The squat is a full-body exercise requiring muscular strength, coordination, balance, and endurance. The core movement requires you to bring your hips back and bend at the knees into a seated position. At the same time, you need to use your core strength to keep your torso and chest up. 

With this, it resembles many foundational movement patterns used in exercise, sport, and daily living. It can be performed using your bodyweight, weighted, or using different variations. This changes the target focus and therefore applications. You can do squats for glutes, quad development, or general mobility and athletic function.

The correct programming depends on your ability level and exercise goals. Knowing how to do this correctly helps to maintain target focus and reduce potential injury risk. If you’re wondering, “How many squats should I do a day?” this article will give you all the answers. Here’s how to program it and why.

How Many Squats Should I Do A Day?

The benefits of squats are well-known throughout the scientific literature. But knowing how many to do a day is less clear. Programming the squat should be based on your ability level or particular exercise goal. We’ve broken down the different levels and goals for both so you can apply them to your training.

Based On Your Skill Levels

Skill level refers to the amount of experience you have in a certain discipline or exercise. This determines your level of physical ability. Physical characteristics include muscular strength, endurance, coordination, and balance. 

Here’s what each skill level means and how it can be applied to the squat. Their definitions tend to vary, so there can be some flexibility between the repetition ranges.

Beginner 

A beginner can be defined as someone who has a training age of two years or less. This may also mean someone who is a complete beginner and has no idea of the correct squat technique. This would mean that they would have 0–3 months of experience.

At this stage, they’re still building the foundational basics and may lack certain physical characteristics. Because of this, they need to spend time developing the foundational movement before progressing to squat variations.

In terms of the squat, this means that they may be competent with the general movement but often make technical mistakes. This is especially the case as they try to progress and perform higher training volumes.

At this stage, aim for 15–30 daily bodyweight squats. This would provide a good starting point for a beginner. This offers sufficient volume while minimizing the chances of overreaching or overtraining.

At the lower end, you could perform one set of 10 repetitions or three sets of five repetitions. At the higher end, three sets of 10 repetitions would be a good way to organize your training.

Intermediate 

An intermediate lifter is someone who has a training age of over two years. At this stage, they have built a solid foundation and developed fundamental physical characteristics. They also make less frequent mistakes compared to someone at a beginner level.

At this stage, they know their body and have clear goals in mind. This is also where periodization training techniques may be introduced. This refers to the planned manipulations of training variables such as intensity, volume, and rest. 

Think of intermediate athletes as the bridge between beginner and advanced athletes. This is often the hardest stage to progress from. Many people may stay at an intermediate level without progression to become advanced.

At this point, they may look to add in some harder squat variations. This may be done to specifically focus on a muscle or movement that they want to improve. In terms of the squat, they understand the biomechanics, technical elements, and mistakes. 

At this stage, perform 25–50 daily squats. Training intensity can be increased using weighted movements. Examples include barbell squats, dumbbell squats, and goblet squats.

Training volume can be done at a much higher amount. The squat can also be periodized using different methods available.

Your training may be split into five sets of five repetitions for the higher-intensity work. It may also be split into five sets of 8–10 repetitions for the higher volume hypertrophy work.

Advanced

An advanced athlete is someone who has been training for many years. They’ve spent large periods perfecting each element of their squat technique. They have well-developed physical characteristics at a higher level than most of the population.

Alongside this, they have spent years using different periodization techniques and progress has slowed. They need to use high amounts of volume and intensity to see meaningful changes. The main focus will be on weighted movements and harder variations.

At this stage, they can most likely lift two to three times their body weight. Normal bodyweight squats may be used to warm up or add training volume after weighted movements.

At this stage, performing 50–100 daily squats should be an easy task. The sets and repetitions should be split based on training focus and the benefits of different periodization models. This will be discussed more in the next section.

Based On Your Goal

Resistance goals can be wide-ranging. This could concern appearance, function, and performance. For this article, we’ve focused on the three most common ones. 

Organizing your squat training based on goals tends to happen from the intermediate level onwards once the foundation is built. At the beginner level, the main goal is to develop a solid foundation before focusing on more specific goals. Your sets and repetition ranges should be based on the loading recommendations according to your goals.

To Get Bigger Glutes

Getting bigger glutes requires muscular hypertrophy to occur. In simple terms, this is known as muscle growth. The main training determinant to focus on is training volume or the amount of work performed. 

As part of this, specific hypertrophy guidelines can be used to promote the biggest training volume without overtraining.

To get bigger glutes, use a hypertrophy set and repetition range. This should be 3–4 sets of 8–12 repetitions using weighted movements. Bodyweight movements can be used to add volume. 

To Build Strength 

Strength is defined as the ability of the body to overcome resistance. The main determinant to consider here is training intensity. This is the difficulty of an exercise. 

As part of this, specific strength guidelines should be used. This provides an adequate training stimulus to promote adaptive strength gains. 

To build strength, use 3–5 sets of 5 repetitions. Aim to use 80%–100% of your one repetition maximum, or 1RM. This is the maximum amount of weight you can lift with good form for one repetition. This is important for building strength.

To Lose Weight 

The main concern when losing weight is to expend more energy than you consume. This creates a negative energy balance. 

Physical activity is a great way to use energy and create a negative energy balance. The more you perform, the more energy you use. Therefore, you should focus on higher-volume resistance training. 

To lose weight, perform 12+ repetitions at 40%–60% of your 1RM. Use a combination of weighted and bodyweight movements depending on your preference. 

How To Incorporate Squat Into Your Workout Routine 

The squat is a multi-joint, compound movement. It should be programmed at the start of your leg routine. This allows you to keep energy levels high, maximizing your performance. Other options include being part of an upper-body or full-body workout.

1. Consider your ability level and workout goals. This should determine your training volume and intensity. Match this with the appropriate rest and recovery periods. 
2. Add the squat to the start of your workout before your isolation movements. This should be done after performing a suitable warm-up consisting of aerobic exercise and dynamic stretches. Examples include side-to-side leg swings and walking lunges.
3. Make programming changes based on your progress and exercise goals.

When performing squats daily, the main considerations should be volume management and rest periods. The sets and repetitions can be split across the day to reduce the chances of fatigue and overtraining.

Tips To See Results Quickly

• Prioritize Technique — Using the correct squat technique ensures better target muscle focus and reduces potential injury risk. Resistance training techniques should be prioritized for all exercises.
• Warm Up And Cool Down Properly — Performing a suitable warm-up improves muscle temperature, blood flow, and lubricates important joints. Ensure you warm up and cool down properly during every exercise session.
• Use Different Variations — Different squat variations can be used to increase the difficulty level or change the target focus. Use these according to your ability level and exercise goals.
• Develop Your Mind-Muscle Connection — This refers to the way you think about the muscles you’re working. Focus on activating your quadriceps and gluteus muscles at the bottom of the movement. This helps increase muscle hypertrophy.
• Get Enough Rest And Recovery — These are crucial training aspects that tend to be overlooked. Ensure you get at least seven hours of sleep per day. Use the suggested rest periods according to your training intensity.

Conclusion

The squat is a versatile full-body movement with several functional applications. It should be programmed into your training based on your ability level and exercise goals.

Use the guidance above to inform your training. The tips can be used to improve your results when correctly applying the guidance. Start performing your daily squats and enjoy the many benefits they can bring!

Frequently Asked Questions