Squatting Exercise: Pro’s and Con’s

About twenty one years ago, I made one of several mistakes of my training career, and it taught me much about what I needed to know about the real pros and cons of squatting. I was working with this enthusiastic client named Ed who’d heard that squats were the “king of all exercises” and wanted to jump right into heavy barbell squats on his first day.

Despite having been sedentary for fifteen years and barely able to squat to a chair without using his hands, Ed was convinced that loading up a barbell was the fastest way to get strong. Against my better judgment, I let him talk me into it. Within two weeks, he’d tweaked his back, strained his knee, and was ready to quit fitness altogether.

That experience forced me to really examine both sides of the squatting coin – the incredible benefits when done right, and the potential pitfalls when done wrong or at the wrong time. Isn’t this the question we should be asking about all of the exercises we do consistently?

The Undeniable Pros of Squatting

Functional Strength That Actually Matters

Here’s what I love most about squats – they build strength that you actually use in real life. https://www.rushwalter.com/natural-movement-strength-training-for-complete-beginners/ Every time you sit down, stand up, pick something off the floor, or get out of a car, you’re essentially performing a squat variation.

I’ve worked with hundreds of clients over the years, and the ones who can squat well consistently have fewer problems with daily activities. They don’t grunt when getting out of chairs, they don’t need to grab onto things for support, and they move with confidence rather than caution.

Compare that to someone who can bench press 200 pounds but struggles to get up from a low couch. Which strength is more valuable and enjoyable in daily life?

Lower Body Power Development

Squats are unmatched for building power in your glutes, quads, and hamstrings, aka your entire upper leg. But here’s what most people don’t realize – this isn’t just about having strong legs. Your lower body is your foundation for virtually every athletic movement.

I had a client named Lauren who was a recreational tennis player struggling with her serve power. Instead of focusing on upper body training, we worked primarily on her squatting strength and mobility. Within three months, her serve speed increased by 12 mph because she could generate more power from the ground up.

Core Strength Without Boring Isolation

This might surprise you, but squats are one of the best core exercises you can do. When you squat properly, your entire midsection has to work overtime to keep your spine stable while your hips and knees move through their range of motion.

Unlike crunches or planks, which train your core in isolation, squats teach your core to work the way it’s supposed to in real life – stabilizing your spine while your body moves dynamically through space.

When you do simple but effective bodyweight squats and begin to build endurance in a full squat position, you will acknowledge the positive benefits of increased flexibility and less tension in your back.

The Cons That Nobody Wants to Talk About

The Mobility Requirements Most People Don’t Have

Here’s the hard truth – probably 70% of the adults I work with don’t have the mobility to perform a proper squat when they first start training. Years of sitting in chairs, wearing shoes with elevated heels, and general inactivity have literally stolen their ability to perform this basic human movement.

I’ve seen people try to force themselves into squatting positions they’re not ready for, and it never ends well. You can’t build strength on top of dysfunction – you’ll just create compensatory patterns that lead to injury down the road. https://www.rushwalter.com/how-to-create-your-own-natural-movement-training-program/ A slow steady progression is always better when learning a new exercise.

The ankle mobility issue alone stops most people. If you can’t get adequate dorsiflexion in your ankles, you’ll either fall backward or compensate by rounding your back, both of which defeat the purpose of the exercise.

Technique Demands That Are Easy to Mess Up

Squatting looks simple, but proper technique is actually pretty complex. You’ve got to coordinate movement at your ankles, knees, and hips while maintaining spinal alignment and proper weight distribution. That’s a lot to think about, especially for beginners.

I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen hurt themselves because they thought squatting was just “sitting down and standing up.” Poor knee tracking, excessive forward lean, weight shifting to the toes – these technical errors can cause problems that last for months.

The Ego Factor That Ruins Everything

This is probably the biggest con of squatting, especially for men. There’s something about loading weight on your back that makes people think they need to prove how strong they are. I’ve watched countless people sacrifice form for weight, and it always catches up with them eventually.

The truth is, most people can build incredible strength and see amazing results with bodyweight squats or very light loads. https://www.rushwalter.com/natural-movement-strength-training-for-complete-beginners-2/ But that doesn’t feel impressive, so they load up weight they can’t handle properly.

When Squatting Goes Wrong

The Knee Pain Epidemic

About five years ago, I had three different clients come to me within the same month complaining of knee pain that started after they began squatting. In every case, the problem wasn’t the squatting itself – it was how they were squatting.

Client number one was letting his knees cave inward because his glutes were too weak to control the movement. Client two was putting all the weight on her toes instead of her heels. Client three was trying to squat with his feet too narrow because he thought it looked more “athletic.”

Once we corrected their technique and built up their supporting muscles, all three were able to squat pain-free. But it took months to undo the damage from those initial weeks of poor form.

The Back Injury That Could Have Been Prevented

This one still bothers me. I was working with a 45-year-old construction worker who insisted on adding weight to his squats every single session. His mobility was limited, his core strength was questionable, but he was determined to hit certain numbers.

