What is an alternate way of doing squats?

An alternate way of doing squats is to stand with a chair behind you, with your feet shoulder-width apart and firmly planted on the ground. Simply cross your arms across your chest so that your right hand holds your left shoulder and your left hand holds your right shoulder. As you lower yourself toward the chair, remember to exhale. Before sitting in the chair, pause so that your thighs are parallel with the ground. Then, slowly stand up, keeping your abdominal muscles contracted and your back straight. This is one repetition of a true squat, but we call it a modified squat because, if you find it too difficult, you can place pillows on the chair.

In this way, you lower yourself only to the pillows so that your thighs never become parallel with the floor. Start with as many pillows as you need. As you improve and become familiar with the mechanics of the exercise, you will need fewer and fewer pillows. Eventually, you should be able to get your thighs parallel (or close to parallel) with the floor. Again, the purpose of the exercise is not to "get parallel" but rather to strengthen your leg muscles.

A great squat is the box squat. Take an object, a bench or a chair and stand in front of the object. Heels towards the object. Next slowly bend at your hips and your knees. As you lower your body make sure to keep your shoulders rolled back to avoid rounding your back. Have your hips slightly touch the object and return to the start by driving your weight through your heels. Essentially, envision yourself sitting in a chair. The only difference is you will not be sitting down!