ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Squats 101

Updated on April 5, 2019
soconfident profile image

I am a fitness enthusiast who wants to help people see the benefits of personal fitness to allow people to live their lives to the fullest.

Squats are one of the basic exercises that works the lower body; beginners who start working out start with squats to develop their glutes. Squats are more than just a butt exercise; in fact, squats also work many different muscle groups along the way, hamstrings and quadriceps being the ones you are familiar with. On paper doing a squat should be a simple move to do, but there are somethings to keep in mind when preforming a squat. In short, preforming squats with bad form can waste your efforts in building your lower body and lead to injury (especially if you add weight).

Improper form

If you want to build stronger butt muscles then you need to add weight to your squats, but before you start adding weight you want to make you sure you’re performing a proper squat first. When preforming a squat, there’re three places you’re liking to feel any tension.

Lower back

If you feeling any tension in your lumbar spine, this is due to a weak core muscles and gluteal muscles. What happens here is that when preform the squat movement your pelvis tilts forward, because your core and gluteal muscles aren’t strong enough to counter the force of the hip flexor and erector spinae as pull the pelvis forward.

Quads

This is when you rely on your quadriceps during the downward motion of the squat. This is a common mistake people make in doing squats. The problem begins to occur when it’s time to return to the starting position; since you put everything in your quads your glutes doesn’t have enough force during the upward motion putting everything on your knees, which could lead to injury (BE CAREFUL).

Glutes

This is where you want to feel it at obviously; this is when the glutes take on the load during the squat movement. During the downward phrase your hips should be moving backwards as if you were sitting creating a hinge with your hips. This allows you to generate enough force to drive back to the starting position. Your form allows you to target your hamstrings better. This also means you don’t put stress on your knees or your lower back.

Vision cues

Try to get in front of a mirror or have someone watch your form; before you begin ask yourself these questions:

  1. Are you standing up straight? Make sure you’re standing up straight with your head up and your chest out. Never at any time during this movement should you be looking down.
  2. Are your pelvis and/or knees pushing forward? Your knees should not go pass you toes during a squat and your pelvis should not be moving forward. In a squat, you’re basically preforming a sitting movement.
  3. Do your knees pull in towards each other? If your knees begin to cave inward this is could be a sign that you have weak hips, tight ankles, or improper function of the quads and hamstring during the movement. This is also another reason why you shouldn’t use any weights until you understand the mechanics of the squat.
  4. Are your hips squared? If your hips are open on one side this creates a muscle imbalance, because one side will take on more of the load than the other. Squeeze your glutes together to square your hips; this also help you target your glutes more while at the same time take pressure off the lower back.
  5. Did you have any trouble returning to the starting position? Some people can go down a lot farther than others due mobility in their hips, so if you’re starting off doing squats only go as far as you possibly can. If you go pass a comfortable position, you’ll put pressure on unwanted areas such as your lower back.

Squats are the building blocks of building muscles; it does more than just build your lower body, but it also helps you with your lifts. Therefore, it’s important to know how to do a proper squat; in short, this is not one exercise you want to half ass on. Once you learned how to do a proper squat you can go on and add weight to your reps as well as variations.

Sumo squats

A sumo squat is the same as a regular squat, except for the placement of the feet. In sumo squat your feet are placed in a wider stance and it also focuses more on the inner thigh abductors, which moves your leg towards your body and glutes.

Dumbbell squats

Using dumbbells during your squat adds resistance to your squats. With a set of dumbbells by your side, you simply preform the squat. If you’re new, start off with the dumbbells before going to the barbell.

Barbell squats

The barbell squat is the popular squat; by placing the barbell on your upper back and maintaining a proper squat you can really pack on some muscle.

And remember, quality is better than quantity.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2019 Derrick Bennett

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)