Squat Leg Workouts To Build Strength, Muscle and Muscular Endurance

Squatting is the ONE exercise that every Crossfit athlete or high performer needs to consistently train to be at their best. The more squat variations that you can perform then the more muscular and functionally strong legs you’ll have to perform in every area of your life. Every type of squat plays into your overall performance different. A weight vest squat is going to impact you different than a intense running workout and doing a kettlebell workout is going to train your legs different than a air bike workout.

Squat workouts aren’t just about using heavy loads and one rep max effort. In order to build strength and muscular endurance in your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. My increasing your overall leg strength you’ll get faster and will recover quicker in order to put more effort into your total training as long as you're doing the correct hip mobility drills.

Squat leg workouts for Crossfit athletes 1 and 1/4 reps. Partial reps are fantastic for increasing muscular time under tension, which most crossfit athletes get very little of, due to the explosive nature of the sport. By increasing time under tension in a squat workout, you expose your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves to a different growth stimulus while also training your endurance.

It’s simple. Squat to the bottom of our range of motion, start to stand back up until you reach a quarter of the way, stop then go back down. Explode up and you’ve just finished one complete rep.


Hero WOD: Jenny

This hero wod is a fantastic crossfit squat workout AMRAP. As many rounds as possible for 20 minutes

20 overhead squats (45/35 lb bar)
20 back squats (45/35 lb bar)
400 meter run

Why should a crossfit athlete want squat more? If I had to pick one exercise involved in the majority of Crossfit I would have to pick a squat. Think of the base movements we see in the Games. Clean and Jerks, snatches, odd object pulling and pushing and not to mention squats themselves.

Squats and building muscle in your legs is a core requirement for not just the power needed in the heavy lifts but also for the endurance requirement in the sport. You can be better at deadlifting or have more upper body pushing strength but without a strong squat, your crossfit performance or performance in any sport is going to be limited.

Poke The Bear

One of my favorite squat based crossfit workouts, this is also a 20 minute AMRAP
100 meter farmers carry (85/55 lb)
Then as many rounds as possible of
5 back squats (135/65 lb)
10 bar over burpees (here’s more crossfit burpee workouts)
15 calorie assault air bike
100 mete Farmers Carry


Baby Got Back Squat- This crossfit squat workout tests your muscular endurance. Since the back squats are positioned right in the middle of your workout, you’ll get to the back squats already fatigued, especially in your legs. This is a test of leg strength specifically leg fatigue.

30 minute AMRAP
6 handstand push ups
12 box jumps (24 inches)
18 back squats (185/135 lb)
24 Ab mat sit ups
30 calorie assault air bike


By frequently squatting you build strength and muscular endurance while slowly adding muscle to your lower body. With this consistent pounding you’ll also increase your resolve, knowing that you can squat when fatigued. Squatting is less about max effort (though it’s involved) and more about building the engine to display strength at all times.