The purpose of this article is to compare the effects of quarter, parallel, and full depth squats on muscle activity, joint stress, athletic abilities, and potential injury risks for the consideration of all strength and conditioning professionals.

Proper form and biomechanical execution of the squat has been a long-debated subject in the fitness and sports performance industries. The following article describes a method to help determine an individual’s preferred squatting foot position, setup, and depth based on their unique hip anthropometrics for smarter, safer, and more optimized squatting.

This article provides the first academic history of the barbell back squat and its evolution from a bodyweight exercise in the 19th century to a loaded exercise used for a variety of purposes in the present age. In doing so, the article highlights three key drivers in the evolution of the back squat—changes in equipment, the diversification of strength sports, and scientific communication concerning the safety and efficacy of the movement. The goal of this article was not to provide a dry and irrelevant history but rather to stress the complexity of the squat’s prominence within fitness programs and the need to hold a nuanced view toward the “optimal” way to approach this movement. It examines how the movement evolved from being primarily done on the tips of one’s toes, to a loaded movement on tippy toes, to a flat-footed movement. By contextualizing the back squat’s history, this article challenges rigid notions of “correct” squatting technique and encourages a more nuanced understanding of exercise selection in strength and conditioning practice. It concludes by highlighting the importance of critically examining the social construction of knowledge in fitness and sport, and the value of historical perspective in informing contemporary training practices

Nick Clayton, Personal Training Manager at the NSCA, shows key coaching points and progressions for single-leg squat and lunge movements.

This article demonstrates the benefits and limitations of the front squat and goblet squat in training for the abdominals.

This article provides the personal trainer with sample exercise progressions for teaching resistance training movement patterns along with practical strategies for instruction and reinforcement of proper technique.

This article briefly explains different squat variations, as well as how they differ from a physics and biomechanics standpoint.

Squatting may be commonplace in the weight room, but proper execution of this great exercise is difficult. Strength and conditioning coaches will need to properly select exercises and cue their athletes in a way that not only allows for a proper stabilizing strategy to occur, but promotes it.

This excerpt from Exercise Technique Manual for Resistance Training, Third Edition goes over the technique and execution in each phase of the push jerk.

This infographic describes the type of muscle activation three exercises elicited and their relationship to maximal sprinting performance.