15 Best Squat Variations That Can Help Build Your Lower Body Muscles

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Squats are strength training exercises for targeting and building lower body muscles, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Many regard squats as one of the fundamental exercises in weightlifting. You can do the exercise with or without weights.

Squat variations allow you to target different muscles. They provide varying challenging levels and offer unique benefits to the exerciser.

Including different types of squats in your training regimen will allow you to target specific muscles, improve mobility, increase strength, and add variety to your training routine.

Why Squat Variations

Including different types of squats in your training regimen offers several benefits:

• Muscle development
  Different types of squats target various muscle groups from different angles. Incorporating a variety of squat variations allows you to stimulate and develop multiple muscles in your lower body.
• Improved strength and power
  Each squat variation places a slightly different emphasis on the muscles involved.
  By incorporating different types of squats, you can challenge your muscles in new ways, helping you to boost strength and power gains.
  That can help when you have hit a plateau with your current squat routine.
• Balanced muscle development
  Some squat variations, such as front squats and Bulgarian split squats, shift the focus to different muscle groups or place more demand on one leg at a time.
  These variations can help correct muscle imbalances and promote more balanced lower body development.
• Enhanced functional fitness
  Different types of squats can mimic various real-life movements and improve your functional fitness. These can translate to better performance in many activities, including running, jumping, climbing stairs, and sports.
• Preventing boredom and monotony
  Incorporating different squat variations adds variety to your training routine, helping spice them up and engaging the exercises.
  That can help prevent boredom and monotony and keep you motivated and consistent with your workouts.
• Injury prevention and improving joint health
  Some squat variations, such as box squats or pause squats, can help improve joint stability and promote proper movement mechanics.
  Incorporating these types of squats into your schedule allow you to strengthen the muscles surrounding your joints. It can also help reduce the risk of injuries and promote joint health.

Are squats worth it?

Squats are some of the best exercises for building and strengthening your lower body muscles.

• Lower body strength
  Squats are one of the most effective exercises for developing lower body strength. They engage multiple muscle groups, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, which help improve overall leg and hip strength.
• Functional movement
  Squats mimic such everyday movements as sitting, standing, and bending.
  Strengthening the muscles in these movements with squats can enhance functional fitness and make everyday activities easier.
• Core stability
  Squats require core stabilization to maintain an upright posture and proper form. That can help strengthen the core muscles, helping to improve stability and balance.
• Hormonal response
  Squats are compound exercises that engage many muscle groups.
  That can stimulate the release of growth hormone and testosterone, essential for muscle growth and body composition.
• Fat burning and weight loss
  Squats are highly effective movements for burning calories and promoting weight loss. By engaging multiple muscles, squats can help increase the metabolic demand and calorie expenditure during and after the exercise.
• Preventing Injury
  Strengthening the muscles involved in squats, particularly the quads, and hamstrings, can help stabilize the knee joint and reduce the risk of injuries. Squats also promote joint mobility and flexibility, which are essential for maintaining proper movement patterns.

What muscles do squats target?

Squats are compound exercises for developing lower body strength, improving overall stability, and promoting functional movement patterns.

Incorporating squats into your training regimen will allow you to target the following lower body muscles.

• Quadriceps
  The quadriceps or quad muscles, located in the front of the thigh, are heavily engaged during squats. They include the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius muscles.
• Hamstrings
  The muscles at the back of the thigh, specifically the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus, are also activated during squats. They work as stabilizers and assist in hip and knee extension during the movement.
• Glutes
  Squats target the gluteal muscles, which consist of the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.
  These muscles are responsible for hip extension and play a significant role in lower body strength and power.
• Calves
  The calf muscles, including the gastrocnemius and soleus, assist in stabilizing the lower leg during squats.

Aside from the above, squats also engage several other muscles, including the erector spinae or lower back muscles, core muscles like the abdominals and obliques, adductors or inner thigh muscles, and hip flexors. These act as stabilizers and synergists.

