I'm a big fan of the traditional squat but doing the same move over and over often results in diminishing returns. So I decided to amp up my squat game by elevating my heels on a dumbbell.

If you think this is “cheating,” Arent says, “think about how weightlifting shoes, or ‘squat shoes,’ are designed: They’ve got a non-compressible elevated heel, with the idea that it ...