30 Day Squat Challenge For a Lifted Butt and Powerful Legs

Healthy strong legs not only look great, but they can carry you to the most spectacular places that most people never get to see. They can make a tough hike to a stunning view much easier and actually enjoyable (gasp!).

Whether you love exploring the tops of mountains on foot, pedalling up big hills on your mountain bike to drop into thrilling descents, or running through lush forests on undulating trails, strong legs will make your adventures more fun and keep you injury-free.

If you haven’t thought about your leg strength before now, I’ve got the perfect 30-day squat challenge to get you started. The squat is a fantastic exercise to develop your leg strength and power because it’s super simple and you don’t need any special equipment. All you need is your own body weight.

Why Squats are Great for You

Squats are amazing because they target your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and hips. These are the major muscles that power your stride, making it easier for you to climb hills, descend into valleys, and allow you to go further and faster than before.

Strong glutes, quads and hammies also stabilize your joints, like your knees, ankles and hips, which helps prevent injury, so your adventures don’t get interrupted.

Try a little experiment

Try a little experiment before you begin this challenge. Do something that you find challenging, like a hilly trail run that you find hard, a challenging day hike, or steep uphill bike ride that you may need to walk in sections. Take note of how you feel before you have done the challenge.  

Then do the exact same trail again when you have completed the challenge. Was it easier? Did you bike all the way up the hill without walking this time? Did you feel fresher at the end? If you get good results, keep the momentum going with squats or other leg strengthening exercises. 

The 30 Day Squat Challenge

This 30-day squat challenge will help you build a strong foundation that you can maintain and build upon. Here is a breakdown of what is in store for you. The challenge is four weeks long. Each week you will focus on one type of squat. The squats get more difficult as you progress, but don’t worry, this challenge is designed for all levels, including beginners, so nothing crazy.

You will need to complete a certain number of squat reps each day. You can do them in one session, or break them up into several sessions throughout the day, but you must do all of the reps for that day to move on to the next day. 

If you don’t complete the required number of reps for that day, you have to start that week over from the beginning. So if you miss your reps for day 5 of week 2, you will have to go back to day 1 of week 2 and start again from there. The good thing is you don’t need any equipment for squats, so you can do them anytime, anywhere. No excuses.

Let’s get started!

30 Day Squat Challenge

Week 1: Basic Chair Squat

• Grab a chair or stool and place it behind you as if you were about to sit down.
• Stand in front of the chair with your feet shoulder-width distance apart. Keep a straight posture with your chest up.
• Hold your arms straight up in front of you.
• Keep your chest up and arms out in front of you. Lower your butt to the chair, as if you were going to sit down, but only let your butt graze the surface of the chair. Don’t sit, rest or put any pressure on the seat of the chair.  Make sure your knees track over your toes. You don’t want your knees to rotate in or out from the straight line in front of your toes. You also don’t want your knees to bend forward over your toes. You can tell that you’ve gone too far if your knees hide your toes in front of you.
• Return back to standing by pushing down through your heels and flexing your glutes to power your body back upwards.

Here is a video to show you the correct basic chair squat form:

Day	Reps
Day 1	20
Day 2	30
Day 3	Rest
Day 4	20
Day 5	30
Day 6	40
Day 7	Rest

Week 2: Prisoner Chair Squat

This isn’t as scary as it sounds. You will use the exact same technique as the week before, except you will place your hands behind your head with your elbows out (like a prisoner being captured) instead of straight out in front of you.

Grab a lower chair or stool if you can so that your squat dips lower, making it more challenging. This will allow you to progress your strength, which is very important if you want to see results with this challenge.

Here is a video to show you the correct prisoner chair squat form. This video does not have a chair in it, which you need for this stage of the challenge, so just ignore that detail and focus on the form in the video and include a chair when you perform the squat.

Day	Reps
Day 1	20
Day 2	30
Day 3	Rest
Day 4	20
Day 5	30
Day 6	40
Day 7	Rest

Week 3: Classic Squat

The classic squat takes things to the next level by removing the chair. The form is the same as the two previous weeks, but you won’t have the chair behind you to guide you to the bottom of the squat.

Challenge yourself to go as deep as you can without breaking form. That means keeping your knees tracking straight over your big and middle toe and not letting your knees go forward over your toes. Here is a detailed video on how to perform a classic squat.

Day	Reps
Day 1	20
Day 2	30
Day 3	Rest
Day 4	20
Day 5	30
Day 6	40
Day 7	Rest

Week 4: Prisoner Squat

The prisoner squat is a variation on the classic squat. The form is the same as the prisoner chair squat, but you won’t have the chair behind you to guide you to the bottom of the squat.

Keep challenging yourself to go as deep as you can without breaking form. That means keeping your knees tracking straight over your big and middle toe and not letting your knees go forward over your toes. Here is the same video from the prisoner chair squat week with the correct form and no chair.

Day	Reps
Day 1	30
Day 2	40
Day 3	Rest
Day 4	30
Day 5	40
Day 6	50
Day 7	Rest

Congratulations!

You completed the 30-day squat challenge, well done!

Back to that little experiment…

Now that you have completed the challenge, go for that tough day hike, trail run, bike ride, or whatever it is you love doing. How did it feel? Was it easier with your more toned and powerful legs? Share your experience in the comments below.