When we want to exercise our leg muscles, squats are excellent to increase strength. Like every exercise, you must perform a squat properly to get the full benefits of the exercise and ensure you don’t damage your body. To perform a proper squat, you must avoid certain mistakes that will do more harm than good.

Rising With Your Butt First

When performing a squat, bend at the knees, and then push your upper body up until your legs are straight. If you move your butt upward with the motion of the squat, you put pressure on the hamstrings and lower back.

Squats exercise your quads and apply pressure to the backs of your thighs. If you plan on using heavy gym equipment in fitness centers, you may pull your hamstring and injure yourself. A pulled muscle could cause the weights to fall on you.

Angling Your Knees Inward

Your knees should remain forward throughout the entire squat. If your knees are angled inward, you run the risk of your legs folding in as you squat, especially if your legs are tired. You lose most of your power if your knees point inward, and maintaining your balance becomes difficult. These factor into an increased chance of falling over.

Moving Your Knees Too Far Forward When They Bend

It takes a solid amount of control to ensure your knees don’t move forward during a squat. If your knees move beyond your toes when bent, the exercise won’t have a good effect on your quads. Instead, it will put stress on your ankles to stabilize. Not keeping your knees behind the imaginary line of your toes is a common mistake while doing squats, and will lead to drawbacks in muscle gains.

Not Keeping Your Back Straight

It’s important to keep your back as straight as possible when squatting, so you have a better chance of pushing straight up and maintaining your balance. If you are angled too far back or forward, you may tip in that direction when straightening your legs—making you lose the progress and momentum you made throughout that set.

Not Squatting Deep Enough

The deeper you squat, the more effort it will take to stand up straight and improve your muscles. Shallow squats are a common mistake in performing squats, and will make you expend energy at the cost of muscle gain. A good rule is making sure your thighs are parallel to the ground. This posture provides good balance for a deep squat and enough bend to propel you upward as you stand.

Many variations of a squat will keep your body in shape. If you perform them correctly and avoid these mistakes, your workouts will be exceptionally efficient.