Squat (Quads) – Exercise Guide
Muscles worked: Quads, hamstrings, and calves
Equipment needed: Barbell
Instructions
1. With a slight bend in your knees, place both your feet under the bar while the barbell is racked in the squat rack. Un-rack the bar by extending your knees and walk back a couple of steps to start this leg exercise.
2. Stand with a shoulder width stance with the barbell placed on your trapezius muscles. Your feet should be facing slightly outwards forming a “V”. Keep your core tight and breathe-in while lowering yourself into the squatting position.
3. Maintain a straight back and a full range of motion as you squat. Go down until your hamstrings touch your calves and then reverse the motion of the movement. Exhale as you return to the starting position and squeeze your quads.
4. Make sure you don’t recruit your lower back while performing the squats by bending forward or pushing your hips back. Maintain an upright chest and your head should be facing forward while squatting.
Variations/How To
Emphasize the Outer Thighs (Abductors)
Narrowing your stance by placing your feet closer than shoulder width will help you in targetting the outer thigs or abductors.
Emphasize the Inner Thighs (Adductors)
Widening your stance more than the normal foot placement will recruit your inner things or adductors. Having a wider-than-normal stance will also help in recruiting your hamstrings.
Emphasize the Hamstrings
While the shoulder-width foot placement targets the quads, wide foot placements or variations like the sumo squats primarily target the hamstrings.
