How squat depth and weight affect muscle use in group exercise
The effect of back squat depth and load on lower body muscle activity in group exercise participants
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Glute activation increased with both depth and load, but no other muscle responded to load alone.
It’s commonly believed that adding weight generally increases all lower-body muscle engagement, but only glutes and calves responded to increased load in this study.
Practical Takeaways
To maximize leg muscle activation in group fitness classes, focus on squatting deeper (around 90° knee angle) regardless of the weight used.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Glute activation increased with both depth and load, but no other muscle responded to load alone.
It’s commonly believed that adding weight generally increases all lower-body muscle engagement, but only glutes and calves responded to increased load in this study.
Practical Takeaways
To maximize leg muscle activation in group fitness classes, focus on squatting deeper (around 90° knee angle) regardless of the weight used.
Publication
Journal
Sports Biomechanics
Year
2021
Authors
Kathy E. O’Neill, S. Psycharakis
Related Content
Claims (4)
Your quads work hard during squats no matter how heavy the weight, but your glutes really kick in only when the weights are heavy or you're almost too tired to keep going.
For women doing squats in BODYPUMP classes, how deep they squat and how heavy the weight don’t affect each other when it comes to which muscles are working — each factor works on its own.
Women doing Les Mills workouts get more muscle activation in their quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves when they squat deeper (90 degrees) compared to a more shallow squat (125 degrees).
For women doing Les Mills BODYPUMP, using heavier weights (about 38% of your body weight) in squats makes certain leg muscles work harder than using lighter weights (23% of your body weight).