Beyond the Basic Squat: Variations to Challenge Your Lower Body and Core

As a personal trainer with almost two decades of lifting experience, I can attest that sticking to the conventional squat is one of the most common mistakes beginners make, which stalls their progress and leads to boredom and a lack of motivation.

That said, you don’t need to go around reinventing the wheel to build strength and muscle mass.

Basic movement patterns like the squat will remain a staple in your routine. You just need to add a few variations to your exercise arsenal to shock the muscles and ignite new gains.

In this article, I’ll share the 11 best air squat variations to build bigger legs, boost your core strength and stability, and unlock your fitness potential.

6 Squat Variations for Intermediate & Advanced Lifters

Take your workouts to the stratosphere with these squat modifications and variations:

Advanced Bodyweight Variations

You don’t always need additional resistance to challenge yourself. These two bodyweight squat variations will do the trick:

Jump Squats

Jump squats result in a significantly high stretch reflex, leading to greater muscle fiber stimulation and growth. However, you must perform this exercise with a picture-perfect technique to avoid unnecessary joint, muscle, and connective tissue strain.

1. Stand tall with a shoulder-wide stance.
2. Flex your knees, hips, and ankles to lower into a deep squat.
3. Perform an explosive triple extension to return to the starting position, then use the momentum to jump as high as possible.
4. Land softly on your toes and repeat for recommended reps.

Pistol Squats

This high-skill exercise requires a combination of strength, ability, mobility, balance, and stability.

1. Stand with a shoulder-width stance.
2. Lift your left leg off the floor and extend it forward so it is parallel to the floor.
3. Hold your hands in front of your body or at your sides for balance.
4. Slowly flex your right knee to lower into a squat.
5. Go as low as your flexibility permits.

Added Resistance Variations

Start small and increase the training volume and intensity gradually to maximize the results with the following exercises:

Back Squats

The back squat is an unassuming but incredibly technically demanding movement. Many people tend to round their backs as soon as they load a bar on their shoulders.

Read the technique instructions below carefully to avoid this mistake.

1. Stand erect with a barbell placed across your shoulders.
2. Pull your shoulder blades back and down and grab the bar near your shoulders. This will put you in a favorable position.
3. Slowly lower yourself by flexing your knees and hips while maintaining an upright torso.
4. Some lifters find that looking at the ceiling during the eccentric phase prevents them from leaning forward.
5. Go as low as possible.
6. Return to the starting position, ensuring that you do not lean forward.

Front Squats

Front squats are an incredibly demanding exercise as they involve holding a barbell in the front rack position. However, this ensures that your quads and glutes are doing most of the work.

1. Place your feet under a bar placed at shoulder height in a squat rack.
2. Push your shoulders forward to create a shelf.
3. Position the bar on the ‘shelf’ and grab the ball just outside your shoulders.
4. Get into the starting position and lower into a squat by flexing your ankles, knees, and hips. Continuously drive your elbows toward the ceiling throughout the range of motion (ROM) to ensure the bar does not roll forward.

Zercher Squats

This is one of the most badass squat variations out there and requires significant core strength and upper-back stability. There are two ways of doing this exercise. Some people begin with the barbell on the floor and deadlift the bar into a Zercher position. However, we will be sticking to the squat rack variation.

1. Set a barbell at waist height in a squat rack.
2. Walk up to it and place your elbow pits under the bar at shoulder width. Then, flex your elbows at 90 degrees.
3. Unrack the bar and walk out.
4. Bend your knees, hips, and ankles to lower your body toward the floor.

Overhead Squats

You are in for a shocker if you’ve never tried overhead squats. This squat variation requires an insane amount of mobility — and strength. Here is how to perform it:

1. Grab a barbell with a snatch grip and hoist it overhead while keeping your elbows locked out.
2. Lift your shoulders toward your ears for additional stability.
3. Take a deep breath and slowly lower into a squat while actively pressing the barbell toward the ceiling.
4. Prioritize hitting full-depth, as stopping in the middle can lead to losing balance.
5. Return to the starting position.

5 Squat Variations for Beginners

When it comes to squat variations for beginners, you should take it slow. Focus on changing your stance and technique to target the lower body from different angles to maximize muscle stimulation and growth.

