Jeff Nippard Shares 5-Point Checklist for Perfect Squats

Are you squatting the right way? There’s an easy way to find out, according to one fitness influencer. Jeff Nippard is a Canadian natural pro bodybuilder and internationally qualified powerlifter with a BSc in biochemistry/chemistry and a passion for science. He regularly shares fitness tips with his 4.4 million YouTube subscribers. In a recent video, he reveals his five-point checklist for squats. “If you take all five, you have a perfect squat,” he says at the start of the video.

Bar Placement

Jeff Nippard/YouTube

“First, check bar placement for a high bar squat,” says Nippard. Place the bar on your upper traps. This will target slightly more quads. For a low bar squat, shift the bar down two or three inches. This will target slightly more glutes and lower back.”

Efficient Walkout

Jeff Nippard/YouTube

Second, an efficient walkout. “Don't take too many steps. That's just wasted energy,” he explains. “Instead, take one step to clear the rack, a second step to match the other foot, and a third adjustment step if you need to get them even.”

Stance

Jeff Nippard/YouTube

The third is stance. As for width, “narrow and wide stances both work,” he notes. “But for most people, just outside shoulder width with slightly flared toes is best.”

Related: This Is Exactly How to Lose Body Fat This Year

Depth

Jeff Nippard/YouTube

The fourth item on his checklist is depth. “Try to break parallel for the best gains, but cutting depth a bit shy won't kill your gains,” he says. “For powerlifting, you do need to get your hip crease below your knee joint for the lift to count. Squat shoes and ankle mobility drills, dropping the weight back can help you get deeper.”

Bar Path

Jeff Nippard/YouTube

Fifth, a good bar path. “Ideally, the bar should travel in a straight line centered over the middle of your foot. If it shifts a bit, that's okay. Try to keep it in balance the best you can,” he says.

RELATED: 7-Day Fat Loss Plan From Expert Lilly Sabri

Why You Should Be Doing Squats

Jeff Nippard Pro Natural Bodybuilder/Facebook

If you aren’t doing squats, you should be. According to Kendra Gamble of HIT Fitness, the simple exercise comes with a “multitude of benefits.” They help “increase strength, size and power of quads (front part of legs), glutes (butt), hamstrings (back of legs), calves, adductors (inner thighs), tendons and ligaments, and lowers your chances of knee and ankle injuries,” she tells Body Network.

💪🔥Body Booster: Before you do your next set of squats, run through this 5-point checklist and see how many boxes you can mark.

Whether you are a triathlete, runner, cyclist, surfer, mom, or dad, strength training is critical to overall health and a triathlete’s training regimen. I would know. I received my education in a Master's Degree in Science with an emphasis in Exercise Science from the University of Texas in San Antonio. Before receiving my Master's Degree, I participated in 4 Ironman Triathlons, a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike, and a 26.2-mile run, but I wanted to learn more about the "why" and the "how" through knowledge. While getting my Master's Degree, I coached CrossFit but where it gets good is learning about my knowledge of strength during my Ironman Triathlon training and beyond, as so many triathletes will push the strength training aside. My goal with my triathletes and runners is to keep the muscle on as long as possible before heading into the heavy specific training for a race.

Why should strength training be incorporated into the everyday healthy human? As discussed here, strength training will improve bone density, increase muscle strength and endurance, help build lean muscle, and improve overall quality of life. Let’s get into a little more detail about Strength Training for Triathletes as I'll outline five key strength-training exercises for triathletes: squats, push-ups, core work through Hollow Rocks, back squats, and a combination of leg presses and lunges to build a robust and efficient athletic physique.

The Benefits of Strength Training

Shutterstock

Did you know that adding strength training for endurance athletes will help them get faster in their races and training? Strength training will increase leg strength and improve your body’s efficiency in using energy and oxygen. Studies (see below) have shown that athletes who embark on an 8-week strength training program will increase their Running Efficiency (RE). What is RE? Running efficiency is using less energy at a faster speed but with proper running form.

