Written by Kyle Ustach | BScEcon
Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM
FACT CHECKED
The barbell squat is arguably the best exercise for building strength and mass, but they aren't the easiest. The barbell squat can be difficult for people for various reasons, including core balance issues, lack of mobility, muscle imbalances, and joint or muscle injuries. Luckily, there are several alternatives to the squat that can be used to target the same muscles. In this article, we will teach you the seven best squat alternatives and tips on using them.
Table of Contents
- 7 Best Squat Alternatives
- Leg Press
- Hack Squat
- Bulgarian Split Squat
- Goblet Squat
- Leg Curl
- Step-Ups
- Romanian Deadlift
- What Are Barbell Squats?
- Muscles Worked By The Squat and Benefits
- Programming Tips
- FAQs
7 Best Squat Alternatives
When looking for the best squat alternatives, we look for exercises that have a similar range of motion and target the same muscle groups as the squat. Below are the seven best squat alternatives.
1. Leg Press
The leg press is the most popular leg exercise and squat alternative, likely because it's incredibly easy to use. Aside from the stability of a machine, the biggest difference between barbell back squats and leg presses is the seated position compared to standing upright.
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Rack the desired weights and adjust the seat in the Leg Press Machine.
- Place your feet on the platform roughly shoulder-width apart. Your knees should be aligned with the toes. Keep your legs slightly bent at the top position. Foot placement can change the muscles targeted.
- Wide stance to emphasize glutes, hamstrings, and adductors
- Narrow stance to emphasize vastus lateralis (outer quad) and vastus medialis (inner quad).
- Low foot placement to emphasize hamstrings and glutes. This is great for building strength in the posterior chain.
- High foot placement to emphasize glutes, hamstrings, and adductors. This technique uses more hip extension and gives a greater stretch, especially the glutes.
- Push the weight forward with your legs, then unhook the safety latch so you can do a full range of motion press.
- Slowly lower the weight until it approaches your knees at a 90-degree angle or slightly below, just before your chest.
- Push the weight back up the machine into the starting position. Avoid fully extending your legs and locking out your knees to prevent injury.
- Repeat for desired reps.
Leg presses are among the best lower body exercises, primarily working the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. They work the calves to a lesser extent.
If you want to add a leg press to your home gym, check out our favorite picks for best Leg Press Machines.
2. Hack Squat
Hack squats are an excellent squat alternative, but they require a machine, so they aren't as accessible. They combine the leg press and back squat, as the upper body is in an upright position (like back squats) but with the stability of a machine (like the leg press). Hack squats use a sliding platform with a backrest to keep your body stable while making a motion similar to the squat.
- Adjust the hack squatting machine to your height so that your shoulders are firmly against the shoulder pads, back flat against the backrest, knees slightly bent, and feet shoulder-width apart on the platform.
- Grab the handles with an overhand grip to set your body into the starting position.
- Unhook the safety latch to allow the platform to slide up and down. You may have to slightly raise the weight to unhook the latch.
- Slowly lower your body by bending your knees and keeping your back flat against the seat. Drop down until your thighs are parallel to the ground, or slightly lower if possible. Make sure your knees stay in a straight line with your feet, not bending inward.
- Explode through your heels to extend the hips and knees to return to the starting position. Focus on using the lower body to push upward rather than momentum or pulling with the handles.
- Repeat for desired reps.
Hack squats primarily target the quads, hamstrings, and glutes; secondary muscles include the calves and the core for stability.
3. Bulgarian Split Squat
Bulgarian split squats are a single-leg exercise that targets the quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and core for stability. You only need a bench or elevated surface and the desired weights (body weight works, too!).
- Stand facing away from a bench/elevated surface, roughly two feet away, with your feet hip-width apart.
- Place your left foot one step in front of you while extending your right foot on the bench behind you so that the top of your foot is facing down.
- Make sure your body isn't too far from the bench. As you lower your body, your knee of the front leg (left leg here) should be directly above the ankle.
- Like other squats, keep your chest up, shoulders back, and spine neutral. Engage the core to stabilize the body.
- Slowly lower your body by bending the left knee (front leg) while the back leg stays straight. Your hips should move straight down rather than going forward.
- Lower your body until your knee forms a 90-degree angle so your thigh is parallel to the ground. Ensure your knee on the front leg does not move past your toes.
- Push upward through your heel to return to the starting position.
- Repeat for desired reps, then switch legs.
Feel free to start this exercise with just your body weight until you are comfortable with the movement. Since you are only using one leg, it requires more balance and core stability than regular squats. Bulgarian split squats are great for people with back pain because they place less stress on the cervical spine compared to barbell squats. As always, focus on maintaining proper form, keeping your weight mid-foot, and activating your core.
