5 Ways To Make Squats More Challenging

Squats are a girl’s best friend, am I right?

But not everyone is ready to walk into the gym and squat with a barbell on Day 1, and for many squatting with a bar isn’t the most optimal or safe option. And that’s fine, because there are plenty of other super effective ways you can make a regular squat more challenging without using a bar, or while progressing your way up to being able to squat with a bar.

Before we dig into a few of them, read my how to guide to make sure your form is solid enough to progress with weight: CLICK HERE!

Here are five of my favorites:

1.Goblet Squats:

Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest, keep your elbows pulled in and squat down aiming your elbows towards the insides of your knees.

2. Add a Band:

Place a mini-band underneath your knees. As you squat, the band will try and push your knees in and you’ll need to work to push against the band to prevent that. These also add some extra booty magic..and burn 🙂

3. Add a Pause at the Bottom:

When you get to the bottom of your squat, pause and count “one Mississippi” before coming back up.

4. Do 1.5 Reps:

Squat down as far as you can, come back up halfway, then go back down and again and all the way up. That’s 1 rep!

5. Use a Kettlebell in the Rack Position:

This forces your core and upper body to work just as hard as your lower body because that bell is going to want to pull you forward. These are deceivingly challenging! You can use double kettlebells too.

CLICK HERE to learn the kettlebell “rack” position and ensure good form.

Try any of these variations for 8-12 reps (per side if using 1 kettlebell). For best results make sure the weight you’re using is challenging enough – if you feel like you could do more than 2 more reps with good form using the weight you choose, it’s time to increase!

What’s your favorite squat variation?