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My goal is to make my legs strong and hard. Currently I do 60 Squats daily, and have done so for the last 7 days.

Are squats a healthy/safe/effective way to build stronger leg muscles? Please keep in mind my gender is male. If they are effective, at what timing/frequency will they be most effective for my goal of stronger muscles?

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    It's unfair for everyone to downvote this question without explanation. Please give a reason so the OP can improve his question (or make improvements to his question yourself).
    – Daniel
    Nov 3, 2014 at 16:13
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    There's a couple different questions being asked here - try to focus it to just one. Make two questions if you need to: e.g. squatting for both genders, and squatting and running.
    – john3103
    Nov 3, 2014 at 21:14
  • running is just as my own point of view that I want to remain it , but my question is about squatting and its practices, topic only about squats
    – ARG
    Nov 4, 2014 at 12:10

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If your goal is to make your legs strong, then squats are without a doubt the best exercise you can do to achieve that goal.

Squats are a universal exercise that both men and women can do with equivalent results and success, so there is no reason to be worried about results depending on your gender.

Now, any exercise is better than none, so it's good that you're doing daily squats. That being said, it is definitely not the most optimal solution to building "strong" leg muscles. Here are a few takeaways for you:

  • High rep + low intensity exercise is more equivalent to cardio and endurance training.
  • Strength training requires low reps (3 - 5 is the sweet spot) and high intensity (use weights).
  • To ensure safety, use good form (especially with regard to squatting to parallel).
  • Lastly, to build strength, you need to facilitate muscle growth. This means eating enough calories and getting sufficient rest. If you're on a diet, or if you're getting inadequate sleep, or if you're doing loaded squats every day, then you're actually hurting your muscle growth.

If you're very committed and have a squat or power rack with olympic barbell, then this is the best approach for you: use an olympic barbell and do back-squats, then progressively load the bar each exercise to increase intensity. This has been demonstrated to be the most effective way to increase strength.

If you don't have access to a barbell, then the next best alternative would be to do goblet squats using a dumbbell.

Whether using a barbell or dumbbell, I suggest the same timing frequency, which is:

  • 3 times a week with rest day in-between (e.g. M-W-F)
  • 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps (your choice)
  • Start with light weight (empty barbell, light dumbbell)
  • Progressively add weight more each workout (go in 2.5 or 5 lb increments)
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  • Thank you for such a complete answer , I often doing squats after dinner without any weight and do rest after 7 days , is it the right way ? or I should rest after 3 days
    – ARG
    Nov 5, 2014 at 7:11
  • @ARG Moses' answer is great, I would add on that you should look into something like Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength (Novice) Program. They will take the guess work out of this and transition you from a "routine" into a "program".
    – Eric
    Nov 5, 2014 at 16:02

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