4. Goblet Squat
Goblet squats are an excellent exercise and squat alternative, especially for beginners or those who struggle to squat. You can use a dumbbell, kettlebell, or medicine ball.
- Grab the weight and hold it, either by the handle of a kettlebell or a dumbbell by its sides, in front of your chest, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Be sure to keep your chest up, shoulders back, and eyes straight ahead, as you would with a regular squat.
- Slowly bend your knees and push your hips back as you get into a squatted position as if you were sitting in a chair. Keep your chest up and a neutral spine.
- Lower your body until your elbows hit your knees. Try to lower into as deep a squat as you can. Make sure your knees stay in line with your toes to prevent them from collapsing inward.
- Explode through your heels in a controlled but powerful manner, extending your hips and knees at the same time to raise your body to the starting position.
- Repeat for desired reps. Maintain a neutral spine and keep your core tight throughout the lift.
Goblet squats mainly work the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and core for stability. It also slightly engages the shoulders and upper back and traps from holding the weight. To learn more, check out our article The Ultimate Guide To Goblet Squats.
5. Leg Curl
Leg curls are another lower-body exercise that can be used in addition to other squat variations. Leg curls and their alternatives specifically target the hamstrings, so they should be used with other lower-body exercises for a complete workout.
- Adjust the leg curl machine to your height so that when you're lying flat, face down, your ankles fit underneath the padded machine roll/lever. Your knees should be at the edge of the padding so they have a full range of motion.
- Grab the handles and engage your core to stabilize your body, keeping your head on the plane with your spine.
- Bend your knees straight backward and contract the hamstrings to raise the weight as far as possible without arching your back.
- After bringing the weight to the top point, slowly lower it back down to the starting position in a controlled manner. Keep your knees slightly bent at reset rather than locking out your knees.
- Repeat for desired reps.
Leg curls primarily work the hamstrings, with the calves as a secondary muscle. These should be performed later in a workout, after a more compound movement.
6. Step-Ups
Step-ups are a great alternative that are pretty straightforward and doesn't require any special equipment. You only need a box, bench, or elevated surface.
- Stand tall in front of a box or bench with your feet hip-width apart. Make sure to start with a low box and gradually work your way up.
- Keep your chest up, shoulder blades back, and a neutral spine.
- Lift your left leg onto the box. Make sure your entire left foot is firmly on the box in the center.
- Lean forward slightly to shift your weight, then push through the mid-foot on the left foot to lift your body up onto the platform.
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Stand tall on top of the box to reach the top position.
- For extra burn, try raising the opposite knee into the air while on the box,
- Slowly lower your left leg back down, returning to the start position.
- Repeat for all reps before switching legs.
Because of the upward motion, step-ups primarily target the quads, but they also work the hamstrings and glutes. They work the core for stability and the calves to a lesser extent. These should also be performed later in the workout, after compound movements.
7. Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
Romanian deadlifts (RDLs) work the posterior chain, which is the muscle groups on the back of the body from your upper back down to the calves. This includes the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.
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Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
- Dumbbells can be held at the sides with straight arms.
- Barbells should be held overhand (knuckles out), close to the shins.
- Start the lift with a hip hinge, and knees bent slightly while maintaining a neutral spine.
- Slowly move your hips back and move the weight down just below knee level. Focus on the hamstring contraction.
- Squeeze your glutes and move your hips forward to return to the starting position.
- Stand tall to make sure your hips are fully extended in an upright position.
- Repeat for reps.
RDLs use the hip hinge to move the weight, whereas squats bend the hips and knees. RDLs primarily work the hamstrings and glutes. They also work the lower back, core, and erector spinae.
Other great squat alternatives include:
- Front squat: Almost identical to back squats, but rather than the bar resting on traps, it is held in front of the shoulders.
- Lunges: Lunges are very versatile, as they can be done in place or walking, and with or without weights,
- Zercher squat: Zercher squats are an extreme alternative where you hold the barbell in the crease of your arms where your elbows bend.
What Are Barbell Squats?
The barbell back squat is one of the best strength training exercises for building lean muscle mass, as it works the entire lower body and parts of the upper body.
With the weight hooked on a squat rack, the user places the bar across their back and then lowers it into a seated position. You then explode through the heels to lift the weight and return to the rack position.
Squatting is great for both men's and women's health, as it can improve daily life conditions. However, the downside is that it can be difficult for many people, which leads them to seek squat alternatives.
Muscles Worked By The Squat and Benefits
Squats primarily build lower body strength, but they work the entire body. They are one of the best exercises for building core strength and stability, as they require balance to hold the weight.
