The same demo you get in the GymAdapt app for this exercise.
How to do it
What it should feel like
Quads and glutes working, your whole torso braced. Knees and lower back should feel stable, not strained.
Common mistakes
- Knees caving in. Push your knees out over your toes on the way up.
- Heels lifting. Keep your weight over the mid-foot. Work on ankle mobility or use small heel plates.
- Losing the brace. Breathe and brace before every rep.
- Cutting depth. Aim for your hip crease at or below the top of the knee.
Variations
Bar on the front of the shoulders for more quads and an upright torso.
One leg at a time with lighter weights.
Machine squat that lets you push the quads hard.
Sets, reps and programming
| Goal | Sets × reps | Effort | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muscle | 3–4 × 8–12 | 1–3 reps in reserve | 90–120 s |
| Strength | 3–5 × 4–8 | 2–3 reps in reserve | 2–3 min |
| Learning it | 2–3 × 10–12, light | Smooth reps, 2–3 s down | 60–90 s |
Set the safety pins in the rack just below your bottom position. Add 5 to 10 lb (2.5 to 5 kg) when you hit your reps on every set. The simplest rule that works: add reps inside the range first, and once every set hits the top of the range, add weight next session. GymAdapt does this for you from the sets you log, and tells you why the target changed.
Questions people ask
How deep should I squat?
To at least parallel (hip crease level with the top of the knee) for most people, as deep as you can with a neutral back.
Should my knees go past my toes?
They can. Knees travelling forward over the toes is normal in a squat; what matters is that they track in line with the toes.
High bar or low bar squat?
High bar is more upright and quad-focused; low bar lets you lift more with more hip involvement. Both work.
How many sets and reps for squats?
3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps for strength, 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 for muscle.
GymAdapt is free to start. Want Pro free for a month?
The free version gives you an AI-built plan and unlimited workouts. Code TRYFREE01 adds a full month of Pro on top: weights that adjust from what you log and unlimited coach chats.
Redeem the free month → Opens the App Store with the code filled in. iPhone only. After the month it's $4.99/mo unless you cancel in Settings, and the free version stays yours either way.Every exercise in GymAdapt comes with a demo like this, plus a target that moves.
An AI plan for your goal and equipment, a video for every lift, and next session's weight set from what you logged.
Get GymAdapt on the App Store → Free to start. Pro is $4.99 a month or $24.99 a year (7-day free trial), or $79.99 once for lifetime. iPhone only.