Muscles Targeted: Dumbbell squats target the quadriceps as the primary muscle group. In addition, they also target all the other muscles present in the lower body, which includes the calves, hamstrings and gluteus butt muscles. This exercise is perfect for anyone who desires to tighten and tone up their legs. It is a powerful exercise that helps train the muscles along with strengthening the core. It even strengthens the ankles and the knees along with increasing the flexibility of the body.
Exercise Advice: Squatting is a common movement in daily life but it becomes much more effective when it is performed with weight-bearing resistance. When you add weight to the squat motion and perform it with dumbbells it allows you to build lean muscle tissue and get stronger. You should always begin with a very light weight in order to use proper technique and form when doing this exercise. The weight can be increased as you become more experienced and your strength increases. The dumbbells should be selected based on your present fitness and chosen depending upon your overall fitness goal. Adding dumbbells to the squat exercise will intensify the motion which overloads your muscles and makes them work at a much higher degree.
To begin the dumbbell squats exercise, stand with your feet apart at almost the width of the shoulders. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and let the dumbbells hang naturally at your sides. Start by slowly squatting down and bending your knees like you will be sitting down in a chair. Keep your back straight and your head and eyes facing forward. Squat down as far as you can comfortably go and then pause for a moment before extending your legs back up to the starting position.
During the exercise, it’s very important to keep your back firm and straight. In order to keep the back firm, your eyes should be focussed on a point that is straight ahead and keep your head in a fixed position throughout the exercise. Another variation to this exercise is grabbing a dumbbell together with both of your hands and letting it hang down in between your legs in front of you (also called a plie squat). During this exercise, also make sure to keep your back straight and execute a deeper seated squat. Return to the starting position and repeat the entire exercise. Try both variations of the dumbbell squat exercise (1 versus 2 dumbbells) and see which one feels better to you.
Things to Avoid: While performing dumbbell squats, your should always make sure that your back is straight while squatting and moving your body up and down. Doing this exercise in front of a mirror really helps to make sure your technique is accurate. You should ensure that the core muscles and abdominals are activated during the movement, which helps in holding the back in the correct position. You should avoid leaning too far forward, which happens when you have improper weight balance or could be caused by your foot position and stance being too narrow. Make sure to perform this exercise in a very slow and controlled manner. While squatting, drop the hips straight down, ensuring that you do not come forward. This can be done by using a light weight initially and perfecting the form while standing in front of a mirror, as mentioned earlier. Your knees should not come out over your toes when you squat down to the bottom position. This exercise will provide maximum benefits when the thighs come parallel to the floor while squatting, however make sure to only squat down to the point where you are comfortable since you always want to avoid potential injuries.
Reps and Sets: Focus on repetitions of 8-12 per set for a total of 4-5 sets for this exercise. Combine the dumbbell squats with 2-3 additional exercises to target the quadriceps muscles along with the other muscle groups of the legs (hamstrings, glutes, calves).
Other Exercises to Use: The dumbbell squats are a great lower body exercise and can be combined with other leg exercises like walking dumbbell lunges to really target different muscle groups and tone up your legs!