Deep squat hold
Sitting all the way down in a squat with the heels flat and resting there: the deepest bend of hips, knees and ankles, most often limited by the ankles.
Deep squat family
Deep squat hold
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Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.
How to move
- Stand with the feet a little wider than the hips, the toes turned slightly out.
- Sink as low as is comfortable, heels down if you can, holding a door frame or post if you need to.
- Rest there and sway gently from side to side, then stand up, using the hands if needed.
Form cues
- Keep the knees in line with the toes.
- Raise the heels on a folded mat if they lift.
Practice and cautions
No universal dose is assigned. Choose a manageable amount for your current capacity, leave room for controlled repetitions, and allow recovery. A clinician’s individual plan takes priority.
With a prolapse, get advice from a pelvic health physiotherapist before heavy lifts or deep squats, and ease off if you feel heaviness, dragging or a bulge. This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.
Sources and review status
Sources support the educational description; they do not establish that this exercise is suitable for you.
No variation is labeled clinically validated.
What it works
Muscles
Main: Quads, Glutes. Also: Adductors, Calves.
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
- Advanced calisthenics workout · 45 min
- Daily mobility routine · 12 min
- Pistol squat progression · 25 min
- Squat technique workout · 25 min
- Squat challenge workout · 15 min
- Activate rugby warm-up: the adult sample phase · 25 min
- CrossFit warm-up and mobility routine: shoulders, wrists, hips and ankles · 15 min
Show all 19 workoutsShow fewer workouts
- Weightlifting technique workout: the snatch and the clean and jerk from the top down · 60 min
- Learn the power clean: from the hang to the floor · 40 min
- Front squat technique workout: the rack, the grip and the depth · 30 min
- Yin yoga sequence: a 60-minute class · 60 min
- Squat strength workout: heavy sets, pause squats and single-leg work · 60 min
- Yoga for mobility: a 20-minute flow for range you can control · 20 min
- Thruster workout: learn the squat-to-press, then an 8-minute EMOM · 35 min
- Box squat workout: barbell box squats, Romanian deadlifts, step-ups and core · 45 min
- Overhead squat progression: ankle, hip and shoulder mobility, then the dowel and the bar · 25 min
- Lifters' yoga: a 25-minute class for squat, hinge and overhead positions, after lifting or on a rest day · 25 min
- Ankle mobility routine: the knee-to-wall test, calf stretches and full-range calf raises · 12 min
Pain guides that use it
Part of a staged plan, with when to get help first.
Guides that use it
- Pilates for a meniscus tear guide
- Yin yoga guide
- Yoga for men guide
- Yoga for knee pain guide
- Hip-opening yoga guide
- Yoga for mobility guide
- Yoga for the pelvic floor guide
- Yoga for weightlifters guide
Show all 43 guidesShow fewer guides
- Yoga for climbers guide
- Yoga after a knee replacement guide
- Yoga for Achilles tendinopathy guide
- Yoga for hip bursitis guide
- Yoga for a meniscus tear guide
- Yoga for a hip labral tear guide
- Yoga for CrossFit guide
- Yoga for badminton players guide
- Yoga after ACL surgery guide
- Yoga for knee arthritis guide
- Yoga for hip arthritis guide
- Yoga for prolapse guide
- Yoga for the lower body guide
- Yoga for the ankles guide
- Yoga for men over 40 guide
- Yoga for hip mobility guide
- Hip joint guide
- Fascia exercises guide
- Mobility guide
- Pistol squats guide
- How to squat guide
- How to snatch guide
- How to front squat guide
- Sumo deadlift guide
- Cossack squats guide
- Thrusters guide
- Zercher squats guide
- Box squats guide
- Overhead squats guide
- Hang clean guide
- Hip mobility guide
- Ankle mobility guide
- Squat depth guide
- Crow pose guide
- Sitting-rising test guide
Similar moves
3D demoSit squat (partial squat)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoExtended side angle (Utthita Parsvakonasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoHigh lunge (crescent lunge, Ashta Chandrasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoHumble warrior (Baddha Virabhadrasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoWarrior I (Virabhadrasana I)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoWarrior II (Virabhadrasana II)Intermediate · No equipmentBrowse more
Questions people ask
What muscles does the Deep squat hold work?
Mainly the quads and glutes, with help from the adductors and calves.
What equipment do I need for the Deep squat hold?
No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.
Is the Deep squat hold good for beginners?
It is graded intermediate. If it is too hard right now, start with the Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana).
What is an easier alternative to the Deep squat hold?
Try the Goddess pose (Utkata Konasana) or the Heel-elevated deep squat (slant board squat). Both are written steps in the same progression.
How do I make the Deep squat hold harder?
Progress to the Cossack squat. Follow that guide’s technique and any stated timing.