Training guide
A goblet squat is a squat holding one dumbbell or kettlebell upright against your chest. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, sit down between your feet until your thighs are about level with the floor, and drive back up through your whole foot. Pick a weight you can squat 8 to 12 times with 2 or 3 reps to spare.
The weight in front keeps you upright, which is why coaches use it as the first loaded squat. It trains the front of your thighs, your glutes and your inner thighs, and programmes that included it built strength in young men and everyday function in older adults. Its limit is how heavy a dumbbell you can hold at your chest.
This guide covers the steps on the 3D figure, how deep to go, how heavy, the goblet squat against the back and front squat, and your knees and back.
Hold one dumbbell upright against your chest with your elbows close to your ribs and your feet about shoulder-width apart. Sit down between your feet and stand back up. Coaching ladders put it after the bodyweight squat and before squatting with a barbell.
As deep as you can keep your heels down and your back's shape: thighs about level with the floor is the usual target, and ACE (the American Council on Exercise) takes the hips below the knees. Deep squats haven't been shown to harm healthy knees, and full squats built more glute and inner-thigh muscle than half squats.
The front of your thighs, your glutes and your inner thighs, with your trunk and upper back holding the weight. In 32 adults it drew more front-thigh activity than a landmine squat, though activity in a few reps doesn't predict growth.
A weight you can squat 8 to 12 times with 2 or 3 reps to spare (3 or 4 in your first two weeks), for 3 or 4 sets, twice a week, as our squat guide and plans suggest. The load matters: 100 bodyweight squats a day for 4 months built no strength in 25 older adults. For muscle, aim for about 10 or more hard sets a week for your thighs.
The same muscles, more upright and easier to learn, but limited by the dumbbell you can hold. Kettlebell training with goblet squats raised back squat strength in young men, though less than barbell training did, and improved everyday function in older adults. Move to a barbell when 3 sets of 10 with your heaviest dumbbell feel smooth.
Knees travelling past your toes is normal. With pain at the front of the knee, squat to about 45 degrees of knee bend first. The weight in front keeps you upright, but in a lab study it didn't take load off the lower back at the same weight. A knee that locks, gives way or swells needs NHS 111 (in the US, your doctor or urgent care).
A squat holding one weight in front of the chest with both hands: a dumbbell held upright by its top end, or a kettlebell held by the horns (the sides of its handle). ACE describes the feet about shoulder-width apart, the dumbbell vertical in front of the chest, the elbows close to the ribs and the back straight, lowering until the hips are below the knees, then pushing both feet into the floor to stand. ACE's squat ladder runs from an assisted squat to a bodyweight squat, then the goblet squat, then front squats with two kettlebells or a barbell, then the barbell back squat.
The quadriceps straighten the knee. In 16 men and 16 women squatting 30% of their body mass, the goblet squat drew more activity from two of them (the vastus medialis and lateralis) than a landmine squat, and more vertical force through the feet. A more upright trunk shifts work towards the knee, and leaning forward shifts it towards the hips and lower back.
They straighten the hip as you stand. In 17 men, 10 weeks of full squats grew the glutes 6.7% and the inner thighs 6.2%, against 2.2% and 2.7% with half squats, while the front of the thigh grew the same with both. In 10 bodybuilders, a wide, toes-out (sumo) stance drew more inner-thigh activity.
In 19 men, squats with a load drew more muscle activity than squats without one, and a kettlebell-loaded squat drew more from the inner hamstring than barbell, dumbbell or vest-loaded squats. Your trunk and upper back hold the weight up and keep the spine still.
The pressure behind the kneecap peaks at about 90 degrees of knee bend and falls as you go deeper, because the contact area grows; it is lowest between standing and about 45 degrees. Letting your knees travel forward past your toes is normal: in 7 men, holding the knees back cut the turning force at the knee from 150 to 117 newton metres but raised it at the hip from 28 to 303.
Most of these figures come from EMG (electromyography: electrodes measuring how hard a muscle works), which shows effort in a few reps, not what a muscle builds over months. The training trials below matter more.
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Women showed more front-thigh activity than men in both squats in one study. Across meta-analyses, men and women gained similar relative strength and muscle; men gained slightly more muscle in absolute terms. Long thighs or stiff ankles make it harder to stay upright, which raised heels or a wider stance help, as our squat guide explains.
The training evidence comes from programmes that included it. That makes it hard to credit any result to the goblet squat itself.
