A bodyweight squat is a hip-and-knee bending movement that primarily works the quadriceps and also recruits the glutes and hamstrings.
How to do the Bodyweight Squat#
- Stand with feet about shoulder-width apart and toes pointed slightly outward.
- Brace your core and hinge at the hips as you bend the knees to lower yourself, keeping the chest lifted.
- Keep your weight through your heels and midfoot and descend until your thighs reach around parallel or a comfortable depth.
- Push through your feet to extend the hips and knees and return to standing, guiding the knees gently outward.
- Exhale as you rise and maintain a neutral spine for the entire movement.
Muscles worked#
- Primary: Quads (Quadriceps Femoris), Glutes (Gluteus Maximus)
- Secondary: Hamstrings (Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus & Semimembranosus), Adductors (Adductor Magnus, Longus & Brevis (Hip Adductors)), Calves (Gastrocnemius & Soleus)
Common mistakes#
- Allowing the knees to collapse inward.
- Shifting weight onto the toes or lifting the heels.
- Rounding or overextending the lower back.
- Leaning the chest too far forward.
- Stopping the descent well above parallel when mobility allows deeper depth.
