10 surprising health benefits of squats, from improved posture to better mobility

• Squats are one of the most effective and beneficial lower body exercises for your health.
• The health benefits of squats include muscle strengthening, injury prevention, and pain relief.
• Squats don't require any equipment and can be done almost anywhere.

If you're looking for a strengthening exercise that benefits your entire body, the squat delivers on all counts.

Doing squats can not only help you perform athletically, but it also strengthens your body for everyday tasks like walking, carrying heavy items, and climbing stairs. The benefits range from helping to prevent injury to improving your performance during other exercises.

Here are 10 benefits of working squats into your exercise routine.

1. Strengthen lower body and core muscles 

According to Dr. Timothy Suchomel, assistant professor in the Department of Human Movement Sciences at Carroll University, squats primarily target the following muscle groups:  

As you can see, squats mainly work parts of your lower body, specifically your quadriceps and glutes. It's your knee position in particular — bending them to a 90-degree angle — that helps activate these muscle groups effectively. 

Plus, every time you squat, you should engage your core to stabilize your body during the movement.

2. Burn calories and may aid weight loss 

Because squats work many muscle groups at once, the exercise causes your body to increase anabolic hormone production. These are the hormones that help you lose fat and build muscle.

A small 2014 study specifically compared squats as a free weight exercise to the leg press, an exercise machine with added weight. While both moves work the same large muscle groups, the researchers reported that the body's response was different: When done at similar intensities, squats engaged more muscles and produced a greater hormonal and physiological response — in particular more muscle activation — than the leg press. 

Squats can be an important part of any successful weight loss plan. Regular strength training helps speed up your metabolism and can decrease body fat. 

In fact, a small 2013 study reviewed the health benefits of an eight-week regimen of bodyweight squats and found that it decreased body fat percentage and increased lean body mass in participants. 

3. Reduce your risk of injury 

Besides being an effective exercise, regularly doing squats may also help reduce your risk of knee and ankle injury. 

That's because the move strengthens the tendons, bones, and ligaments around your leg muscles, and it can particularly help take some of the load off your knees and ankles. In fact, squats are used extensively for the therapeutic treatment of ankle instability. 

However, injury prevention only applies if you do squats with proper form. 

A 2013 review found that shallow, improperly performed squats — without bending the knees fully to a 90-degree angle — may lead to degeneration in the lower back (lumbar spine) and knees over time. 

So, it's important to practice proper squat form to protect against injury and gain these health benefits. 

4. Increase bone mineral density

Squatting doesn't just benefit your muscles — doing squats helps your bones, too.

Suchomel says squats may also help increase bone mineral density, which can strengthen your skeleton, particularly the bones in the spine and lower body. Stronger bones help the body become more resilient against injury. 

A small 2013 study of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis or osteopenia — conditions that cause low bone density —  found that those who did 12 weeks of squat exercises improved skeletal health and bone mineral content. The findings suggest that strength training has a potential in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.

5. Improve posture

Good posture is particularly important to counteract all of the sitting we do and also to help prevent injury. 

Since squats support a stronger core and strengthened lower body, your posture may improve.

A small 2018 study compared the effect of planks and squats on participants. While both exercises achieved similar core activation, squats were better able to activate the muscles that help you straighten your back.

6. Help you jump higher and run faster

While squats are a great workout themselves, they also can help you perform better in other physical activities. 

Because squats focus on strengthening your lower body in particular, they're increasing your power base. Stronger muscles equal more power, after all.

For example, a small 2011 study found that soccer players who completed squat exercises also showed improved short sprint performance. The results suggest that power produced in squat exercises helped improve athletic speed.

7. Aid in flexibility and mobility

As we age, our muscles, tendons, and ligaments naturally lose elasticity. Squats offer a simple way to slow this process and keep you flexible and limber for longer. 

Adding squats to your workout routine can benefit your everyday life in several ways: 

• Common activities like bending to pick things up becomes easier.

• Daily tasks like climbing stairs are less challenging.

• Squats strengthen the muscles we use regularly to move from sitting to standing.

8. May help relieve pain

When you squat, you help to loosen muscles in your body that may otherwise be tight and pain-prone. 

Participants in a small 2015 study reported decreased pain, including significant relief in the shoulders, middle back, and lower back, after completing an exercise program that included squats. 

9. Offer endless variations

A great benefit of squats is that you can make them easier or harder.

For example, once you've mastered the basic squat, there are different types of advanced variations you can do to boost their muscle-building potential.. 

Here are a few easy ways to take your squats to the next level:

• Add weights, which helps target your upper body muscles, including your shoulders and triceps. 
• Add a jump to improve your agility and get your heart pumping more. 
• Make squats part of a circuit to increase the cardio benefit.

10. Can be done at home — or anywhere

Finally, squats are incredibly versatile. They are a move you can do at home, in the office, or anywhere in between. 

You can sprinkle squats in throughout your day, for example, while you brush your teeth or take a work call, or dedicate a whole workout to them. 

And, best of all, they don't require any special equipment — all you need is a little bit of space. 

How to do a squat 

While squats are versatile, it's still important to ensure you do them safely to avoid injury. 

Follow these steps to do a squat with proper form:

1. Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your chest up.
2. Bend at your knees and hips, sticking your butt out like you're sitting down in a chair.
3. Squat down until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Your knees should be stacked over your ankles. Make sure to keep them behind your toes. 
4. Pause for a second. Your back should be straight — not rounded.
5. Press into your heels and straighten your legs to return to the upright, standing position.

Common mistakes that many squatters tend to make in their form include leaning forward too much or letting their knees sink inward.  

"That can be corrected to some extent by changing the eye gaze upward to correct head position, and working to push through their heels and not let the pressure move forward to their toes," says Dr. Gregory D. Myer, director of the Sports Performance And Research Center at Emory University. 

Overall, keeping your head up, focusing your eyes forward, and ensuring your knees stay in line will help you maintain proper squat form.

Insider's takeaway

Squats are one of the most effective and beneficial lower body exercises for your health. You can incorporate squats into your workout routine by doing three sets of 10, about two to three times a week. 

The health benefits range from muscle strengthening to injury prevention and pain relief.

Remember these four tips to maintain proper squatting form and get all the health benefits safely:

1. Keep a proper stance, with your hips shoulder-width apart. Going too narrow puts extra stress on your body.
2. First learn to squat without any extra weight, says Myer. "Once the movement is mastered, then you can add external resistance."
3. Don't extend your knees past your toes.
4. Make sure you don't round your back.

Finally, if you're recovering from an injury or have sensitive knees, be sure to check in with your doctor before doing squats.