Squatting is a common exercise that many likely learned in gym class. However, do you know the proper form for a squat and what muscles it works? Ensuring you're doing a squat correctly is essential to help you increase your strength and avoid injury. That is why we reached out to certified personal trainers to learn everything there is to know about squats, how to do them and their benefits.
How to do a squat
Ellen Thompson, NASM-certified personal trainer and area personal manager at Blink Fitness, gave us the run-down on a basic squat with good form: "Begin by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointed slightly outward. Remember to keep your chest up," she explains. "Push your hips back, as if sitting in a chair. Your knees should be tracking over your toes, not more forward or inward. Lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Drive through your heels to stand back up."
While bending down and standing back up is a basic move, Thompson's description shows that much of what makes squats a valuable exercise is where you derive your power for each part of the movement. Pushing the hips back, lowering down and driving through the heels are key to engaging the muscle groups that benefit most from this exercise.
There are also elements of the squat that are best conveyed as what not to do. Portia Page, NCPT and education curriculum coordinator at Balanced Body Inc., says to gently press the knees outward to avoid pressing inward, which can increase knee strain. She also notes that keeping the heels grounded is best to prevent strain while ensuring you're working the glutes as much as expected for the exercise.
Thompson also cautions against rounding your back or pushing your knees too far forward over the ankles. In the end, a squat is a very precise exercise that requires strong form.
What muscles do squats work?
As a compound movement, squats engage your quads, glutes, hamstrings, core, adductors and calves, all in that one powerful strength training exercise.
"Since squats work multiple muscle groups, they are a great exercise for full-body strength and muscle growth. This also makes them a great movement for higher calorie burn and metabolic rate," says Thompson. "Squats mimic real-life movements, like sitting, standing and lifting, making it a great functional exercise."
Squats strengthen a variety of muscle groups, which is part of your foundational exercise work when you're building toward greater fitness goals.
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