Initial Steps to Take Before Strength Training

First, ensure you understand the exercises and gym equipment. When I work with my clients, I make sure they know basic movements well before I add weight to their program.

Next, if you don’t feel comfortable in the gym, I would sign up with a personal trainer, a boutique-style gym, or a CrossFit gym to provide and show that you are doing the exercises correctly.

If you know the exercises and how to use the machine and bars, you can reach out to me directly here to start a training program designed for your triathlon, or you can look online for other personal trainers to help you with a workout designed for your life.

My First Strength Training Exercises for Aspiring Triathletes

Shutterstock

A triathlete should focus on exercises that target the major muscle groups used in the swim, bike, and run. Most of these muscle groups are similar. As a coach, I will include exercises such as squats, deadlifts, leg presses, and lunges for the lower body. For the upper body, I will have them focus on pull-ups, chin-ups, rows, lat pull-downs, or seated rows on the machine. Of course, having a solid core with planks and crunches is a bonus! Let me explain three exercises to help the triathlete build their body into a robust and fast machine.

RELATED: 8 Best 5-Minute Frozen Meals for Weight Loss, According to Nutritionist

Squats

Shutterstock

Squats are fantastic for targeting many leg muscles, such as quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. There are many options, such as air squats, back squats, dumbbell squats, goblet squats, and so on, so squats are one of my favorite exercises for the lower body.

Five Key Points to a Back Squat

1. The shoulders and hips are aligned. The feet are slightly past the hip position, and the toes are turned out. The core is engaged. (Ladies, your hips are not that wide!)
2. Only go down as low as you feel comfortable. If you need a box or a bench to tap while doing the squat, that is fine, but no sitting!
3. ​Make sure you are comfortable going into a squat position before you put any load on your back for a back squat.
4. If you are uncomfortable going into a back squat, there are other options for squats: Air squats, goblet squats, front squats, and Overhead Squats (Advanced). You have to do what is BEST for you!
5. Make sure you get a proper warm-up when performing squats. Activate the glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings, but remember the shoulders and traps, as the bar is on the back.

Push Ups

Shutterstock

Push-ups can be a challenge for many, but push-ups will also use many of the muscle groups that are great for swimmers and have a more muscular upper body for cycling and running. The muscles used in push-ups are the pectoral muscles, core, bicep, tricep, and shoulders.

Five Key Points to a Push-Up

1. Close-handed push-ups involve aligning your hands with your shoulders. Wide-handed push-ups are another option. You have to figure out which works best for you.
2. Make sure your scapulas (shoulder blades) are in a neutral position. When you do a push-up, we want them to move toward the center.
3. Keep your core, lower back, legs, and glutes engaged and tight at the top and bottom of the movement.
4. When lowering your chest to the ground, the scapula will move toward the spine. Ideally, the chest should touch the ground. When you return, we want to see a full extension in the arms.
5. That is fine if you need to go to your knees for a push-up. We still want to see "Rules" #3 and #4 when doing the push-ups.

Core Work

Shutterstock

Core work is tricky because sit-ups are only the end-all for some athletes. I have an athlete who can not do sit-ups due to her back, so I have to develop new workouts to help her with her core. The same may apply to you. My favorite exercise for abs is Hollow Rocks, and if you can advance it, then V-Ups are fantastic, but let’s discuss Hollow Rocks.

Five Key Points to Hollow Rocks

1. Make sure your lower back is genuinely engaging with the floor. It should stay in contact with the ground.
2. Lift shoulders off the ground, then lift legs off the ground and keep them bent at a 90-degree angle.
3. Start rocking back and forth through the hip to the bottom of the shoulder blades. Think of your joints NOT moving. Look at your feet.
4. Once you master the “basic 1, 2, and 3” movements, you can advance. The first advancement is a single-leg extension. Work on holding the movement and then adding the rocking movement.
5. Once you get 1 - 4 down, let’s add both legs. Practice holding first with both legs and then start rocking.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Shutterstock/sakkmesterke

We addressed some mistakes that people should avoid when starting strength training, but here are a couple of mistakes that people should avoid for long-term growth in and out of the gym.

