Do you want to tone up your legs and butt?
If your answers is YES! Then this article is for you.
The squat is an amazing exercise that tones all of the leg muscles AND the booty, as well as burning a lot of energy, making it great for fat burning.
Each squat variation below has different benefits, and specific tips to make sure you get the most of the exercise so please read carefully!
If you aren’t already squatting in your exercise program, then you are missing out, so get your learning hat on and read below!
Bodyweight Squat
Before moving on to any of the advanced versions of the squat, you must master the basics. The squat is a movement that looks easy on the service, but is actually quite challenging.
During a bodyweight squat, you must focus on keeping your weight evenly spread through your feet (not too much on the toes or heels) and your tummy and low back gently contracted to keep your back straight.
If you can’t comfortably squat below parallel (where your hip is below your knee) then practice squatting to an object, or even sitting to a chair and standing up before you work on squatting deeper.
Once you can comfortably do 3 sets of 10 reps of bodyweight squats, I would suggest trying the goblet squat.
Coach Kirsty showing off her squat technique – body weight squat on the left and assisted squat on the right
Goblet Squat
Once you can handle your body weight, it’s time to add some weight.
The more load you place in a muscle, the more it responds and tones!
Say hello to a sexy butt!
As well as toning up muscle, extra weight lifted means more calories burned, which means more fat loss!
So grab yourself a dumbell, a kettlbell or a weight plate, hold it in front of your body, sit tall and squat!
A kettlebell is a great tool for goblet squats, don’t be scared to be creative though!!
Barbell Back Squat
Coach Kirsty got plenty of strength to handle a barbell
The barbell squat is an advanced exercise. One you can comfortably do sets of goblet squats with a 15kg weight then you should progress to the barbell.
The barbell allows you to handle even more load, which means the potential for more results.
This also means however, your form needs to be perfect as you have to handle larger weights in your back.
Check out our video on the squat for detailed advice in executing your squats perfectly every time.
Banded 1.5 Squat
After a really good burn in your butt? Then you’ll LOVE the 1.5 squat.
By adding a band to the squat, more of the glute muscle is engaged meaning the squat will target the glutes even more!
In a 1.5 squat you go all the way down, half way up, back down, then all the way up. This technique means you spend more time at the bottom of the rep – which is the hardest part for the booty.
These are a great exercise to use towards the end of a workout when you really want to fatigue your butt.
Jump Squat
The jump squat is a great variation for girls at home, who have mastered the body weight squat but have no weights!
It’ll burn fat fast by getting your heart rate up, and will quickly fatigue your legs due to the increased difficulty.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE throwing jumps squats into my high intensity workouts for an intense leg burn and heart pump.
You can do these for a period of time, or for a certain number of reps, but remember to always WRITE DOWN your result in this workout so you can make sure you progress next time you do this killer exercise.
I hope you really enjoyed this article on squatting and have some ideas to take your training to the next level.
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Until next time, remember to focus on becoming a better human and a better you.
Much love!
