Movement Library
Bodyweight Squat
- Pattern
- Squat
- Trains
- Muscular strength
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Measured in
- Repetitions
How to perform
- 1Push your hips back and down, knees tracking over your toes.
- 2Go as deep as comfortable, then drive up through your heels.
Technique in detail
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly. Take a breath, brace your midsection as if you were about to be nudged, and push your hips back and down at the same time. Let your knees travel forward and out over your toes rather than caving inward. Descend until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor, or as deep as you can go while keeping your heels flat and your lower back from rounding. Drive up through the whole foot, squeezing your glutes at the top without leaning back.
Common mistakes
- Letting the heels lift. Usually an ankle mobility limit, not a strength one — stand with your heels on a thin book or a folded towel and the depth arrives immediately.
- Knees collapsing inward as you stand up. Think about pushing the floor apart with your feet; if it only happens on the last few reps, that is fatigue telling you to stop the set.
- Rounding the lower back at the bottom. Stop the descent one inch above where the rounding starts. Depth you cannot control is not depth you own.
Equipment
- No equipment
Progression
Movements in this library are chained from easiest to hardest, so you always have a next step.
Related movements
Band Lateral Walk
Easy
Loop the band above your knees and take wide steps sideways.
Deep Squat Hold
Easy
Sink into the deepest squat you can and let your hips relax toward your heels.
Lateral Lunge
Easy
Step wide to one side and sit into that hip, keeping the other leg straight.
Reverse Lunge
Easy
Step back and lower until both knees form right angles.
Wall Sit
Easy
Slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Dumbbell Lunge
Moderate
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and step back into a lunge.
Want these tracked — sets, reps and progress over time?
Start tracking freeThis library is general fitness education, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, injured, or managing a health condition, check with a clinician before starting something new. Stop if a movement hurts.