30 young men trained twice a week for 6 weeks, with either kettlebell swings, high pulls and goblet squats (4 sets of 6) or weightlifting with back squats. Both groups got stronger and more powerful, but back squat strength rose more with the barbell. Jump height and body composition didn't differ.
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32 inactive adults aged 59 to 79 had 3 months of usual activity, then 3 months of kettlebell training: three supervised 45-minute classes and two home sessions a week, with swings, cleans, presses, goblet squats and get-ups. Grip strength rose 6 to 7 kg, the 6-minute walk 41.7 m, the 30-second sit-to-stand by 3.3, and lean mass in the arms and legs by 0.65 kg, with 4 non-serious adverse events and 91.5% attendance. There was no separate control group.
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25 adults aged about 78 did 100 bodyweight squats every day for 4 months, or carried on as usual. The squat group gained no strength, muscle thickness or function. Holding a weight that makes 8 to 12 reps hard is a different kind of work.
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In 17 men, 10 weeks of full squats grew the glutes and inner thighs two to three times as much as half squats, with the front of the thigh equal. In another 17 men, 12 weeks of deep squats (knees bent to about 120 degrees) grew the front of the thigh 4 to 7% more than shallow squats (60 degrees). Two small trials in young men, with barbells.
A review of over 164 articles found no evidence that deep squats harm healthy knees or speed up wear in the joint, and argued that half squats done with much heavier loads may favour wear in the knees and spine over time. It is a narrative review of mostly lab and cadaver data, not trials of injuries.
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No study has compared the lower back in goblet and back squats. In a lab study of 18 adults using a special bar with the load in front of or behind the body (not a goblet squat), a load further forward kept the trunk more upright but raised the demand on the lower back's muscles at the same weight. Our reading: the goblet squat feels easier on the back because you stay upright with a lighter weight, not because the front load protects the spine.
In 15 trained adults, the front squat produced less compression in the knee than the back squat, with similar muscle activity. The goblet squat puts the weight in front in a similar way, though it wasn't tested.
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Across 137 reviews of more than 30,000 people, strength rose most with heavier loads, a full range, 2 to 3 sets and at least 2 sessions a week, and muscle grew most with about 10 or more sets a week. Each extra weekly set added a little more growth, with diminishing returns. Training to failure wasn't needed, and light, moderate and heavy loads built similar muscle when sets were hard; heavier loads built more strength.
Across 13 studies, free weights and machines built similar strength and muscle, each better on its own test. The equipment you train with didn't consistently change results in the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) overview.
Steps from our move page, ACE and our squat guide. If a rep stalls, push the weight away from you and step back rather than trying to save it, as our move page says. Squat to a bench or box for a depth marker, and put your heels on small plates if they lift.
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The movement on the figure: Dumbbell goblet squat
That is the usual target, as long as your heels stay down and your back keeps its shape. ACE goes until the hips are below the knees, and deeper is fine if you control it: reviews found no evidence that deep squats harm healthy knees.
Full and deep squats grew the glutes, inner thighs and front of the thigh more than half or shallow squats in small trials. If you can't go deeper with control yet, thighs level still works well.
Near the bottom, once your hips run out of bend, the pelvis tucks under and the lower back rounds, which adds load to the spine. Stop just above that point, or squat to a box set at that height.
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Start with squats to about 45 degrees of knee bend, where the stress behind the kneecap was lowest in 10 people, then go deeper as the pain allows, keeping within our knee guides' pain rule.
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Pick a dumbbell you think you could squat about 10 to 12 times, do 8 to 10, and keep 3 or 4 reps to spare for your first two weeks, as our plans' starting-weight note says. If 2 or 3 more reps would have been possible, it's about right.
Light, moderate and heavy loads built similar muscle when sets were hard, and stopping short of failure grew muscle about as well as going all the way. Sets of 8 to 12 that end 2 or 3 reps short suit most people, as our workouts use.
Your grip and upper back usually give out before your legs. Then add reps, lower over 3 seconds, pause at the bottom, or move on: ACE's ladder goes next to two kettlebells held at the shoulders, then a barbell. In young men, barbell training raised back squat strength more than kettlebell squats did.
Either works: a dumbbell held upright by its top end, or a kettlebell by the horns, whichever you can keep against your chest for the whole set.
