How to do a Squat - for anyone
In this video, we demonstrate a basic squat. This method is simple and easy, and can help anyone get stronger.
Hi, I'm Angela, and I’m with CrossFit Southpaw as well as Survival to Strength. Today, I’m going to share a few points of performance on a squat. Let’s go ahead and get started!
The first thing you want to do is position your feet directly underneath your hips and angle your toes outward approximately 10 degrees. From here, make sure you’re gripping the floor with your toes. As we begin the squat, the first movement comes from the hips—drive your hips back slightly and open up at the hips. Your arms can extend out in front of you as you squat down and then stand back up.
When you stand up, make sure your quads and glutes are tight. I’ll demonstrate three squats. As you can see, I’m driving my hips open so that my knees follow the same angle as my toes. Now, from the side, notice that I’m keeping my torso upright. If you prefer, you can place your hands behind your ears or on your shoulders for balance.
If you’re unable to perform a full-depth squat, another option is a box squat. Here’s how:
Stand at an angle to the box and sit down slowly. Place your feet in the same position—10 degrees out, chest upright, and opening at the hips. Then, stand up. As you come down again, try to control the movement and then rise back up.
If you’d like to add weight to either movement, you can do so. I’ll show you a goblet box squat as an example. With a dumbbell held securely, sit down onto the box and then stand back up. If you’d prefer to perform this without the box, you can do a goblet squat by holding the dumbbell as you squat down and up.
From the side, notice that I’ve changed the way I’m holding the dumbbell. Both variations of holding the dumbbell are perfectly acceptable while performing the squat.
I hope these tips and tricks help you improve your squat! Thank you for joining me today.
