Here's How to Do Squats Properly, Safely, and Effectively Every Time

As babies, we must learn how to squat before we learn to stand or walk—and as adults, we have to rediscover how to squat properly. While this primal movement pattern is a base for many activities—like taking a seat and lifting heavy objects—learning how to do a proper squat from a fitness perspective sometimes requires a little coaching, especially to make sure you're doing them safely and effectively.

Knowing how to do squats using your legs and not your back will translate into better workout performance and real-life functionality. Also among the benefits of squats is that they're one of the most time-effective moves for shaping and strengthening your entire lower body, especially your backside. Since it engages all the major muscle groups of the lower body at once, you can actually squat your way to being an improved runner, tennis player, or dancer. (As well as being able to move furniture without pulling something!)

The Basics: Proper Squat Form

How should beginners start doing squats? "If you're just starting out, keep it simple," says Michelle Lovingshimer, PhD, master coach with Row House and registered yoga teacher. Here are the fundamentals of how to squat:

• Stand with feet a about shoulder-width apart, toes facing front.
• Engage your core, hinge at the hips.
• Drive the hips back, bend at the knees and ankles, and press your knees slightly open as you...
• Sit down into a squat position, keeping your heels and toes on the ground, chest up, and shoulders back. (Strive to eventually reach parallel, meaning knees are bent to a 90-degree angle.)
• Press into your heels, engage your glutes, and straighten your legs to lift back to a standing position.
  

The Details: How to Squat Correctly Every Time, Step by Step

Step 1: Stand straight with feet hip-width apart.

• Stand with your feet apart, slightly wider than your hips.

Step 2: Engage your core muscles.

• Stand up tall and inhale, gently pulling your shoulders back and subtly lifting your chest (but without flaring your ribcage).
• On an exhale, engage your deep abdominal muscles by imagining pulling your navel back into your spine. This will help keep your spine and pelvis stable and take the load off your lower back.

Step 3: Lower down, as if sitting in an invisible chair.

• Hinge at your hips, bend your knees, and sink your booty down into a squat—keep your upper body as straight as possible, "as if you are sitting in an invisible chair behind you," Lovingshimer says.
• Try to keep a neutral spine: Avoid collapsing/rounding your chest forward or arching backward—if you're too erect, your hips can't release properly and you'll put too much strain on your knees.
• Lower yourself as far as you can comfortably without leaning your upper body more than a few inches forward. (If you have knee issues, don't go deeper than a 90-degree angle, with your thighs parallel to the floor!)
• Stretch your arms out in front of you for added balance and to help you sink even deeper into your squats.
  
• "At the bottom of the squat, you should feel your weight pressing through your heels and mid-foot, your knees should press out slightly, and your shins should be roughly perpendicular to the floor (knees tracking over the ankles)," Lovingshimer says.

Step 4: Lift back up to standing position.

• "Press through your heels, activating your glutes and hamstrings as you drive your hips up to standing," Lovingshimer says. Be careful not to lock your knees when you reach a standing position.

Step 5: Repeat for 10 to 15 reps, for three sets.

How to Add Weight to Squats

Bodyweight squats are a fantastic move on their own, especially for beginners, but gradually adding weight will increase their benefits even more. "Any movement performed with added weight is going to increase core stabilization as we add resistance and/or move weights through space," Lovingshimer says.

Slow and steady is the name of game: Start by picking up a set of dumbbells, even just three to five pounds each at first. "Use dumbbells as static weight by holding them at your side, in a goblet style hold [in front of your chest], or in a racked position [up by your shoulders]," Lovingshimer suggests. Eventually, you can use weights to include function arm movements, like going from the racked position to an overhead press as you lower into a squat.

"Progressing further, you can add weight with a loaded barbell in a front rack or back position," she says.

Health Benefits of Squats

1. They’ll prime you to lift heavy things safely.

Squats are an extremely multipurpose exercise move for everyone—not just body builders and athletes. They give you the strength and form to pick up heavy objects (and really, any objects!) correctly by using your lower body—instead of straining your back. Whether you're picking up your kids or grandkids, moving boxes and furniture, or cleaning and organizing around the house, it's a movement you need to be able to do safely in day-to-day life.

