How Many Squats Should I Do to Build Muscle? (Truth)

Key Takeaways

• It’s not about how many squats you do; it’s about how many meaningful squats you do.
• Both load and volume play a vital role in muscle growth.
• You shouldn’t only rely on squats to build muscle mass.

Squats are a great way to build a great tush, great quads, and even better adductors. But exactly how many squats a day do you need to do to build muscle?

Well, it’s not about how many squats a day you do, but rather how many squats a day you do that actually count. This sounds way more complicated than it seems. In fact, all of the weight training seems that way…

Here’s everything you need to know.

Why Do We Double Down On Squats?

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty of how many squats you need to do (and how intensely you need to squat), we need to first understand why you squat so much and how to squat.

So let’s take a look at that first point.

The squat is a movement that we’ll keep doing until the day we die. We’re going to use the loo ‘till we’re about 100, and we’ll probably be using a motor vehicle as well.

What do those have in common? We sit down.

Squats target all the major muscles in the legs and also a few others in the upper body:

• Gluteus muscles: the largest muscles in the body, located on the butt
• Quadriceps muscles: vital for knee flexion, located on the front of the thigh
• Adductors: essential for squatting or any leg movement really, located on the inner thighs
• The hamstrings are actually not that engaged in the back squat or any other squat movement. Knee flexion is needed for hamstring engagement, but this is the wrong kind of knee flexion
• Upper body muscle groups that will also be used are the erector muscles, upper back, lats, and shoulders (if you squat heavy enough 😉 )

Whether you’re doing front squats or back squats, the same muscles will be used. In fact, most of the knee and hip flexion movements will target these muscles — granted, you maintain proper form.

As you can see, there are quite a few muscles being used. This means that you’ll get one hell of a workout if you do them.

How to Squat Correctly

Here’s how to do squats properly:

• Set your feet shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing forward and slightly to the sides (between 0 and 45 degrees).
• Stand upright and tall with your shoulders pulled back.
• Brace your core.
• Bend your knees and hip hinge at the same time to lower the body. Your knees should point in the direction of your toes.
• Once you cannot lower your body any further, simply squat up to the starting position.

* Note: This sequence of events might change if you’re using really heavy weights.

You can use various squat variations as well, including back squats, front squats, split squats, or any kind of barbell squat.

And now we get into the real meat of the question…

How Much Do I Need To Squat?

In case you’re in a hurry and want to leave right now, let me summarize this for you. The number of squats you do won’t mean jack unless those squats strengthen your muscle tissue.

Tough love, eh?

Newbies

Bodyweight squats are a great starting position for 80% of the human population because most of humankind isn’t fit. This means that even the entry-level squat will be sufficient for muscle stimulation.

This stimulation is needed for the muscle to grow. The sequence of events is simple: you train, you eat (protein and calories), and you sleep (the muscle recovers).

So for most ‘normal’ people, just doing bodyweight squats and maybe some basic squat variations would be enough.

For the next level up, we’ll be looking at the people who have been training for less than 6 months. These beginners will be looking at doing 6 – 8 sets on quads, glutes, and adductors. This should be split across various exercises and shouldn’t all just be squats.

As a beginner, you might have heard that you should only focus on compound exercises. This is great advice. However, doing some isolation exercises will also be a great idea since you can ‘learn’ the muscles and build a better mind-to-muscle connection.

6–12 Months of Training

From there, we have those who have been training for 6 – 12 months. The next level up means that you can do slightly higher volume, and you should also be dabbling in progressive overload (more on this later).

For you, I recommend between 8 – 12 sets on the leg muscles each. Again, they shouldn’t all be ‘spent’ on squats.

As an intermediate, you have to get slightly more creative. Using squats as the base of your leg workouts will become common at this point, and then, you’ll simply use an array of accessory movements to build the other muscle groups. Hamstring curls will be one to focus on a lot, seeing as the squat doesn’t really train them all that well.

Advanced

The next level is the big fellas.

You should be ‘spending’ up to 15 sets on each leg muscle group. Once again, these shouldn’t all be spent on squats. Great exercise, shouldn’t be doing 15 sets of squats a week unless you’re a strength athlete.

As someone who’s advanced, your training will be really intricate. You might not always use the barbell squat as the base of the workout. You can use other variations, like the front squat, hack squat, or leg press.

From there, you should prioritize the accessory movements you need based on your shortcomings. Right off the bat, I can tell you that most men have weak glutes — we just do.

The reason we use more volume as we progress is that muscle mass becomes stubborn. It gets used to what you did a week ago, a month ago, several months ago. If it grows tired of your ways, you need to up the ante.

But there’s more to this than just adding a few sets. We’ll almost always benefit from using heavier weights and using more volume… Progressive overload, baby.

Progressive Overload 101

Enough resistance bands, it’s time we get those lower body muscles bulked up to make sure your dump truck is bigger than hers. (My girlfriend is very jealous of mine.)

We’re talkin’ Jim Kardashian on TikTok big:

As mentioned, muscle reacts to stress. Now, unlike you in your college days, you won’t be able to think up an excuse and get an extension on the task at hand. No, it simply needs to react.

Your exercise routine will determine whether or not the stress is actually enough. Your current fitness level will always influence this.

For instance, the workout routine of a professional Strongman will destroy a single mom of three who hasn’t done regular squats in years. In turn, pink 2lb dumbbells will not do anything for a bodybuilder.

So, once you find your starting position, you’ll simply need to add resistance over the course of time, and at certain times, you’ll also add a bit of volume.

