Dumbbell Squat

Starting position:

Position your legs using a shoulder-width medium stance with toes slightly pointed out. Stand upright and keep a neutral pelvis position. Grab the dumbbells and let your arms hang freely along your torso.

Exercise:

Breathe in and begin to lower your torso by bending the knees and hips without arching your back. The front of the knees should make an imaginary straight line with your toes. Keep your body upright without bending forward. Continue lowering your torso until you get slightly below your knees. Breathe out as you go back up to the starting position in the same way. Hold your dumbbells at arm’s length all through the exercise. Repeat as required without changing the technique.

Note:

Keep your torso upright, your pelvis in a neutral position and eliminate lower back lordosis. Keep your knees in an imaginary straight line with the toes and avoid rocking throughout the entire motion. Your knees, torso and head should not go beyond the imaginary straight line with your toes. Keep your heels on the floor all the time. Avoid excessive bending forward when going down.

Recommendation:

Watch yourself sideways in the mirror to make sure you maintain the correct technique. To learn the technique, you may put a bench behind you and sit and rise from it. As your motion gets more fluent and your technique improves, you may lower the bench.

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Dumbbells are not very often used in squats – the main reason being that you really need large resistance in this exercise and the forearms get usually exhausted before the quadriceps.

However, some people may prefer dumbbells if they have severe back or shoulder problems that prevent them from placing the barbell on their upper back.

To make the maximum use of any weight you are able to hold while squatting consider deep squat instead of the regular version.