How many squats should you do a day?

Like most "how many should I do" questions, there's no single number that's right for everyone — it depends on where you're starting from. But the principle that works for almost anyone is the same: start where you are, add a little each week, and show up consistently.

Here's how to think about it.

First: where are you starting?

Squat capacity varies a lot. A total beginner might manage 10–15 bodyweight squats before their legs give out. Someone who trains regularly might rattle off 50 without much trouble. Neither is right or wrong — they're just different starting points.

The mistake is picking a big round number ("I'll do 100 squats a day") and gritting your teeth through it. That's a fast route to sore knees, cranky quads, and quitting after a week.

Assess yourself first. Do as many good-form bodyweight squats as you can in one set without stopping. That's your max. Your daily working number should sit comfortably below it — roughly half to two-thirds — so you can keep your form clean every rep.

A rough starting guide by level

These are starting points, not targets. The goal is to make them a little harder each week — not to pile on endless reps.

Why consistency beats volume

The research on strength training is clear on one thing: doing something regularly beats doing a lot occasionally. Twenty squats every day for a month will do more for your legs than 200 squats one afternoon and nothing for three weeks.

This is the idea behind fitn3s: short daily sessions that add up over time. The app rates your lower-body performance on a 40-level scale and gradually raises the difficulty after sustained good sessions — so you're always in the right range, neither coasting nor crushing yourself.

Once bodyweight squats get easy: progressive overload

Here's the thing about squats specifically — once you can do 40 or 50 in a row, adding more reps mostly builds endurance, not strength. To keep getting stronger you need progressive overload: regularly making the movement harder rather than just longer.

With squats, that can mean:

• Slowing the tempo — lower for a count of 3, which keeps the muscle under tension longer
• Adding a pause at the bottom of each rep
• Harder variations — split squats, Bulgarian split squats, then eventually pistol (single-leg) squats
• Explosive reps — jump squats for power

Working one leg at a time is the biggest jump. A single-leg squat asks each leg to do roughly what two legs shared before, so you get a much stronger stimulus without needing any equipment. The trap is doing the same 30 air squats every day forever — if you never challenge your legs to do more, they stop adapting.

One thing to watch: form

Squats done with sloppy form build less strength and put needless strain on your knees and lower back. The basics:

• Feet about shoulder-width apart, toes pointed slightly out
• Push your hips back as if sitting into a chair, chest up
• Knees track in line with your toes — don't let them cave inward
• Lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, if your mobility allows
• Drive up through your heels, standing tall without locking out hard

If you can't reach depth with good form yet, that's fine — squat to a box or chair and touch it lightly each rep, then work deeper over time. Shallow, controlled squats beat deep, collapsing ones.

"Are squats bad for my knees?" For most healthy people, no — squatting through a comfortable range actually strengthens the muscles that support the knee. Sharp pain is a signal to stop and check your form or reduce depth; a working burn in the muscles is normal. If you have a known knee issue, check with a professional first.

What about rest days?

Bodyweight squats at moderate volume are gentle enough that most people can do them daily. Your legs recover faster from air squats than from heavy barbell work.

That said, legs are a big muscle group and they will get sore when you push into harder variations. If your quads or glutes are genuinely aching, take a day — soreness is your body repairing and adapting. Pushing through sharp pain is never a good idea.

Try fitn3s: squats that adapt to you

If you want a system that tracks your lower-body level and adjusts automatically, fitn3s does exactly that. Each day it generates a workout that includes squat variations matched to your current level — and after 3 sustained good sessions, it nudges the target up.

It's free, takes 10–25 minutes, and needs no equipment.

You can also see how fitn3s compares to other bodyweight apps in our comparison guides.

Looking for more? Read how many push-ups you should do, see how fitn3s handles progressive overload, or compare it with Freeletics and Nike Training Club.