Bodyweight Squat
Reviewed by Dylan Maurick, Physiotherapist
The Bodyweight Squat is a foundational lower-body exercise that builds leg strength, mobility and movement control.
Bodyweight Squat
Muscles Worked: Bodyweight Squat
The bodyweight squat mainly works your quads and glutes. Your quads straighten your knees as you stand up, while your glutes drive your hips through at the top of each rep. Your hamstrings help control the lowering phase and support the hips as you change direction. If you squat to a comfortable depth with your whole foot planted, you should feel the front of your thighs and your butt doing most of the work, and deeper squat positions can raise knee tendon loading in a predictable way (Scattone Silva et al., 2024).
Technique and form
How to perform the Bodyweight Squat
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly outward, and arms relaxed at your sides.
- Brace your core by drawing your navel toward your spine while maintaining a neutral back position.
- Begin the movement by hinging at your hips and pushing your buttocks backward as if sitting in a chair, while simultaneously raising your arms forward for counterbalance.
- Keep your chest up and shoulders pulled back as you bend your knees, ensuring they track in line with your toes throughout the movement.
- Inhale as you lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground or as deep as your mobility allows, maintaining weight distributed through your heels and midfoot.
- At the bottom position, ensure your knees don't collapse inward and your lower back maintains its natural curve.
- Exhale as you push through your heels to drive your body upward, extending your hips and knees to return to the starting position.
- Fully straighten your legs at the top and squeeze your glutes briefly before beginning the next repetition.
Important information
- Keep your heels flat on the floor throughout the entire movement; if they lift, you may need to decrease squat depth or work on ankle mobility.
- Maintain a neutral spine position from start to finish; avoid rounding your lower back or overarching.
- If your knees consistently cave inward, focus on actively pushing them outward during the squat or try a slightly wider stance.
- Look straight ahead or slightly upward to help maintain proper upper body position; avoid looking down at your feet.
Is the Bodyweight Squat good for muscle growth?
Yes — the bodyweight squat can build muscle in beginners, especially in the quads and glutes, because it lets you train hard through a long range of motion without needing equipment. It also gives you a simple way to build leg strength and work capacity before moving to loaded options, and squat depth changes how much stress your knees handle (Scattone Silva et al., 2024).
- Beginner-friendly tension — If you're new to training, your bodyweight is often enough resistance to make your quads and glutes grow, especially when sets are taken close to fatigue. That makes this a strong first squat pattern before you progress to dumbbell-goblet-squat.
- More depth usually means more leg work — Squatting lower increases the distance your legs have to move your body, which usually makes the rep harder and gives your quads and glutes more work. It also tends to raise knee tendon loading, so depth should match what you can control well (Scattone Silva et al., 2024).
- Easy to progress without weights — You can make bodyweight squats harder by adding reps, slowing the lowering phase, pausing at the bottom, or using harder versions like jump-squat. That keeps progressive overload going even before you add external load.
- High-rep leg endurance builder — Because fatigue is low and setup is simple, bodyweight squats are great for building local muscular endurance in the thighs and glutes. They fit well in circuits, warm-ups, and home workouts where you want a lot of quality reps without beating up recovery.
Programming for muscle growth
For muscle growth, do 3-5 sets of 12-25 reps with 45-90 seconds rest, 2-4 times per week. Use a rep range high enough that the last 3-5 reps feel tough while your form still stays clean. If 25 reps is easy, slow the lowering phase to 2-3 seconds, add a 1-2 second pause at the bottom, or move to a harder squat variation so the set stays challenging enough to drive progress.
Bodyweight Squat Variations
Alternative Exercises
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FAQ - Bodyweight Squat
Bodyweight squats primarily target your quadriceps and glutes, while also engaging your hamstrings, calves, and core as stabilizing muscles. This makes them an excellent compound exercise that delivers significant lower body benefits with no equipment needed.
Aim to lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground, though going deeper is beneficial if your mobility allows. Focus on maintaining a neutral spine and keeping your heels planted rather than worrying about achieving a specific depth right away.
The most common mistakes include allowing knees to cave inward, lifting heels off the ground, and rounding the lower back. Focus on pushing your knees outward in line with your toes, keeping weight in your heels, and maintaining a proud chest throughout the movement.
Increase difficulty by adding tempo (3-second lowering phase), incorporating pauses at the bottom position, performing more repetitions, or trying variations like jump squats or single-leg squats. These modifications increase time under tension and power development without requiring weights.
You can safely perform bodyweight squats 3-5 times weekly as they're low-impact and recovery-friendly. For beginners, start with 2-3 sessions per week with 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions, gradually increasing volume as your strength and endurance improve.
Workouts with Bodyweight Squat
Scientific References
Scattone Silva R, Song KE, Hullfish TJ et al. · Medicine and science in sports and exercise (2024)
Sources are peer-reviewed academic publications from PubMed.
Bodyweight Squat
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