1. Increasing your weights too fast: Many people go into the gym and "remember" the time they had a PR squat or deadlift, which may have been in high school and will try to start with that mentality immediately. Slow down, friends! As coaches or trainers, we want to improve your strength gradually. You don't lose your strength overnight and gain it overnight.
2. Time To Recover: Rest is vital, whether you have a day off during the week or take time off between upper and lower body days. Make sure you schedule a day off during the week. Contact a coach or personal trainer if you are still determining when to take it off.
3. Improper Technique: Proper form can make or break you during strength training. It may look different if you need better form, and try adding weights. Make sure you work with someone who knows how to teach the form or watch videos that can show you how to do the form correctly. If you have a friend who can film you, you can also give yourself feedback or show your coach or personal trainer.
4. Overtraining: Many do this, and many fail. When an athlete, runner, or fitness enthusiast doesn't recover after tough sessions, this can lead to injury, sickness, poor performance, and fatigue.

RELATED: 6 Full-Body Workouts to Activate Every Muscle Group

Final Word From the 15x Ironman Triathlete

coachjenrulon/Instagram

It is a delicate balance when it comes to strength training and getting ready for your triathlon. There will be off-seasons for triathlon training, during which you will incorporate more strength training, and when you are closer to races, you will pull back on your strength training.

As a 15x Ironman Triathlete and a coach for many triathletes, I ALWAYS remind them to have fun. We get to do this. We choose to do this. When I work with athletes getting ready for their first triathlon or Ironman Triathlon, I remind them that this will be their FIRST-ever event, and they will never get that feeling back.

Jen Rulon's transformation from a 15x Ironman triathlete to an everyday healthy human unfolded through a blend of strength training, walks, healthy eating, meditation, surfing, journaling, setting boundaries, and embracing life in Costa Rica, embodying her passion for fitness and authentic living.

Do you want a great booty? You are going to have to work out for it, says Denise Austin. The fitness pro, 67, has been training clients for several decades and has the body of a woman half her age, so clearly she knows a thing or two about glute work. In a new social media post she shares a few of her go-to exercises to achieve her perky booty. “Look great from behind!! Give these three squat variations a try,” she writes in the Instagram post. “Here are three variations of a squat,” she says in the clip, “to lift and tighten your booty.”

Squat with Leg Left

The first one is a “squat with a leg lift,” she says. “This is a great way to reshape your bottom half. Squeeze your buttocks! Look great from behind!” In the caption she adds that “this works your legs and will really lift the booty!”

Side Squat

Shutterstock

The second exercise is a side squat. “Move to the side and up. Work those legs and tone your booty,” she says. “This one is great for what we call saddlebags, they will help to reshape your outer thighs,” she adds in the caption.

Related: Fitness Expert Gabby Dawn Allen’s Secrets to a Perfect Body

Plié Squat

Shutterstock

The third is a Plié squat. “Works your inner and outer thighs,” she says. “If you are over 50 and have knee issues, just go halfway,” she continues, reminding to “squeeze that buttocks. If you don’t squeeze it, no one else will!”

Why Squats Are Good

Shutterstock

Squats in general are a great move to add to your routine with a “multitude of benefits,” explains Kendra Gamble of HIT Fitness. They help “increase strength, size and power of quads (front part of legs), glutes (butt), hamstrings (back of legs), calves, adductors (inner thighs), tendons and ligaments, and lowers your chances of knee and ankle injuries.”

Related: I Stopped Doing These 3 Things and Lost 40 Pounds

Studies Have Found They Are One of the Most Impactful Exercises

Shutterstock

According to Harvard Health, squats “may be the most important exercise you do.” A study published in 2017 in Annals of Internal Medicine found a direct correlation between time spent sitting and a higher risk of early death. One of the best exercises to counteract the damage of sitting for excessive periods of time? Squating.

💪🔥Body Booster: Adding squats to your routine can make a huge difference. Try doing three sets of 10 during every workout session to build your booty. And if you enjoyed this article, don't miss these 20 Superfoods for People Over 50.

