What muscles do squats work?
Technically, you already squat every day.
Every time you get up from a seated position, youre effectively doing a squat.
You probably feel your quadsthe muscles in the fronts of your thighsbearing the brunt of the work.
Your glutesaka your butt muscleshelp to extend your hips while your quads are extending your knees.
Are squats safe for your knees?
The caveat here is that if you already have a history of knee issues, squatscouldaggravate your injury.
So, its not the squats themselves that hurt your knees; itshow you squatthats probably hurting your knees.
For the most part, your knees should track over your first or second toe.
Thatll take practice, too.
Things like back-step lunges and Bulgarian split squats are great, as they address balance and coordination as well.
If it is awkward reaching depth with just the bar, then focus on your warm-up routine.
Either way, youll need to take the time and effort to ease into these squat exercises.
Are deep squats safe?
Deep, ass-to-grass squatting does have a few more pronounced benefits.
The only people whoneedto squat [very] deep with weights are Olympic-level weightlifters, Lefever says.
Once youre comfortable with those, it’s possible for you to move on to the morechallenging front squats.
If the days workout calls for heavy squats, you should probably do them first.
(Omar Isuf teaches yousome bail out techniques in this video.)
Strengthen your core:A strong core helps keep you stable and lift more weight safely.
Theres no evidence that wearing a belt makes your core weak either.
For more information, Nuckols has agreat article on the matter.
It helps to keep your elbows pointed down and towards your butt, not just pointing them backwards.
Focus on moving fast:Speed is integral.
It keeps the movement fluid and gets you past trouble spots.
The more important thing is to have your wrists in a neutral position.
Shoes are a pricey investment, though, so ensure you really, really like squatting.
As with deadlifts, squats are highly technical and highly individual.
And dont fret if you cant squat to a certain depthjust keep yourself mobile and keep working on it.
