How to do a Proper Squat

Hi Everyone! Today I am talking about how to do a proper squat. Again, I am not a personal trainer. I have, however, learned a lot about squats from my trainer and through doing them for years. I am hoping to pass that knowledge onto you!

Why should you learn how to do a proper squat? Doing squats incorrectly can lead to injuries. You can put extra stress on your ligaments and tendons. You won’t get as good of a workout as well. There are also many benefits to doing a squat properly. They can improve knee stability. They help you to perform daily activities more easily. You don’t need any equipment to do them. They help you to be able to lift heavy items correctly. They are working out multiple muscles at the same time, making your time better used during your workout.

So how do you do a proper squat?

• Start by placing your feet shoulder width apart. Your feet can be parallel or slightly pointed outwards.
• Make sure you are “sitting back” so that you aren’t just bending your knees. You can practice with a chair to start. This feels pretty uncomfortable when you start, but you really want to make sure your knees are not going past your toes. Also make sure that your knees are not pushing in when you go down.
• Don’t hunch your back. You want to make sure your back is as straight as possible.
• You don’t want your heels to leave the ground ever. The thing that I have found to help me most with this is squatting with only socks on, especially when you start piling on the weight. You can also find shoes that are good for squatting if that grosses you out.
• When you get the first steps down, make sure you are going down low enough. Your knees should bend about 90 degrees and your thighs should be parallel to the floor. When you are more advanced you can go even lower.
• Practice, practice, practice. The best thing you can do to get better at squatting is practicing. I can tell you that it took me a while to get the best form for me. Once you get better, you can start adding weight! There are also several variations of squats but once you get a simple squat down you can move on to those!

Here is a video of me doing a couple barbell squats.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my post today. I hope that it helps you in your fitness journey. Let me know in the comments below what you would like to hear about next.

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