Doing squats with dumbbells - working out the legs and buttocks for beginners

Author: Timko Ilya - the ruler of the entire site and fitness trainer | more details >> Rod. 1984 Trained since 1999 Trained since 2007. Author and creator of the site tvoytrener.com. CCM in powerlifting. Champion of Russia and South Russia according to AWPC. Champion of the Krasnodar region according to IPF. 1st category in weightlifting. 2-time winner of the Krasnodar Territory championship in t/a. Author of more than 700 articles on fitness and amateur athletics. Author and co-author of 5 books.

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(become an author) Date: 2012-05-29 Views: 1,252,395 Rating: 5.0

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Primary muscles - quadriceps femoris and gluteus maximus Additional - inner and back thighs Difficulty - medium

Benefits of Dumbbell Squats

Dumbbell squats will never completely replace barbell squats, but, nevertheless, this exercise can work the muscles to the maximum and should be considered as an addition to leg muscle training.

There are many benefits to this exercise:

• Less axial load due to weight held in hands. Thus, the spine is not compressed, as happens with a barbell. Therefore, exercise with moderate weight can be performed if compression load is prohibited.
• A more stable position, because the weight is located below the waist throughout the entire exercise.
• Choosing this particular exercise will be the best option for beginners, since squats with dumbbells are easier to master and this type is less traumatic.
• Dumbbell squats are great for women. Moreover, by performing different types of this exercise, you can focus on certain leg muscles.

Squat for girls

Young ladies associate squats with round and toned buttocks, but more about them below.

By doing squats, you strengthen the muscles of your legs and buttocks, giving them shape and elasticity. Exercise with weights is perfect for gaining muscle mass and showing relief. Girls who have never exercised before should prepare their body for the load and, for now, squat without weights.

Dumbbells are also used to prepare a girl for more serious weights (if she plans to lift a barbell). The squat technique for girls is not very different from that for men; the only difference is the weight of the equipment. You can use a chair to practice the technique. Place it behind you, touch it with your buttocks when squatting, and go back.

What muscles work

Due to the fact that the classic technique of squats with dumbbells involves placing the legs narrowly (this is due to the fact that the weight is located on the sides of the hips), the main load during squats falls on the quadriceps muscle.

In addition to the quadriceps femoris muscle, the following also work:

• gluteal muscles;
• back extensors;
• abdominal muscles.

The trapezius and middle deltoid muscles
are indirectly involved

Technique for performing squats with dumbbells

The exercise is performed as follows:

1. Stand up straight with your back straight.
2. Place your feet shoulder width apart.
3. It is very important to monitor your posture. The back should not lean forward, the shoulder blades should be brought together and the shoulders should be straightened. By the way, the more vertical the back, the more the quadriceps are loaded.
4. Please note that the range of squats with dumbbells should be deep. Dumbbells can be lowered almost to the floor. The heels should not leave the floor throughout the entire movement. It is also important to ensure that the center of gravity is on your heels and not your toes.
5. Inhalation should be done while lowering the pelvis until it is parallel to the floor, without pushing the knees forward beyond the toes.
6. It is important to exhale during the effort, that is, when extending the torso.

Variations of squats and execution techniques

There are many options for performing squats with weights. We propose to consider the most effective ones and understand for what purposes each of them is suitable.

Classic squats with two dumbbells

A good alternative to barbell squats. Depending on the depth of descent of the pelvis, you can shift the emphasis from the quadriceps to the buttocks.

If a girl wants to work her gluteal muscles, during a squat she lowers her pelvis below the parallel of her hips with the floor. Men are recommended to squat to a right angle at the knees so as not to remove the load from the legs.

Technique:

1. Stand up straight. Bend your lower back, direct your gaze at an angle of 45° upward. Feet are shoulder-width apart, toes pointing to the sides.
2. Take dumbbells and lower your arms loosely to your sides.
3. Inhale deeply and smoothly move your pelvis back.
4. Having reached the bottom point, as you exhale, push your body up. In the upper phase, do not straighten your knees all the way. Otherwise, the payload will drop.

Peculiarities:

• when lowering the body, make sure that your knees do not go beyond the line of your toes;
• do not strain your arm muscles;
• focus on the heels and the outer side of the foot;
• Perform the exercise without pauses at the lower and upper points.

The number of approaches and repetitions is the same as for squats with a barbell: for relief for girls - 3x15, for strength and volume for men - 3x8.