Feeling stiff and achy? You're not alone. As we age, many of us struggle with decreased mobility and joint pain. But what if there was a simple, natural way to turn back the clock on your body? Enter Zuzka Light, a movement and mobility specialist, certified holistic health & fitness coach, and author. With over 12 years of experience helping people achieve amazing fitness results, Zuzka reveals a surprising secret to maintaining youthful flexibility and strength – and it's something you've been doing since childhood.

Rediscover Your Natural Resting Position

The deep squat isn't just an exercise – it's a fundamental human position that many of us have forgotten. Zuzka explains in her post, "Deep squat is a normal human resting position, and this is something that people in India, Asia and people in the less industrialized parts of the world understand very well." Unfortunately, in more developed countries, adults often struggle with this basic movement.

The Science Behind Squats

A study from BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation highlights the importance of squatting in our daily lives. "The squat strengthens the muscles in the lower limb and improves the ability to counteract a medial or lateral displacement of the knee," the study notes. This functional movement is crucial for everyday activities like walking, climbing stairs, and even sitting down.

RELATED: 9 Surprising Things That Happen When You Quit Processed Foods

Why You're Losing Your Squat (And Why It Matters)

Contrary to popular belief, losing the ability to deep squat isn't an inevitable part of aging. As Zuzka points out, "You simply don't lose your ability to do a deep squat because you're too old. You're too old because you stop getting in and out of this position." Modern conveniences like chairs and couches have reduced our need to squat, leading to a loss of flexibility and joint health.

Protect Your Joints and Prevent Pain

Deep squatting isn't just about flexibility – it's crucial for joint health. Zuzka notes, "When I get in and out of this deep squat, I put my joints through the full range of motion, which means that I get an even distribution of pressure on my joints." This full range of motion helps prevent chronic pain and degenerative joint diseases. In fact, countries where deep squatting is common have lower rates of osteoarthritis.

Strengthen Your Knees (Yes, Really!)

Contrary to the myth that squatting is bad for your knees, Zuzka argues that it can actually alleviate knee pain. She states, "Doing a lot of strength training for your legs and doing a lot of deep squatting will eliminate most causes of knee pain because most knee pain results from the lack of strength in the muscles that support and surround the knee."

RELATED: 15 Foods Experts Say You Should Stop Eating Today

The Power of Proper Technique

While squats offer significant health benefits, proper technique is crucial. The BMC study emphasizes that different squat techniques can lead to varying loading conditions and movements. To minimize injury risk and maximize benefits, it's essential to focus on correct form and gradually increase difficulty.

A Full-Body Workout in One Move

According to Dr. Tyler Wheeler from WebMD, squats are incredibly effective for strengthening your lower body. "Squats help shape up your legs and butt since it targets the glute and inner thigh muscles," he explains. But the benefits don't stop there – squats also engage your core, burn calories, and can aid in weight loss.

Boosting Flexibility and Bone Health

Dr. Wheeler notes, "As you become older, your tendons, muscles, and ligaments become less elastic. Regularly doing squats can help slow down this process and limber you up." Moreover, squats can increase bone mineral density, particularly in the spine and lower body, contributing to a stronger skeleton.

RELATED: I Lost 6 Pounds in 6 Weeks and Shaved Inches Off My Waist by Adding 600 Calories Daily

Improving Posture and Balance

By strengthening your core and lower body muscles, squats can significantly enhance your posture and balance. "As your buttocks become firm, your posture and balance might improve," adds Dr. Wheeler. This improvement in posture and balance can have far-reaching effects on your overall quality of life.

How to Improve Your Deep Squat

If you're struggling to get into a deep squat, don't worry. Zuzka offers practical tips to improve:

1. Use a wall for support
2. Practice holding onto a doorway
3. Gradually work on ankle mobility
4. Perform daily bodyweight squats

Zuzka emphasizes consistency: "If you do this every single day, then within two to three weeks, you might be able to get in and out of that deep squat all by yourself without lifting the heels off of the ground."