I kept pushing for more mobility work and lighter weights, but he was convinced that “real men” needed to squat heavy. Three weeks into the program, he herniated a disc trying to squat 225 pounds with terrible form.

That injury put him out of work for two months and could have been completely avoided if we’d focused on movement quality instead of ego lifting.

The Gray Areas Most People Don’t Consider

Individual Anatomy Matters More Than You Think

Here’s something that took me years to fully understand – not everyone is built to squat the same way. Hip socket depth, femur length, ankle structure, and other anatomical factors all influence how someone should squat.

I’ve worked with people who do their best squats with a wide stance and toes turned out significantly, while others need a narrower stance with feet more parallel. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, despite what some fitness gurus might tell you.

Age and Injury History Complicate Things

The squatting recommendations I give to a healthy 25-year-old are completely different from what I’d recommend for a 55-year-old with a history of knee surgeries. Age, injury history, and current mobility levels all need to be factored into the risk-benefit equation.

For some people, the cons of squatting simply outweigh the pros, at least in the traditional sense. But that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from squat-like movements or modified versions.

Alternatives When Traditional Squats Don’t Work

Chair-Assisted Squats

For people who can’t squat unsupported, using a chair as a safety net can be incredibly beneficial. https://www.rushwalter.com/how-natural-movement-training-improves-flexibility/ You get most of the movement benefits while eliminating the fear factor that often prevents people from squatting properly.

Box Squats

Squatting to a box or bench teaches proper hip hinge mechanics while providing a depth reference. It’s also psychologically easier for people who are afraid of getting “stuck” in the bottom position.

Goblet Squats

Holding a weight in front of your body often helps people achieve better squat mechanics naturally. The counterbalance effect makes it easier to sit back properly and maintain good posture. My wife and I perform this exercise during our strength training sessions with a kettlebell or any heavy easy to hold object, even sandbags.

The Equipment Factor: Helpful or Hindrance?

Squat Racks and Safety Bars

On the pro side, proper safety equipment can make squatting much safer, especially when working with heavier weights. But on the con side, having access to heavy weights often tempts people to progress too quickly.

Heel Elevation

Squat shoes or heel wedges can help people with limited ankle mobility squat properly. But they can also become a crutch that prevents people from addressing their actual mobility limitations.

Smith Machines

I’ve got mixed feelings about these, mostly not good. They can provide stability for people learning squat mechanics, but they also create an artificial movement pattern that doesn’t translate well to real-world activities. Any machine that controls your movement isn’t the best alternative, unless you are in a rehab situation.

Programming Considerations: The Make-or-Break Factor

Frequency Matters

One of the biggest programming mistakes I see is people squatting too often without adequate recovery. Squats are demanding on your nervous system and joints, especially if you’re using significant load.

On the flip side, squatting only once a week often isn’t enough to see meaningful improvements in technique or strength. Finding the sweet spot depends on your recovery capacity, training experience, and other activities. Please be wise when you exercise and seek guidance when you need to improvement. I’m here to help you anytime and can show you proper form and the mechanics involved.

Progressive Overload vs. Movement Quality

This is where many programs go wrong. The focus becomes adding weight or reps at the expense of movement quality. I’ve found that progressing movement quality first – deeper range of motion, better control, more stability – often leads to better long-term results than just chasing numbers.

My Current Philosophy After Three Decades

After working with thousands of clients and making plenty of mistakes along the way, here’s where I’ve landed on squatting:

The pros are real and significant, but only if you can perform the movement safely and effectively. For people with good mobility and proper technique, squats are incredibly valuable. For people lacking those prerequisites, the cons often outweigh the pros until those issues are addressed.

I now spend much more time assessing whether someone is ready to squat rather than just assuming they are. A simple overhead reach test, ankle mobility check, and bodyweight squat assessment tells me everything I need to know about whether traditional squatting is appropriate.

The Bottom Line for Real People

If you’re thinking about adding squats to your routine, start with an honest assessment of your current abilities. Can you squat to a chair and stand up without using your hands? Can you hold a deep squat position for 30 seconds without falling over? Do you have any history of knee or back problems?

If the answer to any of those questions gives you pause, consider starting with mobility work and squat progressions rather than jumping into loaded squats. https://www.rushwalter.com/the-philosophy-of-natural-movement-why-we-need-to-move-naturally/

Remember, the goal isn’t to squat because some fitness expert says you should. The goal is to move better, feel stronger, and reduce your risk of injury in daily life. Sometimes squats are the perfect tool for that, and sometimes they’re not.

Your body will tell you which category you fall into if you listen carefully and progress intelligently. The pros of squatting can be life-changing, but only if you avoid the cons that derail so many people along the way.

My wife and I include bodyweight and weighted squats into our exercise routine consistently and we always bodyweight squat first to determine our flexibility for the day. When we do this we are certain to have a positive workout experience.

When you want to increase the benefits awaiting you from correct squat form and would like my help from over 30 years of training clients, I welcome the opportunity to help you. I can provide you several options to increase your squatting technique and rewards.

Thanks for reading this fitness blog. I hope you enjoy a healthy day, Walter