The quadriceps muscles serve as the primary knee extensors, increasing the angle between your lower and upper legs. Like the hip-extensor muscles, they contract eccentrically during the downward-movement phase of the squat and concentrically during the upward-movement phase.
Squats work the erector spinae muscles, which run the length of your spine. Keeping these muscles strong makes many day-to-day activities easier. It might also improve performance and endurance during exercise and team sports. Your back muscles help with balance during squats and help push your body up and down during the exercise.
The squat thrust is a calisthenic exercise that targets several major muscles in the legs. Squat thrusts also work, to a lesser degree, muscles in the arms, stomach and chest. Additionally, squat thrusts are a good exercise for strengthening the heart muscle and building cardiovascular endurance.
Squats are an effective compound exercise that, according to MuscleMagFitness.com, strengthens over 256 muscles in the body. Most of those muscles are in the lower body. In fact, the book "Serious Strength Training" refers to squats as the quintessential leg exercise. Using a barbell during the squat increases its effectiveness.
The semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and the bicep femoris are the three major muscles that make up the hamstrings. These are also the muscles that will get much of the activity during squats and as such will gain most of the benefits. As stated earlier, the hamstrings will work side by side with your gluteus maximus during the squat exercise.
A barbell squat is a push-type, compound exercise which works primarily your quadriceps, but also trains your glutes, hamstrings, and calves. This review of the squat will give you tips and techniques to do a squat properly. Read on to learn more.