Why Squat Variations

Including different types of squats in your training regimen offers several benefits:

• Muscle development
  Different types of squats target various muscle groups from different angles. Incorporating a variety of squat variations allows you to stimulate and develop multiple muscles in your lower body.
• Improved strength and power
  Each squat variation places a slightly different emphasis on the muscles involved.
  By incorporating different types of squats, you can challenge your muscles in new ways, helping you to boost strength and power gains.
  That can help when you have hit a plateau with your current squat routine.
• Balanced muscle development
  Some squat variations, such as front squats and Bulgarian split squats, shift the focus to different muscle groups or place more demand on one leg at a time.
  These variations can help correct muscle imbalances and promote more balanced lower body development.
• Enhanced functional fitness
  Different types of squats can mimic various real-life movements and improve your functional fitness. These can translate to better performance in many activities, including running, jumping, climbing stairs, and sports.
• Preventing boredom and monotony
  Incorporating different squat variations into your training regimen adds variety to your training routine, helping spice and make them engaging.
  That can help prevent boredom and monotony and keep you motivated and consistent with your workouts.
• Injury prevention and improving joint health
  Some squat variations, such as box squats or pause squats, can help improve joint stability and promote proper movement mechanics.
  Incorporating these types of squats into your schedule allow you to strengthen the muscles surrounding your joints. It can also help reduce the risk of injuries and promote joint health.

Steps to perform the basic squats exercises

You will require no equipment for the basic squat or air squat.

• Stand, feet at shoulder-width, and toes slightly turned out.
• Engage your core, keep your chest up, and your back straight.
• Bend your knees and hips as if sitting in a chair.
• Lower your body down until your thighs are parallel to the floor or as low as you can comfortably go.
• Pause briefly at the bottom of the movement.
• Push through your heels, extend your hips and knees, and rise to your starting position.

Aside from using your body weight, you can also perform squat exercises with weights, such as dumbbells, kettlebells, or weighted barbells, making them accessible to various exercisers.

Squats are also versatile exercises. Aside from helping you build and strengthen your muscles, they can also help improve balance, flexibility, and the functioning of the lower body.

You can modify squats in several ways to help target different muscle groups or add intensity and challenge.

Best Squat Variations for Building and Strengthening your lower body muscles

Below are some of the best squat variations for your training regimen.

Goblet Squat

The goblet squat variations involve holding a dumbbell or kettlebell at chest level while performing a squat.

It help can help improve squat form and target the quads, glutes, and core muscles.

The goblet squat is a great exercise for beginners and experienced lifters. Holding the weight in front of your chest helps promote an upright torso position and encourages proper squat mechanics.

Barbell Back Squat

The barbell back squats are classic and one of the best squat variations that target the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.

It also engages the core and stabilizer muscles throughout the movement, making it an effective exercise for building lower body strength and improving overall body stability.

The exercise involves placing a barbell on your upper back and squatting.

Barbell Front Squat

The front squat is one of the best types of squats that emphasizes the quads and upper back.

The Barbell front squat involves placing a barbell in front of your shoulders for the exercise.

Shifting the barbell’s position to the front offers a different training stimulus and challenges your muscles in a unique way.

Incorporating front squats in your training regimen can help improve lower body strength, stability, and overall squat mechanics.

Sumo Squat

The sumo squat involves taking a wide stance with your toes pointing outwards. It targets the inner thighs or adductors and glutes much more intensely than traditional squats.

You can hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in front of your chest when doing the movement to make it challenging.

Sumo squats offer a different stimulus to traditional squats, providing a unique challenge and helping to develop lower body strength and stability.

Bulgarian Split Squat

The Bulgarian Split Squat is one of the best squat variations for targeting each leg individually. It is also one of the best for challenging stability and balance.

It involves placing one foot behind you on a raised surface while the other remains on the floor and squatting.

They are some of the best squat variations for addressing any muscle imbalances between the left and right legs.

Pistol Squat

Pistol squats are single-leg squats performed with one leg stretched in front of you. It is an advanced squat variation that requires strength, balance, and mobility.

Pistol squats require extra strength and balance. They also require flexibility in the hips, ankles, and mobility in the working leg. and are some of the best types of squats for targeting the quads, glutes, and core.

Box Squat

Box squats involve squatting down onto a box or bench before returning to your starting position.
They are the best types of squats for developing lower body strength and power and are excellent for beginners trying to master the squat movement.

The box squat is a versatile exercise and one of the best for strength training, and power development. It can help develop and strengthen your muscles and prepare you for other exercises.

Box squat focuses on the lower body muscles, including the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. The exercise will also engage the core and stabilizer muscles.

Jump Squat

Jump squats are a dynamic and explosive variation of the squat exercise that incorporates a jump at the top of the movement.

They are some of the best squat variations for developing power, explosiveness, and cardiovascular fitness. They can also help improve lower body strength.

Jump squats target the lower body muscles. They also engage the core and can help improve overall athletic performance, and can enhance vertical jump ability, and lower body power output

Zercher Squat

The Zercher squat is an advanced variation that challenges your lower body and core strength while engaging the upper back and biceps.

