Particularly since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic in which the stay-at-home orders had people around the world needing to shift their exercise routines to at-home workouts, fitness challenges have exploded in popularity.
You can find all types of fitness challenges these days, many of which rapidly spread through shareable social media memes, images, and before-and-after photo collages.
And, research supports the idea that fitness challenges can indeed increase the motivation to exercise. There are 30-day plank challenges, 30-day push-up challenges, and 30-day running challenges to name a few.
The 100 squat a day challenge is another fitness challenge that you can do at home (or at the gym) in just a matter of a few minutes per day. We all know squats are good for the body, but can you really see any differences after the 100 squats a day challenge and is 100 squats a day enough to reap health benefits?
I decided to step up and take on the 100 squats a day challenge myself and see how I fared after 30 days.
In this article, we will discuss the 100 squats a day challenge, my experience, and what to expect in a month of the 100 squats a day challenge.
In this guide, we will cover:
- What Is the 100 Squats a Day Challenge?
- How Long Does the 100 Squats a Day Challenge Take?
- Benefits of the 100 Squats a Day Challenge
- My Experience With the 30 Day 100 Squats a Day Challenge
- 100 Squats A Day Challenge: Here’s What To Expect In A Month
Let’s dive in!
What Is the 100 Squats a Day Challenge?
At its core, the 100 squats a day challenge involves doing 100 squats a day for 30 days or one month.
How you get your 100 squats a day done is entirely up to you, meaning you can choose whether you do all 100 squats at once or if you can break them up into sets throughout the day.
You can try to bang out all 100 squats in a single set every day. You can do 10 sets of 10 squats interspersed throughout the day, or four sets of 25 squats, or you can do two sets of 50 squats with just a short rest in between. It’s entirely up to you.
Some people gradually build up to doing the 100 squats a day by starting with sets of 10 or 20 on day one, and then increasing the number of continuous squats as your fitness Improves.
So, for example, you might find you can do 30 squats without resting on the first day of the challenge. You can then do the rest of the 70 squats broken into numerous sets throughout the rest of the day.
On day two, you can try to do 35 without stopping, and then get your 65 remaining squats done in shorter sets.
Continue increasing the number of squats you do without stopping as your strength improves.
There also aren’t a ton of rules in terms of the type of squats you have to do in the 100 squats a day challenge unless you choose to follow a specific iteration of the challenge.
Some people do just 100 standard, bodyweight squats every single day for 30 days whereas other versions of the 100 squats a day challenge have different squat variations each day.
For example, the Blogilates 100-squat challenge includes a different squat variation each of the 30 days.
How Long Does the 100 Squats a Day Challenge Take?
Doing 100 squats a row sounds like a lot. It’s certainly tiring and will get your heart pumping, but it doesn’t actually take that long.
You can do a hundred squats in roughly 3-5 minutes, which is one of the biggest perks about the 100 squats a day challenge: It takes very little time.
Even if you break up your 100 squats into sets throughout the day, the actual exercise time will still be just about 5 minutes or so.
So, all you’re looking at in terms of a time investment is 3-5 minutes a day for 30 days. Sounds doable, right?
I thought so, which is why I took on the 100 squats a day challenge.
Benefits of the 100 Squats a Day Challenge
There are both health and fitness benefits of doing squats as an exercise, as well as practical benefits specific to the 100 squats a day challenge itself.
Taken together, benefits of the 100 squats a day challenge include the following:
- Strengthening your legs, mainly your glutes, hamstrings, and quads
- Strengthening your core
- Increasing cardiovascular fitness
- Improving balance and coordination
- Burning calories
- Requiring very little time, so it’s an approachable fitness challenge
- Requiring no equipment (unless you specifically want to add weights, bands, barbells, etc.), so it’s an accessible fitness challenge
- Requiring very little space, so it’s a practical fitness challenge even if you’re traveling or don’t have a dedicated workout space at home
- Increasing motivation to exercise
My Experience With the 30 Day 100 Squats a Day Challenge
I decided not to be overly creative or ambitious with the 100 squats a day challenge.
If I do it again, I might try a different squat variation every day like the Blogilates challenge.
I did pretty much just a hundred basic bodyweight squats every day for the 30 days, with a few days of sumo squats mixed in for a little variety.