RELATED: 7 Things You Should Do to Boost Fat Burning

Incorporate Deep Squats Into Your Daily Life

Zuzka recommends practicing deep squats every day to reap the anti-aging benefits. She suggests, "Use this position for things that you might be doing otherwise in a chair. So maybe you can work on your computer like this. You can watch TV like this, you name it."

By incorporating this simple yet powerful movement into your daily routine, you can maintain mobility, prevent joint pain, and keep your body feeling youthful for years to come. As Zuzka reminds us, "Motion is lotion and a joint cannot remain healthy unless it moves through its full available range of motion on a regular basis." And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 31 Fitness Tips Every Beginner Needs to Look Sexy, According to Coaches.

Jordan Morgan (@jordan_morgan_) is a fitness coach and influencer who has built up an impressive following on TikTok by sharing helpful workout videos and tips. In one viral video she demonstrates a full-body workout that involves just five exercises, perfect for someone who just embarked on their weight loss journey. “If I was a beginner starting in the gym, this is the full body workout I would not be skipping,” she says in the clip.

Dumbbell Goblet Squat

“The first movement that we're starting with is a dumbbell goblet squat,” says Jordan. “I love this one because if you haven't progressed to a full back squat yet using the barbell, this is a great way to build the foundations of a squat. Learn the technique, build your mobility, and then you can move to a regular barbell squat.” Do 10 reps.

Seated Single Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press

jordan_morgan_/TikTok

Next up is a seated single arm dumbbell shoulder press. “Again, I love this one because a barbell shoulder press can be quite an awkward movement, especially if you're a beginner.” She explains that should start by sitting down, bringing the dumbbell up to one shoulder, keeping it in a “nice neutral position,” she says. “We don't want it facing out or in. We kind of want it in between the two. And then from there, you're going to drive all the way up, head through the shoulder at the top, control back down.” She recommends doing 10 on each side. She adds that these two exercises are a set, and you will complete them three times. “Rest as needed in between your sets,” she says.

Related: I Shaved 4.5-Inches Off My Waist in Three Weeks with This Drink

Kettlebell Deadlift

jordan_morgan_/TikTok

After doing three sets of the previous two movements, next up is a kettlebell deadlift. “Now, if you want to use your dumbbell for this one, you can otherwise go ahead and grab the kettlebell,” she says. “It places you in a really nice position so you can stay nice and neutral with your deadlift. It's really important that you're maintaining a nice neutral spine. This is actually quite a tough movement if you're a beginner. So using something like a kettlebell is a great starting point.” Do 10 reps.

Single Arm Bent Over Row

jordan_morgan_/TikTok

After the kettlebell deadlift, “you're going to go straight into a single arm bent over row,” she says, adding the option of using a box or bench for support. “I want you to think about pulling the dumbbell in towards your hip, squeeze at the top, control down. If you feel comfortable in this position, you can take away the box or the bench and you can just go freestanding.” Do 10 on each side, and three sets of both exercises, resting as needed between sets.

Related: 5 Lazy Breakfast Ideas for Weight Loss, According to a Weight Loss Coach

Plank Pull Through

jordan_morgan_/TikTok

“And then lastly, we're going to finish off with a core movement, which is the plank pull through,” she says. “Absolutely love this movement. You can either do it in a full plank. I want you to think about keeping your hips really nice and still, so we don't want to be swaying side to side, so you're really keeping your core nice and engaged. If that feels tough, you can actually drop down to your knees. You'll keep that nice strong core position, and I want you to go for 10 to 20 reps, depending on how it feels for you to finish off. You'll do three sets of that, and that's it. That's your beginner workout. Super easy, whether you're at the gym, at home, give it a go.”

💪🔥Body Booster: If you are just getting started with exercise, keep it simple. You are better off doing 5 effective and easy-to-execute exercises than a dozen that you will struggle with. And if you enjoyed this article, don't miss 12-3-30 Walking Method: 20 Proven Tips to Lose Weight Faster.