Understanding air squats: A beginner-level exercise to fire up the lower body

Air squats, also called bodyweight squats, are an easy and effective exercise that can be done anywhere and added to any home or gym workout routine. Often performed as a part of CrossFit training, this exercise can also be incorporated in a full body or lower body workout routine.

Generally performed to target lower body muscles, including the glutes and thighs, regular practice of bodyweight squats can work the core, giving a productive full body workout.

The best part about air squats is that they're done without using any weight, which makes them a perfect exercise for beginners and for at-home workout sessions.

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How to master air squats?

Bodyweight squats can be added to a home workout routine. (Photo via Pexels/MART PRODUCTION)

Before starting this exercise, remember to stretch, and do a few warm-up moves. Follow these instructions to master the air squats:

• Begin standing with your feet at shoulder-width distance and toes pointed out. Engage the abs; pull the shoulder blades down and back, and keep your chest up.
• Push your hips back, and bend the knees to lower your body as if you were sitting on an imaginary chair.
• Make sure to keep your weight distributed through the heels so that the body is centered and not leaned forward. As you do that, the hips should move back and down with the movement.
• As you squat, keep your lower back straight, and make sure your feet are flat on the floor.
• Continue to squat down till the hips descend below the knees.
• At the bottom of the movement, hold for a few counts, and slowly rise back up to the starting position. Engage the glutes to get back to the starting position.

Once you’ve mastered the standard bodyweight squats, spice it up, and go for jumping air squats.

To nail this version – stand with feet shoulder-width apart, and push the hips back to initiate the squat movement. As you come up, jump high bringing your feet off the floor, and land softly. Go for the next rep.

Jump air squats not only strengthen the thighs and glutes, but also elevate heart rate, giving you an intense cardio workout and improving your cardiovascular fitness.

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Getting started? Follow these tips

Follow the correct form to attain the benefits. (Photo via Pexels/MART PRODUCTION)

The air squat workout is easy to learn and perform, but to attain the benefits, it's important that you follow the right form and technique.

To help you achieve the right form, here are a few tips that are going to help you do air squats correctly:

• When taking the starting position, place your toes slightly outward to properly balance yourself and for preventing knee pain.
• While doing air squats, make sure that the knees don’t extend the toes and the back doesn’t curve or round. Instead, it should be straight and upright throughout the exercise.
• Just like the back, the entire upper body, including the shoulders should always stay still. Avoid moving the shoulders forward or backwards when squatting.
• Always keep your gaze on the front to keep your body balanced and chest lifted.
• Keep your weight distributed evenly on the heels to prevent pitching yourself forward.
• When performing air squats, only the lower body should move, and you should feel the exercise in your glutes and thighs. If you're feeling the pressure elsewhere, check your form, and correct it.

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Reasons to add air squats to your workout

If you want to progress to weighted squats, mastering bodyweight squats first can be of big help. This exercise will help you learn the correct form for weighted variations so that you can perform them correctly and safely.

Bodyweight squats not only work the glutes but also help develop other lower body muscles. These include the hamstrings, thighs, and quadriceps. This exercise helps you attain a foundation of strength for the core muscles, too.

Regular practice of this easy squat variation can strengthen the leg muscles, making them more powerful and boosting overall sports performance, especially if you're an athlete.

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An incredible, beginner-level workout

Overall, bodyweight squats are an incredibly beneficial exercise. They target the quads, hamstrings and glutes, while strengthening the core, too.

However, if you have lower back pain, sciatica or any kind of lower body injury, avoid doing any variation of squats; instead, talk to a physical therapist first. They can help you with some good squat substitutes that would be safe for your condition.