Legs & glutes
Bodyweight squat
The everyday move behind sitting, standing and lifting — strengthens your thighs and glutes with no kit at all.
Beginner Low impact
How to do it
- Stand with your feet about hip- to shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly.
- Brace your tummy gently and reach your arms forward for balance if it helps.
- Send your hips back and down as if sitting onto a low chair, bending at the knees and hips together.
- Lower as far as is comfortable while your heels stay down and your chest stays proud.
- Push the floor away through your whole foot to stand tall, squeezing your glutes at the top.
Form tips
- Keep your knees travelling in line with your toes.
- Breathe in on the way down, out on the way up.
- Think "hips back" before "knees forward".
Common mistakes
- Heels lifting off the floor.
- Knees collapsing inwards.
- Rounding the lower back at the bottom.
Easier and harder
Make it easier
Squat to a chair, touching it lightly with your bottom each time, or hold the back of a chair for support.
Make it harder
Slow the lowering phase to three or four seconds, add a pause at the bottom, or hold a dumbbell at your chest (goblet squat).
