Squat · Bodyweight
How to do more squats
How to do a bodyweight squat properly, the ladder from a box to a pistol, how often to train them, and the 30-day squat chart to follow with friends.
The movement
How to do one properly.
Every rep the same shape, so the numbers mean the same thing on day thirty as on day one.
- 1
Feet shoulder width apart, toes turned out a little, weight spread across the whole foot.
- 2
Send your hips back and down at the same time, knees tracking over your toes.
- 3
Go to parallel or lower, chest up, heels down.
- 4
Stand up by driving the floor away, hips and shoulders rising together.
- 5
Breathe in at the top, brace, and let the air out as you stand.
The way up
How to do more squats
Rung 1
Box
Squat to a chair or a box and stand back up. The box sets the depth and catches the balance.
Rung 2
Bodyweight
Full depth, nothing to sit on. Make every rep the same depth.
Rung 3
Pause
Three seconds at the bottom. Removes the bounce and shows where you are weak.
Rung 4
Jump
Land softly, sink into the next one. Count the landings.
Rung 5
Pistol or weight
One leg, or a kettlebell held at the chest. Either one restarts the count.
Squats take daily practice well. A set or two every day, nowhere near failure, keeps the pattern sharp and the legs ready for the harder sessions.
Two or three harder sessions a week: four or five sets, stopped short of the point where depth or posture slips. Add two reps per set each week.
If depth is the problem, it is usually ankles. Spend two minutes before each session with your toes on a plate and your knees driven forward, and keep your heels on the floor in every rep.
How it is counted
On the board, however it got there.
No watch counts squat, so nobody's does. Say it out loud in the app or type it in, and it lands the same as a synced session.
Worth 0.5 points per rep in the app, so a challenge can weigh it against anything else you count.
Questions
Asked about squats
How many squats a day?
Start at fifty a day in sets of ten to twenty and add ten a week. A hundred clean squats in a day is a sound target for anyone; the 30-day chart gets you there.
Should my knees go over my toes?
They can, as long as they track in line with your feet and your heels stay down. Knees forward is normal in a deep squat; knees caving inward is the thing to fix.
Does it count from my watch?
No watch counts squat, so nobody's does. Say it out loud in the app or type it in, and it lands the same as a synced session.
Is there a chart to follow?
Yes. The 30-day squat challenge is written for exactly this: a number for every day, a rest when it is earned, and a way to run it with friends in the app.
Is it free?
Yes. The athlete app is free: logging, challenges and every guide on this site. Coaches pay for their workspace; the people they coach do not.
Other exercises
Everything else we count.
Push up
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Pull up
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Plank
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Sit up
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Dip
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Burpees
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Lunges
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Jumping jacks
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Skipping
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Extensions
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Battle ropes
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Running
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Cycling
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Swimming
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Rowing
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Steps
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Hiking
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Football
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Basketball
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Tennis
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Dancing
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Yoga
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Do more squats.
Let someone see it.
Get the app, log what you did or let your watch send it, and hand your friends the code.