Posted on January 26, 2017 by Jenny Cromack

Having some form of squat in your training session is probably the one of most important movement to include. The squat is a compound movement which means it requires multiple joints to fire at once. Squatting with any type of free weight (barbell/dumbbell/kettlebell) activates your trunk muscles, so can be really effective at strength and toning those core muscles. The majority of people will already know how important squatting is, what some people may not know is firstly how many variations of squat patterns there are and secondly how a small variation in technique can have a massive effect on the muscles used and adaptations gained. So let’s look at these squat variations and the full repertoire of squats.

Squat Variations

• Overhead barbell (BB) squat – The most challenging of squats, this requires brilliant mobility of the lower body and shoulders.
• BB Back squat– probably the most common type of squat, again to perform this properly mobility of the lower body is essential.
• BB Front squat– The front squat often gets overlooked, it sometime takes a while to get used to the position of the BB on the front deltoids and it can be tricky to get your wrists in the correct position. BUT…it is a really good exercise for people learning the movement of a squat or people struggling to get into a deep back squat. Additionally extra activation of the core is needed to keep the spine neutral, so an especially good core muscle exercise.
• Goblet squat dumbbell (DB) or Kettlebell (KB)- again really good for novices learning to squat, but also a good exercise for experienced exercises, using all the same muscles as the front squat.
• Single Leg (SL) aka The Split-Squat is a great uni-lateral exercise, using only one leg again puts extra emphasis on your core muscles. This can be performed with a split stance with both legs on the floor or a raised back foot on a box or a bench (Bulgarian Split-Squat). Using BB, DB or KB can be used for the split squat.

Other variations

• Using resistance bands to dangle weights, instead of putting them on normally is another variation that tests balance and stability – especially in the core muscles.
• A regression, or a way of learning the correct movement for a back squat (no forward lean, heels coming off the floor/lack of depth) is a box squat. Squatting with a box for a guide of how low to go is really good for ‘cueing’ your muscles to memorise the correct movement. Also a great way of getting really heavy loads into your sessions.

What Does Going Lower In Your Squat Achieve?

Everyone is obsessed with low squats ‘arse-to-grass’, the thing is a lot of people don’t actually know what the benefit is of a really low squat. Pretty much the lower you go in your squat the more emphasis is place of your gluteus maximus (bum). Pin squats with a lesser range of movement will focus more the 4 muscles of the quad (vastus lateralis, medalis, intermedalis and rectus femoris) (Caterisano et al, 2002).

Where Should My Toes Be Positioned?

Toe position may seem meaningless during a 100kg back squat, but it does alter which muscles you use, especially in your quadriceps. If your toes are pointed outwards (about 10 or 2 on a clock-face) then you’ll work the outer part of your quadriceps, otherwise you’ll work the inner portion of the quadriceps (Paoli et al, 2009).

…Happy squatting.