Source 1
Easiest first. Sit-to-stands start at 5 slow reps (NHS); the bench version at 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 with 2 or 3 reps in reserve (its move page's editorial dose); the goblet squat at 3 or 4 sets of 8 to 12 (our squat guide); the sumo and double kettlebell versions at 3 sets of 8 to 12 and 6 to 10 (our editorial starting point); the barbell squats as our squat and front squat guides say.
3D demoSit to stand from a chairBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoBodyweight squatBeginner · No equipment
3D demoDumbbell squat to a benchIntermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoHeel-elevated deep squat (slant board squat)Intermediate · A step
3D demoPlié dumbbell squat (sumo squat)Intermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell
3D demoDouble kettlebell front squatIntermediate · A kettlebell
3D demoBarbell front squatAdvanced · A barbell
3D demoBarbell back squatAdvanced · A barbellThe weight in front lets you sit straight down with your chest up, which shifts work towards the front of your thighs. It is easier to learn than a barbell squat and needs only one weight.
Strength rises most with heavy loads, and a barbell can be loaded in small steps far beyond any dumbbell you can hold at your chest. That is the goblet squat's real limit, not its form.
Also front-loaded, with a barbell on the front of the shoulders: it loaded the knee less than the back squat with similar muscle activity. Our front squat guide covers it, and our front squat technique workout uses goblet squats as the bridge.
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A wider, toes-out stance drew more inner-thigh activity in one study of 10 bodybuilders, but activity isn't growth. Use the stance that lets you squat deepest with your heels down, and mix them if you like.
When 3 sets of 10 with the heaviest dumbbell you can hold at your chest look the same every rep, as our squat guide says. Its estimate, not a trial result: most beginners are ready for the empty bar after 2 to 6 weeks of goblet squats twice a week.
3 or 4 sets of 8 to 12, stopping about 2 reps short of failure, as our squat guide's editorial starting point. Lunges, step-ups and other leg work count towards the 10 or more hard sets a week that build muscle.
About 90 seconds to 2 minutes between sets, as our plans suggest for big moves of 8 to 12 reps.
Twice a week. For muscle, the number of hard sets in a week matters more than how many days you spread them over; for strength, training more often helped, with diminishing returns, and at least 2 sessions a week is the ACSM's advice.
Add reps until every set reaches 12, then move up to the next dumbbell and start again at 8 (double progression, as our plans describe). The ACSM's 2009 guidance adds 2 to 10% once you can do 1 or 2 reps more than your target.
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Expect to add reps most weeks at first. Our progressive overload guide's example goes from 3 sets of 9, 9 and 8 with 12 kg to 12, 12 and 12 by week 5, then 14 kg. In older adults, the 30-second chair stand rose by about 3 reps over 12 weeks of kettlebell training; it is a simple test to repeat every 4 weeks (our suggestion).
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Lighter weights for more than 15 reps with under 90 seconds' rest is the older ACSM advice for muscular endurance; the 2026 overview found too little data to set a dose.
Keep it touching your chest the whole way, as our move page cues; if it pulls away, it's too heavy.
Widen your stance a little, turn your toes out, or put small plates under your heels, as our squat guide suggests.
Go to thighs about level, or deeper with control: fuller squats grew the glutes and inner thighs more.
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Push your knees out in line with your toes, as our squat guide says; lighten the weight if they keep collapsing.
Leaning forward moves the load onto your hips and lower back. End the set when your chest starts to drop.
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Breathe out as you stand up, as our move page and squat guide advise, and keep sets short of failure.
Rate your knee pain from 0 to 10 during and after training: 0 to 2 is safe, up to 5 acceptable, and it should be back to normal by the next morning; for pain at one point just above or below the kneecap, keep it to 3 or less. If it isn't settled by morning, do less next time (a lighter weight, a higher box, fewer sets), not nothing. That's the rule in our knee pain when squatting guide.
Squat to about 45 degrees of knee bend first, where kneecap stress was lowest, then go deeper as it settles. The pressure peaks around 90 degrees and falls beyond it. Our runner's knee guide has a staged plan.
Mild to moderate pain, no more than about 5 out of 10, settling within an hour or so and no worse the next morning, as our back pain from deadlifts guide says. Stop or shrink anything that sends pain, pins and needles or numbness further down a leg.
Squat only as deep as your back stays put, with your trunk upright. A lighter goblet squat to a box is a common way back after back pain (our back pain guides), but the front load doesn't by itself take load off the spine.
Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts at 3 sets of 8 to 10 and split squats at 2 sets of 8 to 12 each side (our dumbbell leg workout), step-ups at 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg (our step-up guide), glute bridges for the hips, and the knee-to-wall rock (its move page's dose) for stiff ankles.
Start with sit-to-stands from a chair, 5 slow reps as the NHS suggests, then a light goblet squat to a chair or box. Supervised, progressive strength training suits older adults, and kettlebell training including goblet squats did in one trial.
Squats are recommended: strength exercise on 2 to 3 days a week, 8 to 12 reps, building to 3 sets. Keep a straight upper back, avoid rounding under load, and go only as deep as your back keeps its shape. If you've had several broken bones or spinal fractures, talk to your doctor or physiotherapist first.
Strength training is fine in pregnancy if you did it before; start anything new gently and stop if you feel uncomfortable, too hot or unwell. Our pregnancy strength workout squats only as deep as is comfortable with a chair behind you, and swaps to sit-to-stands with pelvic pain.
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You may not be able to exercise or carry anything heavier than your baby straight away, possibly for about 6 weeks; start again when you feel able and it isn't uncomfortable, and ask your midwife or GP if you're unsure.
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Breathe out as you stand up rather than holding your breath, use weights you could lift 10 to 15 times, and leave sets to failure until your blood pressure is controlled, as our squat guide and high blood pressure guide advise.
Raise your heels on small plates or widen your stance so you can stay upright, and work on your ankles with the knee-to-wall rock.
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The squat technique workout teaches it at 3 sets of 5 with a slow lowering; the dumbbell leg, full-body and kettlebell workouts use 3 sets of 8 to 12 (8 to 10 in the full-body dumbbell workout); the bone-strengthening workout uses 3 sets of 6 to 10; the strength and balance and pregnancy workouts start from sit-to-stands.
A 25-minute practice session for the squat: find your depth on a chair, groove the bodyweight squat with pauses, then load it with a slow goblet squat.
25 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A bench or boxLegs and glutes with dumbbells: goblet squats, Romanian deadlifts, step-ups, split squats and calf raises.
35 minIntermediate10 movesA wall, A dumbbellA beginner full-body gym workout: goblet squats, dumbbell bench press, lat pulldowns, Romanian deadlifts and dead bugs, with sets, reps and rest.
45 minBeginner12 movesCardio machine, A bandA 35-minute full-body strength workout with dumbbells: goblet squats, presses, rows, Romanian deadlifts and carries.
35 minIntermediate9 movesA band, A dumbbellStrength and balance in one session: squats, Romanian deadlifts, push-ups, rows, step-ups, back extensions, carries and single-leg balance.
45 minBeginner14 movesA wall, A dumbbellImpact, strength and balance for stronger bones, following UK osteoporosis consensus advice, with options for every level.
40 minBeginner14 movesA kettlebell, Other / check instructionsKettlebell workout B: Turkish get-ups, goblet squats, single-leg deadlifts, floor presses, one-arm rows and an overhead carry, with one or two bells.
40 minIntermediate10 movesA kettlebell, A dumbbellA 30-minute practice session for the front squat: loosen your wrists and upper back, groove an upright squat, then find your grip and depth with a light bar.
30 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A bench or boxA 30-minute strength workout for any trimester with dumbbells and a band: squats, rows, hinges, presses and side-lying hip work, none on your back.
30 minBeginner14 movesA dumbbell, A bench or boxGoblet squats come round once or twice a week in each of these plans.
A beginner gym plan: three full-body sessions a week, alternating workouts A and B, with sets, reps, rest and an 8-week progression.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekThree full-body home workouts a week with dumbbells or no equipment at all, plus walks and an 8-week plan to keep progressing.
3 training days35 minBeginner3 days a weekA weekly workout plan for women: three strength days, cardio and pelvic floor training, with the evidence on periods, pregnancy and menopause.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA weekly plan for women over 50: strength, bone-loading and balance on 3 days plus walking, built on UK osteoporosis consensus advice.
3 training days45 minBeginner4 days a weekA 4-day dumbbell-only plan for home or gym: two upper and two lower days, every set, rep and rest, and how to keep progressing when the dumbbells max out.
4 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekAn 8-week kettlebell plan for beginners: two strength sessions and a swing-interval day each week, with how to choose a bell and swing safely.
