If you’re looking for a great exercise that you can do at home without needing any gear, then air squats are the perfect solution. Air squats are just doing squats without weights in your hands, which means you get all the benefits of squats without needing gym equipment.
The great thing about air squats is that you can do them anywhere – at work, at the airport, on the train, in your laundry room, etc.
But before you start squatting everywhere you can, you should know that not using weights means that you’re going to be building strength like you do when you use weights. So, while air squats are an awesome bodyweight exercise, it’s even more awesome if you can use weights from time to time.
Ready to learn more about squatting without weights? We’ve everything you need to know below to turn you into an air squatting master.
Getting Proper Form
As with any exercise, it is incredibly important that you focus on getting the proper form when you’re doing your air squats. Not only will this help to prevent injuries, but it also ensures that you’re getting the maximum benefit from your fitness activities.
Properly squatting without weights is actually really easy. Remember, you’re only using your body weight when you do these.
Here are the basics of proper squat form without weights:
- Stand with your feet hip width apart. This should be slightly more than shoulder width. Basically, your hips should be aligned over your knees and ankles.
- Release the tension from your shoulders, roll them back away from your ears and neutralize the spine. This gives you proper squat posture.
- Lift your arms up and away from your body, with palms facing down. Your arms should be parallel to the ground.
- Inhale on a deep breath, move your hips slightly back as you do a slight bend at the knees.
- Keep your head up and facing forward to keep the spine neutralized. Chest and shoulders should also maintain form.
- Sink as low into the squat as is comfortable for you, making sure that your knees don’t cross your toes.
- Your heels should stay firmly planted on the floor and your hips should descend lower than your knees.
- To rise up, engage your core muscles and keep your weight on your heels as you push up through the heels using your glutes.
Air Squats Form And Safety Tips
As with any new exercise, you should first consult with your doctor before implementing squats without weights into your fitness routine. The best way to ensure you don’t get injured is to focus on proper form.
Don’t forget to warm up with stretches before you do your air squats.
There are a few things to keep in mind as you’re doing the air squats and focusing on proper form:
- Look straight ahead at all times to keep your chest lifted.
- Only your lower body should be moving with this exercise.
- Don’t let your shoulders roll forward.
- Never let your knees go past your toes.
- New round out your back like a turtle shell.
- Don’t do air squats daily
Getting back pain from the air squats? You’re probably leaning your chest forward too much while doing squats, which puts too much strain on your lower back.
Got knee joint pain from the air squats? You’re either going too low or not using the correct form. Most of the time this pain is from putting your weight more towards your toes instead of the back of your heels. You may also feel pain if your feet aren’t turned outwards at a slight angle.
How often should you do squats without weights? Allow at least one day of rest in-between workouts to let your muscles heal.
Benefits of Air Squats
Mastering this exercise is a great way to build a solid foundation for other strength building routines. In fact, once you perfect your form doing squats without weights, you can move on to using weights with a lower risk of injury.
Air squats are a great way to strengthen and engage your core muscles since balance is a vital part of this exercise.
Doin squats without weights targets the following muscle groups:
- thighs
- hamstrings
- quadriceps
- glutes
So, as you do air squats you build up muscle in these areas, which lead to improved balance and a stronger foundation. If you’ve been wondering if squats without weights will do anything beneficial for your body, then there’s your answer.
If you’re wondering, do squats without weights make your bum bigger? The answer that question is yes, probably a little bit because as your glutes get toned they will push out the fat on your butt and make it stick out a little bit more.
And if you’re looking for a great squats workout routine, the Shape 30-Day Squat Challenge includes air squats, as well as other types of squats.
