9 Squat Variations for Weight Loss

Squats are not just for building strength—they are one of the best exercises to burn belly fat. Try these 9 squat variations to burn calories, tone your body, and kickstart your weight loss journey.

Perform a regular squat, then explosively jump upwards and land softly back into the squat position. This is a high-intensity, plyometric exercise that increases your heart rate, boosting cardiovascular endurance and burning more calories.

Jump Squat

Place one foot on a bench behind you, lower your hips until your front thigh is parallel to the ground, and then push back up. This exercise helps improve balance, stability, and muscle activation, supporting weight loss.

Bulgarian Split Squat

Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell close to your chest, squat down while keeping your back straight, and return to standing. This variation engages the core and upper body, increasing muscle mass and metabolism, which helps to accelerate fat loss.

Goblet Squat

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing outward. Lower your body into a squat while keeping your chest up. The squat variation targets the inner thighs and glutes, helping to reduce overall body fat and tone the lower body.

Sumo Squat

Hold a kettlebell, squat down, then swing the kettlebell between your legs and explosively bring it up to chest height. This movement boosts metabolism while targeting the legs and core, making it effective for belly fat loss.

Kettlebell Swing Squat

Hold a barbell overhead with arms fully extended. Squat down while keeping your arms stable and your chest upright. This full-body exercise challenges your shoulders, core, and legs, increasing calorie expenditure and fat loss.

Overhead Squat

Stand on one leg, extend the other leg in front of you, and squat down while keeping your extended leg off the ground. This advanced single-leg squat targets the glutes, quads, and core, promoting fat loss and muscle toning.

Pistol squat

Place a box or bench behind you. Squat down until your glutes touch the box, then stand back up. It maintains proper squat form, engaging the glutes and hamstrings more effectively, which supports fat loss.

Box squat