Squat Exercise Tutorial

The squat an amazing leg exercise. It’s a compound movement that requires the use of all the muscles in your upper legs. Proper technique is so important. Here’s how to do it:

1. Start in a standing position with your legs one and a half shoulder widths apart.

2. Squat (as pictured)

A. Keep your heels firmly planted.
B. As you go down, don’t let your knees go forward further than your toes.
C. Make sure to keep your chest up.
D. Tuck your lower back in while sticking your butt out (as if you were pushing a door open with your butt)

3. Drive from the heels as you press up.

If you do this position right, you should feel like all your weight is on your heels and feel as if you could tip backward. This takes some getting used to. Raising your arms to shoulder level as your legs bend (pictured above) helps provide a counter balance.

Once you are comfortable with the technique, you can begin to hold weights to increase the difficulty.

You can use dumbells by holding them down at your sides as shown in the picture on the left. Another way to hold your weights is to hold them up and prop them on your shoulders. This allows you to support heavier weights. Also, this is the position you will use if you are using a barbell as your weight. The barbell would rest across your upper back. When using a barbell, you will usually be at the gym using a rack for safety.

There is no need to go deeper than to the position where your thighs are parallel to the floor.

If you are having trouble getting the technique right, start doing this exercise with a ball

Tutorial Video

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