Chicken legs are not something anyone wants to deal with. That’s why, on leg days, we all bust our buttocks at the gym. Yet, if you want to create strong, muscular legs, one or twice per week leg days might not be sufficient. Squats are terrific since you don’t need to be an avid gym junkie to do them; they’re suitable for everybody and can indeed be done almost any place.
As vital as your core strength muscles are for everyday mobility, strength, and beauty, your lower body is the basis for an active body and fully functional structure. There are several exercises and drills for leg training, but few are more impactful and dynamic than the squat.
Squats are among the most beneficial workouts a person can do. The squat pattern is a basic exercise that provides several benefits in sports and daily life. Maintaining your flexibility to squat throughout your life will help you to flourish when undertaking fundamental tasks such as sitting, standing, trekking, sprinting, and hard labor.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the many types of squats, from basic to difficult, and their advantages in your training routine.
What are Squats?
A squat is a type of workout in which you train many muscle groups at the same time by folding your knees and lowering your body straight down. A basic squat engages multiple muscles in your body, particularly your abductors, inner thighs, hamstrings, lower back, and quadriceps, and it is commonly regarded as an effective exercise for building strength in your lower body and core strength groups.
If you do squats at a steady pace, the workout can become a sort of cardio, elevating your heart rate. Squats may also test your range of motion and flexibility. You can also integrate squats into your strength exercise and gradually increase their intensity by adding weights or a resistance band.
By adding dumbbells or kettlebells into your regimen, you can concentrate on strengthening your upper body, triceps, and upper back.
Squats using your bodyweight
These types of squats involve no types of equipment or any resistance other than your body weight.
1. Basic Squats
This is the squatting equivalent of the Hidden Treasure. If you can master this fundamental move, you’ll be in terrific condition as you progress through this list.
- Begin with your toes shoulder-width apart, feet slightly apart, and arms at your sides.
- Begin by hingeing at the hips and bending your knees, reclining back, and letting your arms rise in front of you. Make sure your knees don’t cave in, and your back is upright.
- Stop when your thighs are parallel to the ground and push up through your heels to return to the starting position.
2. Prisoner squat
These are the types of squats Placing your hands around your head assists with core and shoulder stability.
- Begin with your toes shoulder-width apart, your feet slightly out, your hands bent, and your fingertips interlaced behind your head.
- Start with a simple squat.
3. Sumo squat
A sumo squat is a type of squat that works your inner thighs and glutes more than a conventional squat while your legs are broader and your toes are more pushed out.
- Stand with your legs wider than hips and shoulders apart, your toes turned out, and your hands at your sides. palms up.
- Tighten your core and maintain your torso up and back flat as you drop into a squat by shifting your body weight into your heel, pushing your hips back, and bending your knees. Place your palms in front of your chest and bend your elbows.
- For one rep, push through your heels to rise and clench your buttocks at the top.
4. The single-leg squat
A single-leg squat is exactly the type of squat that it sounds like: a squat solely on a single leg. Unlike a two-leg squat, the free leg does not have to be parallel to the ground in a single-leg squat.
- Begin by standing with your feet together and your arms outstretched in front of you.
- Raise your left leg off the floor standing in front of you and squat as low as you can on your right, pausing when your upper thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Starting to stand up, swap legs.
Squats using weights
5. Landmine squat
This type of squat makes use of a landmine machine, which can be found at many gyms.
- Attach the bar with the required quantity of weight and place it in a corner or a landmine station.
- Squat down in front of the weighted end, gripping it with both hands at chest level.
- Lift through your heels while keeping your chest high.
6. Squat with Dumbbells in Front
- Stand with your feet significantly wider than hip-width apart, your toes slightly turned out, and a weight on the top of your shoulders, palms in.
- Tighten your core and maintain your chest up and back flat as you drop into a squat by shifting your body weight into your heels, pushing your hips back, and bending your knees.
- For 1 rep, push through your heels to stand and clench your buttocks at the top.
7. Squats using barbells
This type of squat is a more sophisticated action, so only do it under the guidance of a trainer, specifically if it’s your first time.
- Position yourself so that your feet are hip-width apart, chest forwards, and chin up, with a barbell on your shoulder (begin with lesser weights).
- To perform a weighted squat, gradually bend your legs while pushing your hip out.
- That is one repetition. You can complete 2-3 sets of 10-12 repetitions depending on the weight you want to lift.
Equipment-based squats
You can use benches, boxes, yoga balls, and bands to improve your form and add some resistance types of equipment to your workout.
8. Sissy squats
One can do a sissy squat using only a plate, but it’ll be simpler with sissy squat equipment to work on this type of squat, which we’ll go through here.
- Place your calves against the huge pad and your feet beneath the shoe insoles in the sissy squat equipment.
- Push back on the restraining pads until your buttocks align with the ground.
- Return to your feet and repeat.
9. TRX pistol squat
Pistol squats can be difficult to master, but using a TRX strap to assist you have the hang of it can assist.
- Grip the TRX handles at chest height with your arms outstretched, then back up till the straps are tight.
- Squat on your right leg, allowing your left leg to reach parallel to the ground, then lift your left leg off the ground, holding it straight in front of you.
- Start standing up and do the same with the other leg.
10. Squat with a bosu ball
A Bosu ball, which can be purchased online, is an excellent technique to improve your balance when squatting.
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart on the Bosu ball.
- Bend your knees and extend your arms in front of you, sitting back into your hips and keeping your balance. Maintain a straight back throughout.
- Return to your feet and repeat.
Why Squats Are Beneficial to Your Workouts?
With good reason, some believe squats to be the monarch of all workouts. Squats are a complex exercise, which means they will engage numerous significant muscle groups when included in your training routine. Squatting engages the largest muscular groups in your legs (as well as some of the largest in your body), the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings.
Based on which types of squats you pick, you could choose which area of your musculature you’re dialing down to focus on even more carefully. At the same time, some variations—particularly those that push you to work unilaterally or on one leg at a time—may incorporate other muscles as well. As you employ heavy weights, such as barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells, your core will step in to stabilize your spine and maintain your torso upright, which is necessary for good mobility.
Squats are one of the best methods to push large weights, so you’ll be able to pack on strength and power that will aid you with anything from getting up out of a chair to your most demanding sporting efforts.
Wrapping It Up
Squats have several advantages, and there are numerous varieties to try. Developing a powerful and competent squat has a huge impact on athletics and daily life. The key to achieving development is to be consistent and to target the next workout progression when the time comes. By utilizing the various types of squats outlined above, you will prevent plateauing and continue to make improvements in the long run!