Do squats actually help?

MaaKeMeThinn3r

Okay okay so we've all heard that squats are a girls best friend. And everyone I've talked to says they're the only way to a good *kitten*..wellll I've been doing them religiously for about 5 months and have noticed..NO CHANGE!! What am I doing wrong?
Kayleigh Anne

weightliftingdiva

What are your goals? What are you eating - are you in a deficit or a surplus? Are you trying to lose fat or gain muscle? Are you following a strength training program where you increase the weight you are squatting?

Squats work for me - I'm following a progressive strength training program. I have gained strength. However I'm eating like %^$% and not logging my food, so I am not losing any fat.

MaaKeMeThinn3r

My goal is to just get more toned..I'm not eating anything fancy just simple general college kid food..I'm not so much worried about losing weight I'm kinda content where I am..It's just I haven't noticed my butt getting any "firmer" like nothing is helping me

rick_po

What kind of squats are you doing?

Galatea_Stone

How much weight are you putting on the barbell? How deep are you going? Olympic or powerlifting stance?

ChelseaWelseyKins

Make sure your form is perfect With bad form you get bad results. Plus, YOU might not have noticed anything, but I'm sure other people have!

stickersticker

Find a better video on youtube

weightliftingdiva

I would suggest doing a lot of online research about strength training for women, and check out books like The New Rules of Lifting for Women. To get the shape you want you are probably going to want to bulk - which means picking up heavy things (like squats with barbells) and eating a little bit more. Don't worry - you will not get man bulky from starting a bulk. The bulky weight-lifting woman is as myth, unless you are on steroids. I haven't actually done a bulk, so I can't tell you much more then I have already. So you might want to use the search function on this website to look at what women who bulked did and how they are doing now.

Best wishes. :flowerforyou:

MaaKeMeThinn3r

How much weight are you putting on the barbell? How deep are you going? Olympic or powerlifting stance?

I'm not the strongest person ever so I'm sticking with around 30-45lbs

MaaKeMeThinn3r

What kind of squats are you doing?

Alll kinds..I've tried the standard squats..I've done sumo squats..I've done my own funky variations haha

dont_tap_my_aces

How much weight are you putting on the barbell? How deep are you going? Olympic or powerlifting stance?

I'm not the strongest person ever so I'm sticking with around 30-45lbs

the barbell alone is 45lbs.... so are you saying you add 30 to 45 to that?

how low do you go when you squat? if you are trying to get a firm butt, you need to squat with very low depth (to parallel at least, see the pic below for what parallel looks like)

MaaKeMeThinn3r

How much weight are you putting on the barbell? How deep are you going? Olympic or powerlifting stance?

I'm not the strongest person ever so I'm sticking with around 30-45lbs

the barbell alone is 45lbs.... so are you saying you add 30 to 45 to that?

how low do you go when you squat? if you are trying to get a firm butt, you need to squat with very low depth (to parallel at least, see the pic below for what parallel looks like)

YESS!! That's what I meant I should of made that clear..but thank youuu! That picture is actually pretty helpful,

Galatea_Stone

You need to add weight to the bar progressively. Try adding 5 pounds a week for a while.

Also, squats are inefficient for glute work. You need to supplement with glute bridges, hip thrusts, weighted lunges, step-ups, or other exercises that specifically target your butt.

dont_tap_my_aces

You need to add weight to the bar progressively. Try adding 5 pounds a week for a while.

Also, squats are inefficient for glute work. You need to supplement with glute bridges, hip thrusts, weighted lunges, step-ups, or other exercises that specifically target your butt.

Yes, get on a linear progression program. i'd recommend googling Strong Lifts 5x5. it incorporates deadlifts as well which have the benefit of hitting the posterior chain as well as the back and just about every other muscle in the body.

SkimFlatWhite68

Squats are terrific, and as stated above you need to have good form and use weight. They come in many forms and all of them are worthwhile but you must ensure that your technique is correct - the lower you go, the more you will engage your glutes, push up through your heels.

However, while you are searching for help - look up Bret Contreras, the Glute Guy - in particular his Strong Curves programme and get into doing weighted Hip Thrusts. They will give you a great butt. http://bretcontreras.com/ (No, I am not affiliated with him in any way but it is a great programme).

theguyg

The deeper you can get while maintaining form in squats, the better you'll help target the hamstrings and glutes on top of working the quads. You should feel your glutes engage at the bottom and stretch a little before contracting to begin the upward movement. Try sitting on a chair, and standing up without leaning forward. You should feel your glutes and upper hamstrings engage. That's what you're looking for. Change up your stance for variety and to target different areas of the leg.

Also, mix in some deadlifts!

Straight/stiff leg or Romanian deadlifts target the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings.
Stiff leg deadlift - http://youtu.be/mu2rJiF2dLE

You can also do single leg deadlifts which requires good balance/coordination, a nice change, with a dumbbell.

Deep walking lunges and high step-ups are both beast. Requiring the glutes and hamstrings to initiate upward movement and stability, along with working those quads. And are pretty good for functional strength, think racing up stairs 2-3 at a time because you're late for class.

I like to do a superset of 8-12 Stiff Leg Deads with 8-10 high step-ups (each leg, use the adjustable bench if a high box isn't available), 5-8 sets. Either towards the end of my leg routine, or even on back day.


Push past the comfort zone but keep discipline in form and you'll find results

Good luck!

jessicagrieshaber

Okay okay so we've all heard that squats are a girls best friend. And everyone I've talked to says they're the only way to a good *kitten*..wellll I've been doing them religiously for about 5 months and have noticed..NO CHANGE!! What am I doing wrong?
Kayleigh Anne

Try goblet squats, lunges and sumo squats with dumbbells. There a ton of different variations of squats that you can do - and YES they work!!

rick_po

You do need to do heavy squats, so stopping your progression at 45 isn't going to work well.

Look into the Strong Curves program by Brett Contreras. It has extra glute work, and his Barbell Hip Thrust is a great glute target lift. He targets the glutes from multiple directions - squats are good, but they aren't everything.

Rose6300

You do need to do heavy squats, so stopping your progression at 45 isn't going to work well.

Look into the Strong Curves program by Brett Contreras. It has extra glute work, and his Barbell Hip Thrust is a great glute target lift. He targets the glutes from multiple directions - squats are good, but they aren't everything.

Yes, this. I really started seeing improvement when I added hip thrusts.

dakotababy

I hate squats, so I made a topic asking for alternatives. One person recommended donkey kicks. I do them with added weights and I have already noticed a difference!

russkiballerina

Squatting never worked for me - but I can't lift anything heavy. But this thread actually has some awesome info! I'm gonna try everything I medically am able to.
You guys are all so awesome