3 training days35 minBeginnerBack pain with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, numbness around your genitals or anus, or changes in your bladder or bowels; or chest pain that feels tight or squeezing, or spreads to your arms, neck or jaw. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
If your knee is very painful, you can't move it or put weight on it, it's badly swollen or has changed shape, it locks, gives way or clicks painfully (painless clicking is normal), or you have a very high temperature with redness or heat around it. In the US, your doctor or urgent care.
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Back pain with feeling hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or severe pain that starts suddenly or gets worse quickly. In the US, your doctor or urgent care.
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Knee pain that hasn't improved within a few weeks; back pain that hasn't improved after a few weeks of looking after it, is worse at night, or comes with weight loss you can't explain; or sciatica that isn't improving after a few weeks of home treatment.
For chest pain, feeling faint or unusual breathlessness, as our plans' safety note says.
A review of over 164 articles found no evidence that deep squats harm healthy knees, and full squats built more muscle than half squats. With kneecap pain, squat shallower first and build back.
Holding the knees back cut the load at the knee a little but raised it at the hip about tenfold in 7 men. Knees past toes is normal.
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Partly. You stay more upright and usually lift less, which helps. But in a lab study with a special bar, a load in front raised the lower back's work at the same weight, and no study has compared goblet and back squats for the back. That explanation is our reading.
Light, moderate and heavy loads built similar muscle when sets were hard, free weights and machines built similar muscle, and one-leg work built as much as two-leg work. A barbell matters for maximal strength, because it lets you load heavier: in one trial it raised back squat strength more than kettlebell training.
Coaches use them as the first loaded squat, and they are the main squat in many of our workouts at 3 sets of 8 to 12. They stop being enough when you can't hold a heavier dumbbell.
Hold one dumbbell upright against your chest with your elbows close to your ribs, and stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out a little. Sit down between your feet until your thighs are about level with the floor, keeping your heels down and your back's shape, then drive up through your whole foot. If a rep stalls, push the weight away from you and step back.
As deep as you can go with your heels down and your back keeping its shape. Thighs about level with the floor is the usual target, and deeper is fine with control: full squats built more glute and inner-thigh muscle than half squats, and deep squats haven't been shown to harm healthy knees. With pain at the front of the knee, start shallower.
Heavy enough that 8 to 12 reps leave you 2 or 3 reps short of failure, with 3 or 4 to spare in your first two weeks. For most people the limit is how heavy a dumbbell they can hold at their chest. When 3 sets of 10 with the heaviest one you can hold feel smooth, it's time for a barbell.
3 or 4 sets of 8 to 12, about 2 reps short of failure, twice a week, resting 90 seconds to 2 minutes between sets. For muscle, about 10 or more hard sets a week for your thighs works best, and lunges and step-ups count towards them.
Mainly the front of your thighs, your glutes and your inner thighs, with your hamstrings, trunk and upper back holding the weight in place. Holding the weight in front keeps you upright, which shifts work towards your knees. Your arms only hold the weight, so it isn't an upper-body exercise.
For sets of 8 to 12 it builds strength and muscle well, and it's easier to learn. Its limit is the weight you can hold: in young men, barbell training raised back squat strength more than kettlebell training did. Start with the goblet squat and move to a barbell when the dumbbell runs out.
They're close cousins. A wide, toes-out stance drew more inner-thigh activity in one small study, but activity in a few reps doesn't predict growth. Use the stance that lets you squat deepest with your heels down.
Not for healthy knees: a large review found no evidence that deep squats harm them, and knees travelling past your toes is normal. With knee pain, squat shallower and keep the pain to 0 to 2 out of 10, up to 5 if it settles by the next morning. A knee that locks, gives way or swells needs NHS 111, or your doctor or urgent care in the US.
Usually the weight is too heavy, you're going deeper than your back can keep its shape, or you're tiring and folding forward. Go lighter, squat to a box and keep the weight against your chest. Pain that spreads down a leg, or doesn't settle within an hour, is a reason to stop and read our back pain guides.
If your heels lift or your ankles are stiff, yes: small plates under your heels let you stay upright and sit deeper. Work on your ankles too, for example with the knee-to-wall rock.
Either. Hold a dumbbell upright by its top end, or a kettlebell by the horns, whichever you can keep against your chest for the whole set.
Yes. In inactive adults aged 59 to 79, kettlebell training that included goblet squats improved chair stands, walking, grip and muscle, with no serious problems, while 100 bodyweight squats a day didn't build strength in another trial. Start with sit-to-stands from a chair, then a light weight, and ask your doctor or physiotherapist first if you've had several broken bones or spinal fractures.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