Plie squats

The advantage of the exercise is the accentuated work on the inner surface of the thighs and buttocks. Therefore, these squats are popular among the fair sex. Men use power plie squats to strengthen the adductor muscles and joint tissues, which helps improve performance in deadlifts and classic barbell squats.

Squatting is carried out by abducting the pelvis, rather than tilting the body forward:

1. Place your feet wide and point your toes out to the sides. Arch your lower back and keep it in this position throughout the entire approach.
2. Take one dumbbell and lower it in front of you, without straining your arms.
3. Inhale, move your pelvis back.
4. As you exhale, rise up smoothly. In the upper phase, do not fully extend your knee joints.

Peculiarities:

• the lower you lower your pelvis, the more your buttocks “turn on”;
• to keep your lower back arched, direct your gaze upward, at an angle;
• when performing, the knees should not converge inward and go beyond the line of the foot;
• The more you turn your feet to the sides, the better you will use your inner thighs.

Sumo squats

Beginner athletes confuse “plie” and “sumo”. At first glance, it may seem that these are the same exercise. But in fact there is a difference.

When performing a plie squat, the athlete tries not to tilt his back forward, which allows him to stretch the adductor muscles of the thigh well. In sumo squats, on the contrary, the body specifically leans forward to maximize the use of the gluteal muscles.

Front Squats

The exercise simulates squats with a barbell on the chest. The technique of lowering and raising the body is similar to simple squats. The only caveat is weight retention.

Many athletes bend their arms and rest the dumbbells lightly against their collarbones and upper chest. With this embodiment, the arm muscles are usually tense. Therefore, if you are a beginner, we recommend another way to hold the apparatus: press the dumbbells against the upper area of ​​​​the shoulder and trapezius. This way you can relax your arm muscles a little and shift the emphasis to your hips and buttocks.

Avoid the following technical mistakes:

• “rounding” of the back;
• dumbbells too heavy;
• support on socks;
• sharp jerking movements of the legs.

Squats with dumbbells on shoulders

The technique is similar to front squats, but differs in the weight retention:

1. Stand up straight. Take the dumbbells with a neutral grip (palms facing your hips) and lift them towards your shoulders.
2. Press the flat ends of the dumbbells against the top surface of your deltoids, placing them vertically on your shoulder joints.
3. While holding the weight in this position, perform slow squats.

When lowering your pelvis, do not lean forward too much, as the back muscles will try to maintain balance, which can lead to their overstrain.

Scissor squats

They are a variation of lunges (they are also called “lunges in place”). They specifically load the gluteal muscles, which is why they are often used in women’s fitness programs:

1. Stand up straight and grab dumbbells. Straighten your shoulders.
2. Take a step back with your left foot. The distance between the feet is approximately 70–80 cm.
3. Keeping your back straight, inhale, move your pelvis back and lower your body to a right angle at the knee joint of your “front” leg.
4. Exhale and return to a vertical position.

Peculiarities:

• do not “lean” your body forward, otherwise a dangerous load will fall on the knee of the front leg;
• rest the “back” foot on the toe, the “front” foot on the heel;
• Don't tense your shoulders and arms.

Bulgarian squats

The technique is similar to scissor squats:

1. Turn your back to the horizontal bench and take a step forward.
2. Take the dumbbells and lower them loosely down to your sides.
3. Take your left leg back and place its toe into the seat of the bench.
4. Keeping your back straight, perform squats until your right thigh is parallel to the floor.

The advantage of the exercise is that the body weight is shifted by 70–80% to the front leg, which allows maximum load on the thigh muscles. Also, the advantages include the deep amplitude of squats.

Bulgarian squats require the athlete to have developed stabilizer muscles and a good sense of balance. Therefore, if you are a beginner, we recommend performing the exercise without dumbbells.

Squats with overhead lifting

It is used, as a rule, by strength athletes to improve results in the main weightlifting elements: the barbell snatch, the clean and jerk and the clean. This option helps further strengthen your back, shoulders and arms:

1. Stand up straight. Take the dumbbells with an overhand grip (palms facing you) and press them to the front of your thighs.
2. Keeping your back straight, inhale and squat. Raise your arms at the same time as you squat. At the lowest point, the pelvis should be as low as possible, and the dumbbells should be strictly above the head.
3. Exhale and straighten up. Lower the implements to your hips.

