Bodyweight Squat

What you'll gain

• Builds the quads, glutes, and inner thighs with no equipment.

• Teaches the foundational squat pattern for every loaded variation.

• Improves lower-body mobility and balance in any setting.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Stand tall with feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed slightly outward.

2. 2

   Brace your core, lift your chest, and extend your arms straight out for balance.

3. 3

   Sit your hips back and down as if lowering into a chair, keeping your weight in your heels.

4. 4

   Lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, with knees tracking over your toes.

5. 5

   Keep your chest tall and your spine neutral throughout the descent — no rounding at the bottom.

6. 6

   Drive through your heels to stand back up, squeezing your glutes hard at the top of the rep.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the knees cave inward, which weakens the squat and loads the knee joint badly.

• Squatting straight down instead of sitting the hips back, which puts all the work on the knees.

• Lifting the heels off the floor at the bottom, which kills balance and reduces glute drive.

• Cutting the depth short and squatting only halfway — robs the lift of glute and quad work.

About This Exercise

The bodyweight squat is the foundational leg pattern in human movement. By sitting the hips back and down with the chest tall, it trains the quads, glutes, and inner thighs through a full hip-and-knee bend. It is the clearest test of squat mechanics any program can use, and the prerequisite for every loaded squat variation that comes later. For any fitness app, this clip is non-negotiable inventory. It belongs in every onboarding flow, every beginner program, every warm-up sequence, and every movement-screen module. Ship it in your core library and use it as a teaching anchor for the entire squat family — from goblet squats to barbell back squats.

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