Primary Muscles Worked:
- Quadriceps (front upper leg)
- Hamstrings (back upper leg)
- Gluteus maximus (buttocks)
- Erector spinae (lower back)
- Adductors (inner thigh)
- Calves
Secondary Muscles Worked:
- Core (abs and obliques)
- Rhomboids, trapezius, rear deltoids (upper back)
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Stabilizer muscles
- Tensor fasciae latae (TFL): muscle on the hip to help stabilize hip and knee joints
- Anterior tibialis: shin muscles (front shin) to help stabilize the ankles
- Rectus femoris: part of the quadriceps that helps hip flexion
Besides the obvious of gaining muscle, squats have several other benefits, including:
- Improved bone density
- Increased testosterone and growth hormone levels
- Improved joint health
- Burns calories and fat
- Increased metabolic rate
- Improved balance and posture
- Improved flexibility and mobility
For more information, check out our article, Squats Guide: How To, Muscles Worked, Benefits, and 15 Variations. To learn more about the relationship between squats and testosterone, check out our article, Do Squats Increase Testosterone? What Science Says.
Programming Tips
In this section, we will discuss a few tips for maximizing your gains and making your workouts more efficient.
1. Free Weights > Machines
It depends on the exercise, but you should always strive to do an exercise using free weights. Free weights allow for a greater range of motion and, therefore, greater muscle activation. Free weights require core strength and stability, especially for squats, whereas machines take that aspect out. Free-weight squats or squat alternatives activate important stabilizer muscles in the core and lower back that machines can't work. It's incredibly important to build the stabilizer muscles because they help the body maintain proper form, especially for heavy squats.
One study compared the difference in hormonal response, particularly post-workout, of the barbell squat to the leg press. After performing six sets of ten reps, the squat group had significant testosterone and growth hormone increases compared to the leg press group. They concluded that free-weight exercises like the barbell squat cause a greater hormonal response to resistance training than machines.¹
2. Perform First In Workout
You should always start your workouts with compound exercises (squat, bench press, deadlift) first and isolation exercises second. Studies have shown that doing large muscle groups first and progressing to smaller muscle groups results in the greatest anabolic response.² For compound exercises like the leg press or deadlifts, you should perform 10-12 reps. You need to do high reps when training legs because the legs have greater muscle endurance from supporting us all day.
3. Take A Deep Breath
Proper squat form calls for the user to take a deep breath at the top of the squat in a standing position and hold it throughout, exhaling as you return to the starting position. The idea is to breathe as deep as possible into the stomach to create pressure, which helps to stabilize the core and protect the spine. This is especially important for those that train heavy with fewer reps.
4. Listen To Your Body
Unless you're a professional athlete, there's no reason to push your body to a dangerous point. There is nothing wrong with using a Smith Machine or other alternatives to the regular squat. There are plenty of safer, more comfortable options, so don't feel obligated to do barbell squats.
FAQs
What's the best squat alternative to do if you have a bad back or back pain?
Bulgarian squats, leg curls, step ups, and the leg press machine are the best lower body exercises if you have a bad back.
Is there a squat substitute to do if you have bad knees?
If you have knee pain, the best leg exercises are leg presses, leg curls, step-ups, and Romanian Deadlifts.
Is there a squat alternative to target the glutes?
The best squat alternatives to build the glutes are any type of deadlift (RDLs especially), step ups, lunges, and a high or wide foot position on the leg press machine.
Outro
Barbell squats, along with the deadlift, are one of the best core and leg exercises you can do for building strength. Exercise science shows that squats have greater muscle activation since they target so many muscles, which leads to a greater increase in testosterone and growth. Squats are also one of the most difficult exercises, but luckily, there are several squat alternatives that work the same muscles. The best alternatives to squats include the leg press, hack squat, goblet squat, leg curls, step-ups, deadlift variations, and Bulgarian split squats.
To maximize muscle growth, do the compound exercises first in the workout, ideally at least ten reps. Remember to focus on breathing and maintaining proper form for all exercises, as form is more important than weight. Be sure to include a few exercises per workout to hit all aspects of the leg muscle and watch your trunks grow!
References
- Shaner, Aaron A., et al. "The Acute Hormonal Response to Free Weight and Machine Weight Resistance Exercise." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 28, no. 4, Apr. 2014, https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000000317.
- Sheikholeslami-Vatani, Dariush, et al. "Comparison of the Effects of Resistance Exercise Orders on Number of Repetitions, Serum IGF-1, Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in Normal-Weight and Obese Men." Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 7, no. 1, 1 Mar. 2016, https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.30503.
Kyle Ustach
Author