How exactly do you do this? Let me show you the past four weeks of my leg press:

Week 1:

• 10 20kg Plates per Side (PPS) x 8 reps
• 8 PPS x 10 reps

Week 2:

• 10 PPS + 5kg x 8 reps
• 8 PPS + 5kg x 8 reps

Week 3:

• 10 PPS + 10kg x 7 reps
• 8 PPS + 5kg x 10 reps

Week 4:

• 10 PPS + 10kg x 9 reps
• 8 PPS + 10kg x 9 reps

As you can see, from weeks 1 to 4, I’ve increased the load from 400kg to 410kg while also adding an additional 10kg load. The second set has gone from 360kg x 10 to 370kg x 9.

You’ll continue to do this over time until you fail to get stronger over 3 consecutive days on the same movement, which means one of the following:

• You’re under-recovering, meaning you eat too little, sleep too little, or do too much volume.
• You’ve ‘run your course’ with that exercise. Going on any further will simply lead to fatigue and injury.

If it’s the former, you need to reassess your current training protocol. Your entire body is telling you you’re doing something wrong if you cannot get stronger.

If you are doing everything right, then you simply need to swap the squats for another option, like front squats, leg presses, hack squats, etc.

But how does one do everything right, exactly?

Squatting 101 Part Two

There’s more to basic squats than just doing squats. We’ve covered the how, how much, and what to do when you get stuck at the bottom.

Now, we thought it was a good idea to give you an idea of how a program might look to increase your squat substantially.

Training

Training will be based solely on building a bigger and stronger squat. We’ll be training the other muscle groups, sure, but this program is for those of you who wanna build that lower body.

Monday: Heavy Squats and Biceps

• Back Squats: 3 x 8, 5, 3
• Bulgarian Split Squat: 3 x 10 per side
• Seated Leg Curls: 4 x 8 – 15
• Dumbbell RDLs: 2 x 6 – 12
• Cable Barbell Curls: 3 x 12 – 20
• Single-Arm Preacher Curl: 2 x 12 – 15

Tuesday: Chest and Shoulders

• Incline Smith Machine Chest Press: 3 x 6 – 10
• Machine Chest Flyes (or Dumbbells): 3 x 8 – 15
• Weighted Dips: 2 x 8 – 15
• Overhead Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 x 6 – 12
• Cable Lateral Raises: 3 x 8 – 15

Wednesday: Heavy Deadlifts and Triceps

• Deadlifts: 3 x 8, 5, 3
• Elevated Deadlifts: 2 x 10
• Front Squat: 2 x 15 – 20
• Leg Extensions: 3 x 8 – 15 per side
• Skullcrushers: 2 x 10 – 15
• Single Arm Overhead Tricep Extensions: 3 x 12 – 20

Thursday: Off (Do some cardio, core, and stretching)

Friday: Light Squats and Glutes

• Back Squats: 2 x 15 – 20
• Bulgarian Split Squats: 4 x 8 – 15 per leg
• Adductors: 3 x 10
• Glute Cable Kickbacks: 4 x 10 per leg
• Single-Leg Press: 2 x 10 – 15 per leg

Saturday: Back

• Assisted Pull-Ups: 4 x 8 – 20
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3 x 8 – 15
• Chest-Supported Upper Back Rows: 3 x 10 – 15
• Straight-Arm Pulldown: 2 x 10 – 12

Sunday: Off (Do some cardio, core, and stretching)

Diet

No matter your fitness level, you’ll have to make sure you have the right diet. Like it or not, your muscle growth and cardiovascular fitness will be massively influenced by what you eat.

If you’re looking to build some big legs, here’s how your diet should look:

• First, you need to eat the correct number of calories. If you’re looking to gain muscle, eat 200 more calories than what your maintenance is. If you’re looking to lose weight, eat 200 less than maintenance (calculate that here).
• You should aim to eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
• The remainder of your calories should be ‘spent’ on carbs and fats.
• Tracking calories is easiest done with the use of an app like MyFitnessPal.
• If your weight gain/loss stops, you simply need to add/subtract an additional 150 – 200 calories.

Note: Cardio can be added daily instead of a reduction of food in a weight loss stint

There are, of course, certain foods that are slightly better than others when overall health is the goal. Opting for leaner and less processed foods will certainly help you more in this goal.

Another fact to consider is that hyper-palatable foods (super tasty ones) are really easy to over-consume since they’re also loaded with calories. You don’t need as much as before… Boom, you’re over your calorie limit for the day.

Lastly, stick to foods and a diet that’s sustainable. If you’re not able to follow the diet for several weeks on end, it’s not really a good diet at all. Sustainability should be as important as the results. Having one or two cheat meals per week will make any plan more reasonable.

How Often Should I Squat?

As much as you can. The squat is an excellent tool to build some serious leg mass and strength. While doing more squats could get you some results, it won’t get you as many results as doing more while also doing harder squats.

Adding volume and load is the key to actually making your squats count.

Practice progressive overload over time and add volume every few months to keep up with your own development. Follow a diet that is rich in protein and calories. Rest and sleep enough to allow for muscle recovery.

Do these simple things, and you’ll build a bigger butt, bigger thigh muscles, and even a healthier body. Your squat routine should match how developed you are, so don’t go off doing what the big boys are doing — your time will come.

From there, you simply need to add the isolation movements needed to grow full leg development. Take videos of your sets, see where you start failing, and fix those problems ASAP. For men, 99% of the time, it starts with the glutes…