Here are the squat variations that will take your workout to the next level:

Box Squats

This is an excellent beginner-friendly exercise, as it standardizes the reps, ensuring you get the same amount of stimulation every time.

1. Stand with your back towards an elevator surface, like a flat bench or a plyo box.
2. Push your hips back and down and lower your glutes to the box.
3. Pause for a second in the bottom position before getting back up.

Goblet Squats

I absolutely love goblet squats. It involves holding the weight against your chest, ensuring an upright torso throughout the movement, which places optimal tension on the quads and glutes.

Also, it is an unintimidating exercise as a beginner can let go of the weight without worrying about getting hurt if they struggle at any point during a repetition.

1. Assume a shoulder-width stand with your toes pointed out slightly.
2. Hold a dumbbell in front of your chest with both hands. Grab onto the top plate for better stability.
3. Push your hips back and down and go as low as possible.
4. Pause in the bottom position for a deep stretch.
5. Drive through your heels to return to the starting position.

Sumo Squats

The wide stance involved in this exercise activates the inner thighs and glutes more than the standard squats. It is a staple in the exercise programs of serious athletes as it boosts hip stability and overall athleticism.

1. Place your feet wider than shoulder-width apart. Turn your toes outward slightly to achieve a comfortable starting position.
2. Hold your hands in front of your chest.
3. Flex your knees to lower into the quitting position.
4. Lean forward slightly during the eccentric phase to optimally load the glutes and hamstrings.
5. Explode to the start position.

Close-Stance Squats

This squat variation biases the quad sweeps, helping you achieve that coveted X frame.

1. Stand upright with your feet placed closer than narrow width apart.
2. While maintaining an upright torso lower towards the floor by flexing your knees, ankles, and hips.
3. Go as slow as your mobility allows.
4. Return to the starting position.

Bulgarian Split Squats

Most have a love-hate relationship with Bulgarian split squats. This exercise involves placing one foot on an elevated surface, increasing the range of motion (ROM), and allowing you to isolate the quads and glutes.

Plus, this unilateral exercise improves balance, core strength, and stability and helps iron out strengths and muscle imbalances.

1. Stand with your back towards an elevated surface like a plyo box or a flat bench.
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
3. Lift your left leg, extend it behind you, and place the top of your foot on the bench.
4. While staying upright, lower towards the floor until your rear knee touches the ground.
5. Slowly return to the starting position.
6. Complete the recommended reps before switching sides.

Understanding the Squat Basics & Benefits

The squat is one of the six fundamental movement patterns, meaning this exercise can improve your overall functionality and well-being. This exercise is also known as the king of lower body movements, as it targets almost every muscle group, including the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and core muscles.

Squats are a compound exercise that can help build muscle, improve hip and ankle mobility, increase bone density, and burn more calories throughout the day. (1)

Although air squats are great, sticking to the same exercise can lead you to a plateau. Making minor adjustments like changing your stance can challenge your muscles in new ways, unlocking new growth.

Plus, new variations lower the risk of overuse injuries.

You could also adopt new exercises to bias a particular muscle group. For instance, sumo squats focus on the adductors, which can improve the overall thigh size and lower the risk of hamstring injuries and lower back pain.

Conclusion

Sticking to the vanilla air squats can make your workouts feel stale and might make you want to quit training altogether. Adding these 11 squat variations to your training routine will make your regime more exciting and help you target the lower body from all angles, ensuring overall development.

I recommend performing two of these exercises in each of your lower body workouts to maximize muscle stimulation. Stick to your training regimen for at least eight to 12 weeks to achieve noticeable results.

If you have any questions about the air squat variations listed in this article or need help implementing them into your routine, post them in the comments below, and I’ll be happy to help!

References:

1. Myer GD, Kushner AM, Brent JL, Schoenfeld BJ, Hugentobler J, Lloyd RS, Vermeil A, Chu DA, Harbin J, McGill SM. The back squat: A proposed assessment of functional deficits and technical factors that limit performance. Strength Cond J. 2014 Dec 1;36(6):4-27. doi: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000103. PMID: 25506270; PMCID: PMC4262933.

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