Adductor length + strength
Cossack squat
Movement guide
Cossack squat
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Existing guide · editorial review pending. Clinical review is pending.
Sources and review status
Sources support the educational description; they do not establish that this exercise is suitable for you.
- Escamilla 2022 · Side lunges loaded the kneecap more than forward lunges from 40 to 100 degrees of knee bend, in 16 experienced adults (lab study, Int J Sports Phys Ther) ↗
- Riemann 2013 · The lateral lunge bent the ankle further and worked the knee extensors harder than the forward lunge, in 32 young adults (lab study, J Sports Med Phys Fitness) ↗
- Delmore 2014 · The side lunge ranked third of six inner-thigh exercises for adductor longus activity, in 24 students (EMG study, J Sport Rehabil) ↗
- NHS · Pelvic pain in pregnancy (past its review date: reviewed December 2022, review due December 2025) ↗
No variation is labeled clinically validated.
Wide stance, shift all the way over one leg while the other stays long. Half stretch, half single-leg squat, it builds strength through the inner line's full length instead of just pulling on it.
Make it easier or harder
Choose a version that fits your control and comfort.
Easier option
3D demoSit squat (partial squat)Beginner · No equipmentSimilar move, beginner grade.
Harder option
3D demoPistol squatAdvanced · No equipmentSuggested next step, advanced grade.
How to do it
- 01Stand very wide, toes slightly out.
- 02Shift sideways over one leg, bending that knee while the other leg stays long, its toes pointing up if comfortable.
- 03Sink only as low as your heel stays down and your chest stays proud.
- 04Push back through the bent leg to center and flow to the other side; hold the final rep each side for three breaths.
Mistakes that waste your reps
- Letting the bent-side heel pop up; keep the weight through the whole foot.
- Rounding forward and turning it into a toe touch.
- Bouncing at the bottom of a range the tissue has not agreed to yet.
Where this comes from
Discomfort that eases as you move is normal; pain that sharpens is a stop sign. If this area is injured or persistently painful, a clinician outranks this page.
Written by Kyle Jenkin · updated August 31, 2026 · how we grade evidence
Pairs well with
What it works
Muscles
Main: Quads, Glutes, Adductors.
Anatomy: Sartorius, Quadriceps, Rectus femoris, Vastus medialis, Vastus lateralis, Gluteus maximus.
Equipment
None: body weight and floor space.
Level
Intermediate. See the easier and harder options above.
Workouts that use it
- Hip mobility routine · 15 min
- Splits stretching routine · 25 min
- Daily mobility routine · 12 min
- Ski fitness workout · 40 min
- Ice hockey warm-up: hips and groins off the ice · 15 min
- Horse riding warm-up: hips, back and balance before you get on · 10 min
- Badminton strength and footwork workout · 45 min
- Squash strength and injury prevention · 35 min
Show all 14 workoutsShow fewer workouts
- Table tennis warm-up · 10 min
- Sumo deadlift workout: learn the wide stance and build the pull · 40 min
- Inner thigh workout: sumo squats, Cossack squats, squeezes and Copenhagen planks · 25 min
- Martial arts yoga: a 25-minute active-range class for hips, kicks, balance and breathing · 25 min
- Off-court Pilates for badminton players: a 25-minute class for the calves and Achilles, one-leg balance and the side lunge, the hips, the trunk both ways and the hitting shoulder · 25 min
- Squeeze-and-lift Pilates for the inner thighs: a 20-minute mat and standing class with a ring, ball or cushion · 20 min
Pain guides that use it
Part of a staged plan, with when to get help first.
- Groin strain and adductor pain: the exercises with the best evidence
- Groin pain: a strain, a hernia, the hip joint, the testicles and the other causes to know
- Inner thigh pain: a groin strain, the hip joint, a hernia, a trapped nerve, pregnancy and a clot
- Hip pain when doing lunges: the front of the hip, the joint, the outer hip, the groin and stride
- Groin pain when doing squats: the inner thigh, the hip crease, a hernia, stance and depth
- Groin pain when doing lunges: the inner thigh, side and long lunges, the back hip and a hernia
- Knee pain skiing: twisting falls, the ACL and MCL, kneecap pain, bindings and what helps
- Back pain from horse riding: sitting trot, saddle and stirrups, the tailbone, the yard and falls
- Hip pain from pickleball: the outer hip, the groin, arthritis, lunges, falls and what helps
- Hip and groin pain after football (soccer): groin strains, sports hernia, impingement and help
Guides that use it
- Pilates for badminton players guide
- Pilates for a groin strain guide
- Pilates for inner thighs guide
- Hip-opening yoga guide
- Yoga for martial arts guide
- Yoga for a groin strain guide
- Yoga for the splits guide
- Yoga for hip mobility guide
Show all 30 guidesShow fewer guides
- Hip joint guide
- Flexibility guide
- The splits guide
- Mobility guide
- Lunges guide
- Sumo deadlift guide
- Kettlebell windmill guide
- Copenhagen planks guide
- Cossack squats guide
- Skater jumps guide
- Sumo squats guide
- Hip adduction machine guide
- Strengthen your adductors guide
- Hip mobility guide
- Squat depth guide
- Agility guide
- Footwork guide
- Skiing and snowboarding guide
- Ice hockey guide
- Badminton guide
- Squash guide
- Table tennis guide
Similar moves
3D demoDeep squat holdIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoExtended side angle (Utthita Parsvakonasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoHumble warrior (Baddha Virabhadrasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoWarrior II (Virabhadrasana II)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoGet up and down from the floorBeginner · No equipment
3D demoHigh lunge (crescent lunge, Ashta Chandrasana)Intermediate · No equipmentBrowse more
Questions people ask
What muscles does the Cossack squat work?
Mainly the quads, glutes and adductors.
What equipment do I need for the Cossack squat?
No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.
Is the Cossack squat good for beginners?
It is graded intermediate. If it is too hard right now, start with the Sit squat (partial squat).
What is an easier alternative to the Cossack squat?
Try the Sit squat (partial squat) or the Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana). It works similar muscles at a lower grade.
How do I make the Cossack squat harder?
Progress to the Pistol squat. Follow that guide’s technique and any stated timing.
One move is a start. A thread is better.
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