Exactly How to Use Squats to Lose Weight, Run Faster, and Get a Tighter Booty

The best exercise to get head-to-toe hot (sculpted legs, a perky butt, the whole shebang) is the one people are most likely to botch. But not you, not anymore. A tweak or two can help you personalize the move for your body. That’s why we asked Kyle Dobbs, personal training manager at the Wright Fit gym in New York City, to share four ways to utilize the bread-and-butter exercise, whatever your workout intent.

If you want to lose weight: You need high volume to amp the muscle-building, fat-burning effect. Once or twice a week, perform six sets of five reps of a loaded squat (goblet or back) at 50 to 60 percent of max weight. (Choose a load that feels challenging by the third rep of each set.)

If you want to run faster: Build power with heavy front squats (75 percent of max weight), three to five sets of three to five reps. On other days, do Bulgarian split squats (a lunge in which your back leg is bent, foot on a bench), three sets of 10 per side. Do each once or twice weekly.

If you want to reduce back pain: As long as it’s cool with your doc, try slow and controlled front or box squats, three to five sets of five reps. Focus on stabilizing your hips and bracing your abs for each rep—they’re key to strengthening the muscles in your back

If you want to shape your booty: Back-loaded squats better challenge your posterior chain. Two or three times per week, perform three to five sets of six to 10 reps, at 60 to 70 percent of your max weight. Avoid bouncing and using momentum, and focus on squeezing your glutes with every rep.

Needless to say, squats should never be marketed as one-size-fits-all. “Nobody is anatomically perfect like Da Vinci’s diagrams,” says physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist Mike Reinold, owner of Champion Physical Therapy and Performance in Boston. While you should play around with all types of squats, tweaking your form to accommodate your body’s restrictions, especially the build of your individual levers (a.k.a. your limbs), can make the move more suitable—and efficient—for you. Check out these eight variations: