Legs · None
How to do
Squats
The foundational lower-body pattern and the lightest exercise in the Alea pool by effort weight, which is why it turns up in high-rep draws. Quads, glutes and the whole posterior chain.
| Movement pattern | Legs |
| Measured in | reps |
| Equipment | None |
| Effort weight in Alea | 1.0 per rep |
| Appears from | D4 exercise die upward |
How to do it
Setup
Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, toes pointed very slightly outward. Weight spread across the whole foot rather than the toes. Arms can reach forward as a counterbalance.
The movement
Push your hips back and bend the knees together, lowering until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, deeper if your ankles and hips allow it. Keep your chest up and your heels down. Drive back up through the middle of the foot, squeezing the glutes at the top without leaning back.
Common mistakes
- Knees collapsing inward on the way up, which is usually weak glutes rather than bad knees
- Heels lifting, which is generally an ankle mobility limitation
- Quarter reps: stopping well above parallel and adding numbers instead of depth
- Rounding the lower back at the bottom, often from forcing depth the hips do not yet have
Too hard? Scale it down
Squat to a chair or a box, tapping it lightly rather than sitting. It gives you a depth target and somewhere to bail. Holding a doorframe for light assistance also works while you build confidence in the bottom position.
Too easy? Scale it up
Slow the descent to three seconds, pause at the bottom, or progress toward the Bulgarian split squat and the pistol squat, both of which are further up the same pool.
Where this sits in the Alea pool
Alea draws exercises from an ordered pool of twenty, and the die size slices from the top of that list. Squats is number 3 of 20, so it enters the draw once your exercise die reaches D4. Below that, you will never roll it.
Its effort weight is 1.0 per rep, which the app uses when it builds 100-rep sessions and tailored workouts, so a session containing squats carries fewer total reps than one built from lighter movements.
Roll it now in your browser, or set your dice and let it come up on its own.
General information, not medical or fitness advice. Stop if you feel pain or dizziness, use the easier variation when in doubt, and see the full training disclaimer before starting.
Let the dice pick it for you
Alea draws squats at random alongside nineteen other bodyweight movements. Free, no account needed.
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Related
Squats FAQ
How deep should I squat?
At least thighs parallel to the floor. Deeper is fine and often better if you can hold a neutral spine and keep your heels down. Depth you have to round your back to reach is not depth worth having.
Are squats bad for your knees?
For healthy knees, no. Well-executed squats are generally used to build knee resilience rather than damage it. Pain during squatting is worth having assessed rather than trained through.
Why do my heels come up?
Usually restricted ankle dorsiflexion. Elevating the heels slightly on a small plate or book is a legitimate short-term fix while you work on ankle mobility.