After pull-ups, squats are probably the next best bodyweight exercise that you can do. But again… and I can’t stress this enough; you need to get sound instruction on proper form and technique first. If not then you are probably gonna be visiting your doctor or surgeon soon to get your knees worked on. There’s a saying in the iron game that goes something like…’ it’s not squats that hurt your knees, but whatever it is that you are doing that you think are squats that is hurting your knees’
The really great thing about bodyweight squats is the total simplicity of them. You need zero equipment, so you can do them anywhere. This means there are no excuses for not doing them. And they have a staggering depth of variations possible. This makes them ideal for beginners and seasoned athletes alike and allows for progressions from very easy to very, very hard. Lying on your back with your feet facing the ceiling doing air squats is way down at the easy end of the scale. Doing full ass to the ground slow pistol squats or shrimp squats is up near the other end. You will find that doing pistols and their close relatives works far more than just your legs too. Almost everything gets involved here. Don’t just jump into doing a pistol however. Work your way into them over time. There are plenty of variations that can allow you to safely and effectively progress to an honest pistol squat. Take the time to learn these variations and to develop good form and to build up the various muscles and support structures. Quality trumps quantity in bodyweight work (and almost everything else) every time.
I am not a big fan of weights anymore because there are just so many viable, simpler and fundamentally better bodyweight options in most cases, but if you really must get into the iron, then squats are definitely for you too. Just like their bodyweight counterparts, squats with weights come in all shapes and sizes. Back Squats, Front Squats, Split Squats, Overhead Squats, Zercher Squats, Goblet Squats, Thrusters, and so on. Goblet Squats are ideal for teaching proper squat technique and are great for working on mobility. Overhead Squats work wonders for overall body strength, and if you want to pack some serious muscle on your scrawny frame then real traditional back squats with real weight will help you on your way. There are some pretty impressive weights out there that have been squatted by power-lifters, strong-man, and highland games athletes. The record is somewhere around 500 kg! Be warned… Even more so than with the bodyweight versions of squats, if you want to schlep heavy weights around you need to be shown the correct way in order to minimize potential injury.
Don’t be limited in thinking that you need an Olympic barbell set-up and squat rack either. There are plenty of other things that you can effectively squat with. Sandbags come to mind; especially when doing Zercher squats. Or if you want a real wake-up call try doing overhead squats with a slosh tube.
You can ‘hybrid train’ too. This is basically doing some of the traditional bodyweight squats with weight. The most common example would be doing a pistol while holding a kettle bell. Actually if you use a small amount of weight during a pistol it will act as a counterbalance and may actually make the move easier. Please note that a 40kg kettlebell will likely not make the pistol easier though!
You may recall a few stories back I wrote a brief piece about a fitness test called MURPH. Amongst other things, one of the elements of this test was doing 300 air squats wearing a 20 lb vest.
If you are a real glutton for punishment and highly risk tolerant then you can always do dynamic squats, which in my books is most plyometrics. This would include relatively easy and safe things like the standing broad jump, up through box jumps, depth jumps, all the way to pistol switch squats. Make sure you can afford the surgery costs first.
The other day I was working out in a ‘gym’; don’t ask why but there I was. It was about 0500 when this older East Indian gentleman comes in. He takes off his shoes. Then he proceeds to take off his shorts leaving him there in his whitey tighties. He starts doing Hindu squats. He keeps doing them. I am doing some grip work out or something. He keeps doing these damn squats. Then I switch to leg raises. He is still squatting. Eventually he stops and I ask him… how many of those do you do? He answers “500 sir”!