions to gain the strength and stability needed to perform proper barbell back squats with expert technique.

The Takeaway

Squats are hella effective for building strength, muscle mass, and functional movement. They’re some of the best moves to get strong fast, but they do come with a few caveats.

First off, what we mean when we refer to squats in a weightlifting context is generally barbell back squats.

The barbell back squat is usually what we talk about when referring to squats, but this term can include anything from unweighted squats to reverse hack squats. It’s an all-encompassing category.

Make sure to squat with caution. Master your technique before you go heavy and work up through proper squat progressions before you load up a barbell.

If you’re attempting a personal best or one-rep max, always have a spotter to help you squat. Squat variations are the perfect way to lift heavy, gain confidence and absolutely crush your legs!

References

Demontiero, O., Vidal, C., & Duque, G. (2012). Aging and bone loss: new insights for the clinician. Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease, 4(2), 61–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1759720X11430858

Myer, G. D., Kushner, A. M., Brent, J. L., Schoenfeld, B. J., Hugentobler, J., Lloyd, R. S., Vermeil, A., Chu, D. A., Harbin, J., & McGill, S. M. (2014). The back squat: A proposed assessment of functional deficits and technical factors that limit performance. Strength and conditioning journal, 36(6), 4–27. https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000103

Padilla Colón, C. J., Molina-Vicenty, I. L., Frontera-Rodríguez, M., García-Ferré, A., Rivera, B. P., Cintrón-Vélez, G., & Frontera-Rodríguez, S. (2018). Muscle and Bone Mass Loss in the Elderly Population: Advances in diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Biomedicine (Sydney, NSW), 3, 40–49. https://doi.org/10.7150/jbm.23390

Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D. W., & Plotkin, D. L. (2021). Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 9(2), 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9020032

Stone, M.H.; Hornsby, W.G.; Mizuguchi, S.; Sato, K.; Gahreman, D.; Duca, M.; Carroll, K.M.; Ramsey, M.W.; Stone, M.E.; Pierce, K.C.; et al. The Use of Free Weight Squats in Sports: A Narrative Review—Terminology and Biomechanics. Appl. Sci. 2024, 14, 1977. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14051977