Peculiarities:

• do not make sudden throws, smoothly lift the weight above your head;
• do not tilt your body too much forward, otherwise you risk “falling over”;
• push from the bottom position using the entire foot, not the toes.

Squat technique with dumbbells on shoulders

This version of squats with dumbbells is an analogue of the same exercise with a barbell, but with this type of squats an increased load is created on the shoulders, as well as the upper and middle sections of the spine. This is a very traumatic exercise that uses many stabilizer muscles. In fact, when performing such squats, the load on the spine is maximized, while the efficiency of the muscles remains the same. By the way, when doing this, your hands get tired faster than with the standard technique.

The most effective technique

To do squats correctly and effectively, you will need to put in a lot of effort, but the results will be worth it.

If it becomes very difficult for you or you feel severe pain, it is better to rest for at least a week and perform exercises that were originally developed for girls.

The simplest option

The technique itself is quite simple - squats are performed in the traditional form, with the legs bent straight at the knee. To significantly speed up the process of bringing your muscles into the desired shape, you can use a barbell or dumbbells - this will be a significant advantage for your training. The main difference from conventional exercises is the position of the buttocks, which should be pushed back as far as possible.

To learn how to do proper squats, you should use a low stool or sports bench and sit on it with your feet 15-20 cm in front of this object

After you learn, you can work without a stool - it is important to understand the principle and consolidate it in your mind

Adding a load with dumbbells or a barbell

To pump up the necessary muscles, you should use a barbell - however, you must remember that your back must be absolutely straight during the workout. If after a couple of minutes you start to get tired and your back involuntarily takes on an arched shape, this can lead to muscle strain and even spinal injuries. In this case, you should do similar squats with dumbbells, or eliminate the additional load completely.

For girls, as for men, the bar should rest on the shoulders below the neck, and not touch the collarbones, so as not to cause excessive tension on these parts of the body. If you use dumbbells, they must be held strictly horizontally, without placing your palms beyond shoulder level.

Another important note is that you must squat very deeply so that your hips do not even form a horizontal line, but drop below your knees. To perform squats correctly, you need to keep your feet straight and as relaxed as possible.

When lifting weights, bowed feet can cause pulled tendons, which will put you off your training schedule for about a month. When using dumbbells, do not spread your arms wide apart to avoid stretching the muscles on the sides of your body.

To perform squats correctly, you need to keep your feet straight and as relaxed as possible. When lifting weights, bowed feet can cause pulled tendons, which will put you off your training schedule for about a month. When using dumbbells, do not spread your arms wide to the sides so as not to stretch the muscles on the sides of your body.

Finally, the main secret with which you can quickly pump up your buttock muscles and make your body as attractive as possible. Squats should not be done at full amplitude, but at about three-quarters - that is, when lifting, you should not fully straighten, but begin moving down again, without reaching a vertical body position.

In this case, it is correct to perform the exercises with your back bent forward in order to avoid increased stress associated with the lack of time to relax muscle tissue. However, inclined does not mean curved, since when using dumbbells and barbells you can get serious injuries.

Recommendations for squats with dumbbells for girls

Several variations of this exercise are suitable for women.

Plie squats with dumbbell

This exercise should be done from an elevated position, for example, with your feet on platforms or benches. It is very important to perform deep squats - the pelvis is below the knees. This squat emphasizes the load on the adductor surface of the thigh and gluteal muscles.

Read more about plie squats →

Classic squats with one dumbbell

This type of squats has already been described in the article. This type of exercise is aimed at working the quadriceps and gluteal muscles. The lower the pelvis, the more the gluteal muscles are stretched and loaded.

For girls, it will be important to increase the number of approaches and reduce the weight, for example, perform any of these exercises in circuit training. If you choose a two-day training scheme, you can include a new exercise in each workout. The optimal number would be 20-25 repetitions of 3-4 sets.

Recommendations for squats with dumbbells for men

For men, the types of squats do not change. Ideally, the main load on the muscles should be carried out using squats with a barbell, leg press in the simulator and a hack machine, however, if this is not possible, then leg training should be structured as follows:

• The number of approaches in each exercise is from 3 to 5 (together with the warm-up), and the number of repetitions is from 8 to 14.
• The training program should begin with a warm-up.
• Classic squats, with dumbbells at your sides, should be performed at the beginning of the workout, then perform plie squats.
• After this complex, it is best to do lunges and exercises on the lower leg muscles.