This is 1 rep.įocus on slow movement to learn proper form. Push into your heels and squeeze your glutes to return to a standing position.Slowly hinge at your hips, push your butt back, and bend your knees to lower yourself until your butt touches the box (but avoid sitting down completely).Point your toes outward at 45 degrees or less. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, with your back to a box or chair.What you’ll need: a box or chair at knee height or slightly lower To get comfortable with squatting and establish good form, you may want to start by perfecting the sit-to-stand squat, also known as a bench or box squat.
If you’re looking to add some variety to your squat routine, here are four great squat variations to try. Making small changes in your stance, your foot angle, and the depth of your squat can help promote greater glute activation. However, be careful not to thrust your pelvis forward or overextend your hips at the top of your squat, which will compromise your form. If you’re still having difficulty feeling your glutes, focus on squeezing your glutes as you rise from a squat, which can help increase glute activation ( 2, 10). Instead, focus on pushing your knees slightly out, which will target your glutes and reduce the likelihood of knee pain ( 1, 3, 9). As you lower and raise, ensure your knees are not driving inward (known as knee valgus). This will allow you to achieve greater range of motion and activation of your glutes ( 1).Īlso pay attention to your knee positioning.
To do this, push your butt back as you lower - as if sitting in a chair - and ensure the crease of your hips is lower than your knees at the lowest part of the squat. Movement patternĪs you lower into a squat, you want to hinge your hips backward rather than drive your knees forward, which “turns on” your quads instead of your glutes. If you can go farther without compromising your form or experiencing discomfort, then you may be able to achieve even greater glute activation ( 6, 7, 8). torso length) ( 5).įor the best glute activation, try to squat until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. How deep you can squat is largely based on your body’s range of motion (flexibility, previous injury, etc.) and anatomy (leg vs. Ideally, your feet should be symmetrical ( 4). Your foot position will also vary but generally should be somewhere between the extremes of pointing straight forward and pointing out about 45 degrees. You may also benefit from a wider stance (commonly called “ sumo” stance), which keeps your hips externally rotated and allows you to lift heavier ( 1, 2, 3). Squat stanceĮveryone will have a slightly different squat stance based on their anatomy and what feels comfortable for them.Īdopting a standard stance (feet just outside shoulder width with toes slightly pointed out) externally rotates your hips and allows you to enter a deeper squat for greater glute activation ( 1, 2, 3). While a traditional squat will activate your glutes to some degree, you can make slight changes to target your glutes even more.
As mentioned above, glute activation in a squat largely depends on your stance, movement pattern, range of motion, and anatomy.
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