Bored Of Squats? Mix Up Your Routine With These Variations

Trainers say if you want to strengthen your butt and legs, you should do squats — lots and lots of them. But no exercise is perfect, and bobbing up and down can get monotonous, so you've got to figure out some way to make squats more interesting. Enter, the squat variation. Making simple tweaks to the classic move (like adding a weight, turning your feet out, or lifting a leg) might not seem like much, but they could make squats a little more fun. Or, at the very least, these moves will hold your attention until the end of your workout playlist.

Need a quick refresher on how to do a basic bodyweight squat? Start standing with your feet slightly wider than hips-width distance apart, with your toes turned out slightly. You can lift your arms in front of you for balance, or keep them clasped in front of your chest. Keeping your chest and back lifted, lower your butt to the floor, as if you're sitting in a chair. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor, and make sure your knees don't go past your feet. Return to stand by pushing through all four corners of your feet and squeezing your glutes. That's a squat!

After you've mastered that move, ahead are some squat variations you might want to try next, according to Morit Summers, a NSCA certified personal trainer. Some of these variations make squats harder, and some of them are just a twist on the basic move. If you find these variations to be too hard, the good news is that you can always go back to basics. That's how goals are built, fam.