Doing squats twice a week for 8 weeks makes young tennis players stronger and leaner, no matter if they go deep or shallow—as long as they lift enough weight.

Whether you squat deep or shallow, doing squats twice a week for 8 weeks makes young tennis players stronger and leaner—depth matters for how much, but doing squats at all is what gets the job done.

For young tennis players, doing deep squats instead of shallow ones for 8 weeks makes them faster and stronger when pushing off the ground, and helps them lose body fat—without making their leg muscles bigger than shallow squats do.

Deep squats make young tennis players explode off the ground faster than shallow squats—after 8 weeks, they get about 20% faster at pushing heavy weights quickly, while shallow squats only help by 10%.

Deep squats help young tennis players lose more body fat than shallow squats—after 8 weeks, they lose about a third of their body fat, while shallow squats only help them lose 15%.

Deep squats help young tennis players lose more body fat than shallow squats—even when they do the same number of reps and weights—possibly because they work harder and burn more energy.