Even short and simple routines can sometimes offer nice results. Find out whether doing 30 squats a day can be effective enough.
If you do the 30 squats with a resistance where you can barely do 2 sets of 15 repetitions and 6 sets of 5 repetitions before muscle failure, a workout like this could be enough to grow leg muscles like your quadriceps (front thighs).
People who never do any exercises for their glutes (butt) and hamstrings (back thighs) may even see a small amount of muscle growth in these areas too.
That being said, if muscle growth is your main goal, you likely don’t want to do the 30 squats every single day. Giving your muscles time to recover and grow can increase your results.
Besides these things, doing 30 (weighted) squats a day or at least more often can also help you burn a few extra calories and will likely improve things like your bone density, mood, and sleep.
At the same time, you want to keep in mind that you preferably want to implement other exercises too. 30 squats a day is a start but there are many more effective exercise routines.
Results of doing 30 squats a day
Doing 30 squats a day is not the most impressive exercise routine out there but there will still be a few results that can make it worth to consider.
30 squats a day helps you burn a few extra calories
Throughout the day the human body needs energy to function. When you move more intensely than usual with something like squats, you will also use up more energy (measured in calories).
Before going into the estimations for 30 squats a day, you need to keep in mind that these are very rough predictions.
In reality, the number will likely look different for you due to differences in body composition, hormone levels, weight used, squat speed, etc.
Additionally, these estimations don’t take the calorie burning you get from extra muscle mass into account.
That being said, with the number of calories squats burn per minute and that the average person does around 24 bodyweight repetitions and/or 12 weighted repetitions, you can get a few estimations.
| Type Of Squat Weight Person | 30 Bodyweight Squats | 30 Weighted Squats |
|---|---|---|
| 125 Pounds (56 kg) | 5 calories | 12 calories |
| 155 Pounds (70 kg) | 6 calories | 15 calories |
| 185 Pounds (83 kg) | 7 calories | 18 calories |
| 215 Pounds (97 kg) | 8 calories | 21 calories |
Something important to keep in mind is that burning more calories does not necessarily mean losing weight.
Even when doing relatively big amounts of squats, most people also need at least decent habits in other lifestyle areas like their diet to make this happen.
It could be enough to build muscle
30 squats a day does not sound like much but for the right people and with enough resistance it could be enough to grow and strengthen leg muscles like your quadriceps (front thighs).
If you can barely complete the 30 repetitions a day in somewhere between 2 sets of 15 squats and 6 sets of 5 squats, you should be able to grow the muscles that fatigue first.
Since squats mostly focus on your quadriceps, these will likely be the ones to grow. That being said, if you never do any glute and/or hamstring exercises, these muscles could be challenged enough for growth.
Something important to note is that most people will need extra weights or do one-legged squat variations to make the exercise challenging enough.
If/when you get to a point where the 30 squats a day become too easy and don’t add weights/variations, the movement will become more of a muscle endurance exercise that does not really cause growth.
You may not recover quickly enough
Another important detail to keep in mind is that even if you do squats with the weights and repetitions above every day, you may not see any progress.
During squats you damage the muscles you work. This is not as bad as it sounds since it starts a variety of internal processes that can repair the muscles and make them bigger and stronger.
That being said, your body still needs time (and nutrients) to complete these processes.
If you do 30 heavy weighted squats every single day, you will likely reduce your results because your muscles don’t have enough time to recover.
Instead, doing the 30 repetitions every other day or less will generally be better. Even doing workouts like this 3 times a week is often considered to be a lot.
30 squats a day helps you build an exercise habit
Doing 30 squats a day will typically take less than 5 minutes of actual working out. This is definitely not a lot compared to many other exercise routines out there.
That being said, even if hour-long workouts with HIIT cardiovascular exercises and other resistance movements could offer more health benefits, these can feel overwhelming for someone who is just starting out.
If you are more of an exercise beginner, doing 30 squats a day can be a helpful place to start to make moving more often a habit.
Over time, you can then consider making your squat harder, doing more repetitions per session, or adding other exercises to your routine to see more results.
Can improve your general health to some extent
While there will be exercise routines that are more effective in this area, doing 30 squats a day can still also offer some benefits in terms of general health.
Working out is not only about duration. If you make the 30 squats challenging enough, they can do a good amount in this area. Some of the benefits you can expect include:
- Better bone density
- Improved mood
- Better sleep
- Walking around and climbing stairs can feel easier
- Stress reduction
- Potentially small cardiovascular health improvements
On top of the muscle growth potential and extra calories you burn, these secondary benefits could motivate you enough to do a challenge like this for a month or more.
Is 30 squats a day enough?
In short, doing 30 squats a day will be enough to burn a few extra calories. Whether this actually leads to weight loss and how much depends a lot on details like the rest of your lifestyle habits.
Next, if you use enough extra resistance and/or do one-legged variations, workouts with 30 squats can be enough to grow and strengthen certain leg muscles. Especially your quadriceps (front thighs).
That being said, for this purpose, you likely don’t want to do the squats every single day. Giving your muscles time to repair and grow can increase your results.
While they are not perfect for every single individual, there are general exercise guidelines for adults that can give you an idea about whether 30 squats a day is enough for general health.
First of all, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity a week (1).
Additionally, they recommend muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week.
30 squats can be the start of a muscle-strengthening session but you also need to work other muscles for optimal health. Additionally, a routine like this does not really count as cardiovascular exercise.
In simpler words, 30 squats a day can be helpful for certain specific goals but you can not really consider a routine like this to be good enough for great health.
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