It involves holding the barbell in the crooks of your elbows in front of your body.

The movement emphasizes the quadriceps, glutes, and core muscles.

It can be a valuable addition to your training regimen to help develop lower body power, build strength, and enhance muscle balance and coordination.

Overhead Squat

Overhead Squats are some of the most challenging squat variations. It involves holding a barbell or a free weight overhead while performing squats. Thus the movement requires strength, mobility, and stability

Overhead squats are one of the best types of squats that engages the entire body. The movement focuses on core stability and shoulder mobility.

Hack Squat

The hack squat is a variation performed using a hack squat machine or a barbell behind your body.

It allows you to target the quads, hamstrings, and glutes with a focus on the squat movement pattern.

Athletes without access to a hack squat machine can perform the exercises by holding the barbell behind their body and squatting.

Dumbbell Squat

The dumbbell squat involves holding a dumbbell in each hand for the squat movement, making it versatile and accessible for various fitness levels and gym setups.

Thus they can benefit exercisers looking for a challenge but don’t have access to barbells or prefer the added stability of holding dumbbells.

Sissy Squat

The sissy squat targets the quad while engaging the core and glutes. You will perform the exercise without weights.

Sissy squats can be challenging and require balance and lower body strength.

They are some of the best squat variations for developing strength and muscle tone in the front of the thighs.

It can benefit exercisers who want to focus on quadriceps isolation or who have specific goals related to leg aesthetics.

Steps to follow

• Stand with feet at shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward, and hands resting on your hips or holding onto a support for balance.
• Shift your weight onto your toes by lifting your heels off the floor.
• Slowly lean your torso backward while maintaining an upright posture.
• Continue to lean back until your upper body is almost parallel to the floor. You should feel a stretch in your quads.
• Then, bend your knees and lower your body, keeping your heels off the floor and your torso leaning back as if doing the squat movement.
• Continue to lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor or as far as your mobility allows. Keep your core engaged and maintain control throughout the movement.
• Pause briefly, engage your quadriceps, and push through the balls of your feet to rise to your starting position.
• Repeat.

Tips for the sissy squat

• The sissy squat requires balance and control throughout the movement. Thus start with a slow and controlled motion to avoid strain on your knees.
• Keep your core muscles engaged to maintain stability and protect your lower back.
• Newbies can hold onto a sturdy support, such as a bar or pole, to assist with balance.

Wall Squat

The wall squat, also known as the wall sit, is an isometric exercise that targets the quadriceps, glutes, and calves.

It is one of the simplest squat variations, yet it is a very effective exercise performed anywhere with a wall or vertical surface.

Thus it is one of the conventional types of squats that require minimal space and equipment, making it suitable for various fitness levels.

Dumbbell Thrusters

The dumbbell thruster is a compound exercise that combines a front squat with an overhead press.

The movement pattern of the dumbbell thruster includes a squatting motion, making it a type of squat exercise.

It involves holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, squatting down, and then driving through the legs to stand up while simultaneously pressing the dumbbells overhead.

The dumbbell thruster is one of the most effective squat variations for targeting multiple muscles, including the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, and triceps.
It combines the benefits of the squat and overhead press to provide a challenging full-body workout.

Steps to follow

• Hold a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height, with your palms facing inward and elbows bent.
• Stand with feet at shoulder-width or slightly wider, toes pointing forward.
• Engage your core and maintain an upright posture. Keep your chest lifted and shoulders back throughout the exercise.
• Bend your knees and hips and lower your body into a squat, ensuring you keep your weight on your heels. Aim to bring your thighs parallel to the floor or slightly lower.
• Quickly reverse the movement as you reach the bottom of the squat and explosively drive through your legs to stand up, simultaneously pressing the dumbbells overhead.
• Fully extend your arms overhead, straightening your elbows and bringing the dumbbells together or close to each other.
• Lower the dumbbells to shoulder height and descend into the next squat repetition.

Tips for the dumbbell thruster:

• Keep your chest lifted, shoulders back, and core engaged throughout the exercise. Ensure your knees track your toes and do not collapse inward during the squat portion.
• Avoid excessively leaning forward or rounding your lower back.
• Focus on a smooth transition from the squat to the overhead press, using the power generated from the legs to drive the dumbbells overhead.
• Avoid using momentum to complete the repetitions.
• Start with dumbbells that give you control throughout the exercise. Ideally, start with lighter weights and gradually increase as you become more comfortable and confident.

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