How to Do a Bodyweight Squat: Form, Depth and Common Mistakes
The squat is sitting down and standing up, done on purpose. It works your thighs, glutes and core at once, and it is the leg movement every beginner plan is built around.
How to do it
Bodyweight Squat
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly out.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees as if sitting into a chair.
- Go as low as you can while your heels stay down and your chest stays up.
- Drive through your whole foot to stand tall.
Form cue: Knees track over your toes; don’t let them cave in.
Easier: Squat down to a chair, touch it lightly and stand back up.
How deep should you go?
As deep as you can while your heels stay down and your chest stays up. For some people that is thighs parallel to the floor; for others it is a little higher at first. Depth usually improves over a few weeks as your hips and ankles get used to the movement. A shallower squat with good form is the right squat for today.
Four common mistakes
- Heels lifting. Shift your weight back, as if reaching for a chair behind you.
- Knees caving in. Push them gently out so they track over your toes.
- Chest dropping. Reach your arms forward as a counterweight and look straight ahead.
- Rushing the way down. Take two seconds to lower. Control is where the work is.
If a full squat is too much
Squat to a sturdy chair: touch the seat lightly and stand back up. Lower the target over time, then take the chair away.
Two moves that build on it
Once the squat feels steady, the split squat trains one leg at a time, and the glute bridge works the back of your hips from the floor.
Split Squat
- Take a long step forward and stay there, back heel lifted.
- Keep your torso tall and lower your back knee straight down toward the floor.
- Stop just above the floor, then push through your front foot to rise.
- Finish all reps on one side, then switch legs.
Form cue: Think “down and up”, not “forward and back”.
Easier: Hold a chair or wall for balance and use a shorter range.
Glute Bridge
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, hip-width apart.
- Press through your heels and lift your hips until knees, hips and shoulders line up.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top for one second.
- Lower slowly to the floor.
Form cue: Lift with your glutes, not by arching your lower back.
Easier: Lift only as high as feels comfortable.
How many?
In CaliStart 21, squats start at 10 reps per round in week 1 and build from there. Start where every rep looks the same as the first.
The CaliStart bundle is 84 days of sessions like this, from beginner to advanced, one page a day, with photos of every move. Seven PDFs, pay once.
General fitness information for healthy adults, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program, and stop if you feel pain, dizziness or chest discomfort. Results vary. The people in the photos are models.