Doing squats?!
Question: When doing squats, do you need to have weights?...What happens if you do squats without weights?
Answers: When doing squats, do you need to have weights?...What happens if you do squats without weights?
If you are a beginner, I would recommend you begin to do bodysquats. You can probably begin doing 3 sets of 8-10 reps, keeping your movements slow and controlled. I would incorporate this into a workout twice a week. Also, if possible, try to go PAST parallel when squatting. If someone tells you, "Don't go past parallel, it's bad for you knees", ignore them, because they are misleading you. You are almost going to want your hamstring to touch your calf muscle. If your body doesn't allow this, your hip flexors are too tight. Try stretching this out. Going below parallel actually takes pressure off your knees and places more emphasis on your hips and glutes, thus activating more muscle, which in turn, helps recruit more muscle fibers. I would highly recommend using weights once your body adapts to its own bodyweight, but if you are uncomfortable doing so, try pistol squats. These are essentially one legged squats. Try squatting down with only one leg, while keeping the other leg out in front of you. You can hold on to something for balance, but eventually you only want your leg controlling the movement. Hope this helps!
You can do squats without weights if you would like. You just won't gain as much muscle without weights.