Compound — lower body

Squat

Barbell or bodyweight

The squat is one of the most effective exercises for building lower-body strength and muscle. It recruits nearly the whole body and is the cornerstone of most strength programs.

Almost everyone can squat, but the version that suits you depends on your proportions. Long femurs and a short torso will push you into more forward lean, which looks wrong next to a lifter built for upright squatting and is not. Judge the lift by whether depth, knee tracking and bar path are consistent, not by whether it matches a photo.

Technique

1. 1Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly out
2. 2Keep your chest up and your spine neutral throughout the movement
3. 3Track your knees over your toes — do not let them cave inward
4. 4Descend to parallel or below for maximum glute recruitment
5. 5Drive through your whole foot as you stand up

Common mistakes

• Knees caving in as you drive out of the bottom

  Fix: Usually weak glutes rather than a knee problem. Drop the weight, actively push your knees out against your feet, and add hip abduction work such as banded walks.

• Cutting depth and calling it parallel

  Fix: Film from the side, not the front. Most people are 2–3 inches higher than they think. Squat to a box set at true parallel until the depth becomes automatic.

• Heels lifting off the floor

  Fix: Nearly always ankle mobility. Widen your stance slightly, point your toes out more, and use shoes with a raised heel while you work on ankle range.

• Hips shooting up first, turning it into a good morning

  Fix: Your quads are giving out before your back. Pause for two seconds at the bottom with a lighter load — it forces the legs to start the drive.

Sets and reps

How to progress

As a beginner, add 2.5 kg per session for as long as it keeps working — that phase is short and worth exploiting. Once it stalls, stop adding weight every session and move to weekly progression, or repeat the same weight for an extra set. When that stops too, alternate heavier and lighter weeks rather than grinding the same load into the ground.

Variations

• Front squat

  Bar on the front delts. More quads and upper back, and it is self-limiting — if your position collapses, you drop the bar.

• Box squat

  Sitting to a box teaches consistent depth and builds power out of the hole.

• Pause squat

  Two to three seconds at the bottom removes the stretch reflex and exposes your genuine weak point.

Frequently asked questions