2. They’re an extremely efficient workout move.

One of the prime benefits of squats is that they'll strengthen your glutes more quickly than just about any other exercise pout there. Squats recruit pretty much all the muscles in your lower body (quadripceps, hamstrings, gluteals), not to mention your abs and back (in the right way), ankles and intrinsic foot muscles—so they work on activating, mobilizing, stabilizing, and strengthening so many important things at once.

3. They can help prevent injuries.

Most athletic injuries involve weak stabilizer muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues, which squats help strengthen. Many people shy away from doing squats if they have knee issues, but studies have shown that the muscles recruited and built when a person does a proper squat will actually improve knee stability and strengthen the connective tissues surrounding the knee.

4. They're an excellent type of functional fitness.

Functional exercises are those that help your body perform everyday activities more easily, as opposed to simply being able to operate pieces of gym equipment. Squats are one of the best functional exercises out there for promoting mobility, flexibility, and balance with real-world benefits.

5. They don't require any fancy equipment.

Yes, there are dozens of squat variations that can include different weights, resistance bands, exercise balls, and other equipment—but the good old-fashioned squat can be done pretty much anytime, anywhere. Even barefoot! That means, if you're not in the mood to walk 10 blocks to a workout class, or you're staying at a hotel without a gym, you can still throw on a pair of sneakers and rock a few squat reps using only your body weight.

6. They can help prevent and relieve lower back pain.

According to Lovingshimer, regularly performing squats can benefit those with back pain or help prevent it by targeting the root causes of future back pain.

"Of course, it depends on the nature and origin of back pain, [but if] we're talking about typical low back pain most often associated with muscle weakness, poor posture, and poor every day lifting technique, then absolutely! When done properly, squats are a fantastic full body movement that can help to prevent, mitigate, and even help alleviate back pain," she says.

How, exactly? Lovingshimer points to four primary benefits for back pain: core strength and activation that stabilizes the spine and pelvis; glute and hamstring strength, which are "essential for hip extension and stabilization"; better spinal stability and alignment to prevent injuries and improve posture; and improved flexility in the hips, quads, and ankles, which "can alleviate tension on the lower back and promote better movement mechanics," she explains.

7. They support healthy bones.

It's easy to forget that working out benefits more than the muscles that get sore. Weight-bearing exercises like the humble squat are important for maintaining strong, healthy bones. "Resistance exercises are crucial for maintaining bone density and strength, as well as stimulating bone remodeling (the process in which old or damaged bone tissue is replaced with new, strong tissue), which is essential for preventing osteoporosis and reducing the risk of fractures," Lovingshimer says.

8. They're amazing for joint health.

In the same vein, Lovingshimer explains that squats require controlled loading of the lower body joints, especially the hips, knees, and ankles—and this helps "maintain their health by promoting the production of synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints and nourishes the cartilage."

"Squats strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and core muscles, which provides better support for the joints, reducing the risk of injury and enhancing overall joint function," she says. "Performing squats through a full range of motion can help improve joint flexibility and mobility, particularly in the hips, knees, and ankles which can lead to reduced stiffness and enhanced joint function."

9. They improve balance and coordination.

If you're hoping to work on your balance, try adding squats into your workout routine. "Squats require balance and coordination, especially when performed with added resistance," Lovingshimer says. "Improving balance and coordination can help prevent falls and injuries, which is particularly important for maintaining joint health as you age."

How Many Squats Should You Do a Day?

While doing squats daily probably won't hurt you (unless you're doing millions of them and/or holding heavy weights while squatting), a better goal would be to aim to do three sets of 10–20 repetitions at least three times per week. This will give your lower-body muscles a good workout, and time in between to recover.

How Many Calories Do Squats Burn?

Quantifying caloric burn without every person reading this wearing a FitBit is impossible to calculate. This is because every body is different and factors like height, weight, fitness level, muscle/fat ratio, and so on all factor in to how many calories a person might burn doing any exercise.

This is really a case of quality over quantity being more effective. Because doing a proper squat simultaneously recruits so many muscles, it is a great bodyweight exercise for building muscle.

Instead of worrying about how many squats burn 100 calories, focus on how to do a proper squat and building more muscle, since for every pound of muscle you gain, your body will burn an additional 50 to 70 calories per day.