Of course, doing a different squat variation each day will allow you to use different muscles. However, that can make it more difficult to gauge your progress in terms of how many squats you can do without stopping (if that’s your goal) as you’re trying to make progress towards increasing that number over the course of the 30-day squat challenge.
Therefore, whether you choose to do basic bodyweight squats or different squat variations every day is best based on your primary goal, as well as your experience level.
As for my results, my butt circumference increased by 0.5 inches (1 cm) and my quads looked a lot more defined. I was able to bang out all 100 in a row by the end, and I noticed that my heart rate during my runs has started to trend downwards at the same paces.
100 Squats A Day Challenge: Here’s What To Expect In A Month
Your personal 100 squats a day challenge results will depend on your current fitness level and your diet and exercise program aside from the 100 squats a day for 30 day challenge.
Just adding 100 bodyweight squats to your current fitness routine without changing your diet or adding any other movement can still lead to some visible body composition changes, especially if you’re relatively inactive at the start of the challenge.
The 100 squats a day challenge went viral in 2018 upon the release of a Buzzfeed video showcasing before-and-after results that three everyday individuals experienced who took on the 100 squats a day challenge for 30 days.
To date, the video has more than 20 million views.
Let’s see how they did:
Spencer
The man in the video, Spencer, was already working out six days a week before the challenge, so he decided to add weight to his squats using a barbell.
Even after just a week or so, Spencer said he noticed his quads and butt getting firmer and more defined.
He felt much stronger and was able to lift more weight and said he was surprised how much more meaningful that ended up being to him even though he didn’t experience tons of physique changes.
His butt circumference actually decreased by 1/4 inch, but he said it looked “super toned” and he was very pleased with the changes.
Brenda
Brenda was super excited about how her former “chicken legs” looked like “bodybuilder’s arms” after the challenge, in that they looked more filled out with some visual muscle definition.
She did gain 3/4 of an inch (about 2 cm) on her butt circumference, which doesn’t sound like a ton, but for 30 days, is actually pretty impressive, and she was stoked!
Her left thigh circumference also increased 1/2 inch (roughly 1 cm) and her right thigh increased by 1/4 inch.
Shannon
Shannon loved how she could do 60 squats without stopping by the end, starting with 25 or so in a set on day one.
In viewing her before and after photos, she commented that she was pleased her butt looked “raised up more.” Her legs also got somewhat bigger.
Although, in general, their body circumference measurements changed only minimally, for 30 days, these are pretty impressive results.
The table below presents their results from the 30 day 100 squats a day challenge:
| Name | Butt Circumference Before | Butt Circumference After | Thigh Circumference Before | Thigh Circumference After |
| Spencer | 39 inches | 38.75 inches | 22 inches | 22.5 inches |
| Brenda | 32.5 inches | 33.25 inches | 18.5 inches | 19 inches |
| Shannon | 36 inches | 36.25 inches | 22 inches | 23 inches |
It is definitely possible to have some visible changes to your physique from the 100 squats a day challenge, though your results aren’t necessarily going to be monumental, especially if you’re already fit.
If you are working out a lot currently, it’s a good idea to add extra weight like Spencer did.
Moreover, keep in mind that just taking circumference measurements doesn’t necessarily mean your body composition hasn’t changed at all.
Muscle tissue is denser than fat, so theoretically if your weight doesn’t change at all, if your circumference measures decrease (get smaller) after completing the 100 squats a day challenge, it’s a good indication that you’ve gained muscle and lost body fat.
Essentially, your body takes up less space and is tighter and denser when you put on lean mass at the same rate that you lose body fat.
Alternatively, if you actually gain weight over the challenge and your measurements don’t change, you might have put on muscle.
In general, the 30-day 100 squats a day challenge isn’t designed to induce significant muscle hypertrophy (growth in size) if you’re doing just bodyweight squats.
You usually need a higher load or resistance to stimulate your muscles to build in size, though this isn’t an absolute truth, and you can see from the testimonials that some muscle gain is certainly achievable.
As can be garnered by the enthusiastic testimonials in the Buzzfeed video, the 100 squats a day is a fun, motivating, and a very doable way to add a little physical activity to your day, even if you’re super busy and not too keen on working out.
Start with sets of 10 or 20 throughout the day and just commit to 30 days. See how you can change.
You’ve got this!
If you are looking to participate in other 30-Day Fitness Challenges, we have a nice selection for you to choose from, here!
Thanks for this! Great motivation and achievable!