Squats For Women: 3 Great Variations To Help You Strengthen Your Core and Get Great Legs

Squats for women are the perfect exercise, especially for women over the age of 40. They're a highly functional exercise, and are quite possibly the single best exercise for helping women get stronger and adding lean muscle to their body.

And one of the “secrets” to a faster metabolism, (which is something a lot of women are looking for), is to have more lean muscle mass.

In this article, I'm going to show you three great variations of squats for women, to help you understand why adding them to your exercise program is essential, particularly as a woman in your 40s, 50s, or older.

Try three of the best squat variations for women and add them to your workouts today!

What Is a Squat?

A squat, in whatever variation you decide to use, is exactly what it sounds like. You’re essentially squatting down from a standing position, using many of the muscles in your lower body, and pushing back up to a standing position.

Since this is a common movement we perform in everyday life, we must actively overload these muscles in order for them to get stronger.

Right now, you may be picturing a bodybuilder, or a high-level CrossFit athlete right now, with legs the size of tree trunks, and thinking, “I don’t want to look like that!”

Overloading your muscles doesn’t mean you’re going to end up getting big and bulky. In contrast, what will happen is that as you get stronger, you’ll get leaner, and your muscles will appear more toned. This means more sculpted legs!

Looking like a bodybuilder takes many years of insanely hard work, meticulous dieting, and unwavering consistency.

What that means is that unless you’re trying to become a bodybuilder, you likely will never come close to looking like one. This is good news, as the goal for most women over 40 is just to look fitter, have more muscle tone, and be stronger.

What Muscles Do Squats For Women Use?

The squat is an amazing exercise for your entire lower body, and as well as strengthening your muscles, it helps you build stronger bones, ligaments, and tendons.

The muscles worked are primarily your quads (thigh muscles), hamstrings, glutes, and calves.

In addition to using those lower body muscles, it’s a great overall exercise to help build core muscles, including your abdominals, obliques, and lower back, as your upright position during the exercise requires stability and posture control.

If you’re holding a weight, whether it’s a dumbbell or kettlebell, you’ll use the muscles in your upper back, shoulders, and arms as well. So, in essence, you can work much of the body simply by doing loaded squats!

And because the squat uses so many large muscle groups, it also helps you build an overall stronger and fitter body.

As a compound exercise, meaning it uses multiple muscles and joints, the squat will help increase lean muscle mass and bone mineral density in women.

This is important for a few reasons:

The more lean muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be and the more calories you’ll burn at rest. Who doesn’t want to burn more calories while resting, right?

Improving your bone mineral density, especially for women over 40, is imperative because of issues like osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Strength training is an absolute must for women over 40!

How To Do Squats For Women

In the video above, you see exactly how to perform several variations of squats for women safely and with proper form, but here are some of the main points to always remember:

• During any squat, brace your core and tighten your glutes throughout the movement.
• Breathe in during the eccentric part of the exercise (squatting down) and breathe out during the concentric part of the movement (coming back up).
• Keep your weight on your midfoot or heels, not towards the toes or front foot.
• Maintain a neutral head position and look straight ahead.

Variations Of The Best Squats For Women

For most women, using a traditional barbell squat is unnecessary and isn’t usually the best option.

However, adding squats to your program is important, and here are three excellent variations that are far less intimidating than barbell squats and are just as effective for building stronger and more sculpted legs. These are also the three squats we laid out in the video above.

Dumbbell Goblet Squats

This variation not only works the entire lower body but activates your core muscles as you have to maintain an upright position due to the weight being in front of your body, pulling it forward.

Take a slightly wider than shoulder-width stance and hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in front of your chest.

Maintain an upright position and straight back throughout.

Dumbbell Sumo Squat

To start, take a wide stance and point your toes outwards.

Hold the weight below your waist, and I’d suggest using a few weight plates (or something sturdy) to stand on with each leg. This will create a small deficit and allow you to get a deeper squat.

The open stance will allow you to use a heavier weight, so don’t be afraid to grab that 30 or 40-pound dumbbell or kettlebell!

Bodyweight Jump Squats

This is an explosive movement typically done without weights, but can also be used with light weights to really crush your thighs!

You won’t need to jump very high (just a few inches is OK) for this exercise to work. Just be sure that when you land, you land on soft knees.

You can use this exercise as part of a cardio or metabolic workout or even as a finisher at the end of a strength workout.

Coaching Cues For Squats

If you have limited mobility in your hips, use a bench or box as a touch point. This will limit your range of motion. You should also look at including a short mobility/stretching routine in your program.

For those with limited ankle mobility, try adding weight plates underneath your heels. This will allow you to squat a little deeper and activate more muscles.

Try and keep your hips back, like you’re trying to sit back on a chair, as you come down with each rep. Your knees may extend past your toes at some point, and that’s OK.

Think about “screwing” your feet into the ground counterclockwise as you do your reps, and try to push your knees outward. This will help ensure the glutes are doing most of the work.

When performing jump squats, try to land “quietly,” which will soften the impact and be easier on your knees.

Common Mistakes When Doing Squats

With men, it’s common to see someone using too much weight, but for women, it’s quite the opposite. Many women use weights that are too light because they believe it’s the best way to “tone” their muscles.

In all reality, the weight you use should be sufficient to stimulate growth. Doing dozens of reps with little or no weight is fine for muscular endurance, but it won’t help you get stronger and leaner.

Having a “toned” look to your muscles comes from having less body fat and more lean muscle tissue; it’s not about doing endless reps.

Another tendency is to try and get through your squats as quickly as possible, because, let’s face it, they’re tough!

Instead, slow down and feel each rep. Avoid bouncing up from the bottom position and use momentum to make it easier.

In Conclusion

The squat is one of the best, if not THE best, exercises to help you build strong, lean, and sculpted legs.

As the squat is such a versatile exercise with many functional benefits, it helps reduce your chances of injury and improves your ability to perform ADLs (activities of daily living) like sitting, lifting objects, walking, and running.

So, find a variation of the squat that works for you personally. Maybe it’s moving quickly and getting your heart rate up with a jump squat, or maybe it’s being able to lift a heavy kettlebell and doing eight intense reps with it.

Lastly, one thing I’ve learned over the years as a fitness coach is that if exercise seems like a chore or something you “have” to do, it will be difficult to stick with.

Instead, find exercises that are fun, or at least more fun than ones you tend to avoid. If you have the mindset that exercise and training are something you “get” to do, it will be far more effective long-term.

*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on squats for women.