This is the foundation of all squatting movements. Mastering the form here is crucial before moving on to more advanced variations. It targets your quads, glutes, and hamstrings while engaging your core for stability.

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed slightly outward.
• Engage your core and keep your chest up.
• Initiate the movement by pushing your hips back and bending your knees, as if sitting into a chair.
• Lower yourself until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, ensuring your knees track over your toes and don’t cave inward.
• Push through your heels to return to the starting position, squeezing your glutes at the top.

By widening your stance, the sumo squat shifts some of the focus to your inner thigh muscles (adductors) and glutes. It can also be easier on your lower back due to the more upright torso position and is great for improving hip mobility.

How to do it:

• Take a stance that is significantly wider than shoulder-width. Point your toes out at about a 45-degree angle.
• Keep your chest tall and push your hips back and down.
• Lower your body, making sure your knees are pushing out in the same direction as your toes.
• Go as deep as your mobility allows, ideally until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
• Drive back up through your heels.

This is a challenging unilateral (single-leg) exercise that is fantastic for fixing muscle imbalances, improving balance, and seriously targeting your glutes and quads. All you need is a couch, chair, or sturdy bench.

How to do it:

• Stand a couple of feet in front of your chosen elevated surface, facing away from it.
• Reach one foot back and place the top of your foot on the surface.
• Keep your torso upright and lower your back knee down towards the floor.
• Your front thigh should be parallel to the ground at the bottom of the movement, and your front knee should be directly over your ankle.
• Push through the heel of your front leg to return to the starting position. Complete all reps on one side before switching.

Want to feel the burn? Squat pulses keep constant tension on your muscles by eliminating the “rest” portion at the top of the movement. This variation is excellent for building muscular endurance.

How to do it:

• Perform a basic bodyweight squat and lower yourself to the bottom position (thighs parallel to the floor).
• Instead of standing back up completely, pulse up and down a few inches.
• Stay in this low position for the prescribed amount of time or repetitions.
• Focus on keeping your core tight and your weight in your heels throughout the pulses.

Add an explosive element to your workout with jump squats. This plyometric exercise builds power, increases your heart rate for a cardio boost, and fires up your fast-twitch muscle fibers.

How to do it:

• Start in your basic squat stance.
• Lower yourself into a squat.
• Explosively jump straight up into the air, swinging your arms for momentum.
• Land softly on the balls of your feet and immediately sink back down into the next squat.
• Focus on controlled, quiet landings to protect your joints.