Bodyweight Squats: How to Do It, Muscles Worked & Benefits

Animated demo❚❚ Pause

The animation switches between the start and end position of the movement. Tap pause to study each position.

The bodyweight squat (also called the air squat) is the foundation of lower-body training. It strengthens your quads, glutes and hamstrings, improves hip and ankle mobility and teaches the movement pattern you use every time you sit down and stand up.

What is the bodyweight squats?

The bodyweight squat (also called the air squat) is the foundation of lower-body training. It strengthens your quads, glutes and hamstrings, improves hip and ankle mobility and teaches the movement pattern you use every time you sit down and stand up.

The bodyweight squats is beginner-friendly and a compound movement. Compound exercises use several joints and muscle groups at once, so they let you move more weight, burn more energy and build functional strength in less time. You can do it at home with no or minimal equipment, which makes it easy to fit into almost any routine.

Muscles worked

The main muscles trained by the bodyweight squats are the quads, with help from the glutes, hamstrings.

Quads (primary)

The quadriceps are the four muscles on the front of the thigh. They straighten the knee and are the main movers when you stand up from a squat, climb stairs or jump.

Glutes (secondary)

The glutes (gluteus maximus, medius and minimus) are the largest and strongest muscles in the body. They extend and rotate the hip, power sprinting and jumping, support the lower back and shape the hips.

Hamstrings (secondary)

The hamstrings run down the back of the thigh. They bend the knee and extend the hip. Strong hamstrings protect the knees and balance out the quads.

How to do the bodyweight squats: step by step

1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. You can place your hands behind your head. This will be your starting position.
2. Begin the movement by flexing your knees and hips, sitting back with your hips.
3. Continue down to full depth if you are able,and quickly reverse the motion until you return to the starting position. As you squat, keep your head and chest up and push your knees out.

Benefits of the bodyweight squats

• Builds leg and glute strength anywhere
• Improves hip, knee and ankle mobility
• Teaches correct squat technique before adding weight
• Burns more calories than most small-muscle exercises

Like all resistance training, the bodyweight squats also contributes to the general health benefits of strength work: stronger bones, better blood-sugar control, improved mood and a higher resting metabolism over time. The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend muscle-strengthening activities for all major muscle groups on two or more days per week for adults.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Knees caving inward
• Heels lifting off the floor
• Rounding the lower back at the bottom
• Not going deep enough (stopping a few inches down)

Most of these mistakes happen when the weight is too heavy or when you rush. Film one set from the side with your phone. It is the fastest way to spot form problems without a coach.

Form tips from a trainer

• Feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly out
• Sit back and down like sitting into a chair
• Push your knees in the same direction as your toes
• Keep the chest up and the whole foot on the floor

How to breathe

Breathe in as you lower the weight or your body (the easier phase) and breathe out as you push. For heavy sets, take a big breath into your belly before the rep, brace your core, and breathe out near the end of the push.

Sets and reps by fitness level

Choose a load or variation where the last 1–3 reps of each set feel hard but your form stays clean. When you can do the top of the rep range for every set, make it harder: add weight, add reps, slow the tempo or move to a harder variation. This is called progressive overload, and it is the main driver of strength and muscle gains.

Easier and harder variations

Bodyweight Squats for men and women

The technique of the bodyweight squats is the same for men and women. The difference is in programming. Men often aim for more upper-body size and use heavier loads with lower reps, while many women prefer more lower-body and glute volume and moderate loads with higher reps. Both approaches work. Muscle responds to effort and progressive overload regardless of gender, and women typically recover a little faster between sets.

You will find this exercise in these HelloMyTrainer programs:

• Men's Home Workout for Beginners (No Equipment)
• Women's Home Workout for Beginners (No Equipment)

Safety tips

• Warm up for 5–10 minutes before your first working set: light cardio plus a few easy reps.
• Stop immediately if you feel sharp, stabbing or joint pain. Muscle burn is normal; pain is not.
• If you have an injury, are pregnant, or have a heart, blood-pressure or joint condition, ask your doctor or a physical therapist before doing this exercise.
• Make sure benches, chairs, steps and bars are stable and can hold your weight.

Frequently asked questions

Related exercises

Animated demo

beginnerQuads

Goblet Squats

In a goblet squat you hold one dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest.

Animated demo

beginnerQuads

Barbell Back Squats

The barbell back squat is often called the king of exercises.

Animated demo

beginnerQuads

Dumbbell Lunges

Lunges train one leg at a time, which fixes strength differences between sides and challenges your balance.

Animated demo

beginnerQuads

Walking Lunges

Walking lunges are lunges done forward step after step.

Advertisement

Animated demo

intermediateQuads

Reverse Lunges

In a reverse lunge you step backward instead of forward.

Animated demo

beginnerQuads

Bulgarian Split Squats

The Bulgarian split squat puts your rear foot on a bench while you squat on the front leg.

Exercise images: public-domain photos from the open-source Free Exercise DB project. Last reviewed: October 2026.