Quads exercise
Hindu Squat (Baithak)How to do it, with form in numbers
- Also works
- Calves
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Hindu Squat?
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms straight out in front.
- Breathe in and squat down, lifting your heels as you go.
- Swing your arms down and back towards your heels.
- Breathe out and push up, lowering your heels to the floor.
- Swing your arms forward to chest height as you stand.
Cues
- Long spine, eyes forward.
- Rise onto the balls of your feet at the bottom.
- Move in one smooth rhythm.
Common mistakes
- Rounding your back to reach your heels.
- Letting your knees fall inward.
- Rushing reps so the movement turns jerky.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
The baithak (or bethak) is a traditional conditioning squat from Indian wrestling (kushti), usually done for high, rhythmic reps. Stand tall with the feet about shoulder-width apart, toes forward or turned out a little. Arms straight out in front at chest height, palms down. Shoulders down and back, gaze straight ahead.
The movement
Breathe in and lower the hips down and slightly back. As the knees bend, the heels lift so the body rides down onto the balls of the feet and the knees travel well forward past the toes. At the same time the arms sweep down and back, passing beside the hips, so the hands reach back towards the heels at the bottom. The trunk leans forward only a little; the spine stays long. Pause for a moment, then breathe out and push up through the balls of the feet. As the legs straighten the heels lower to the floor and the arms swing forward and up to chest height, arriving back at the start together. The movement is smooth and continuous.
End position
Bottom: a deep squat on the balls of the feet, thighs below parallel, heels well off the floor, hands beside or just behind the heels. Riding up on the forefoot lets the shins tip about 45–50° forward, so with the thighs below parallel (about 100° from vertical) the knee bends about 145° and travels well past the toes, while the trunk stays fairly upright, as raised heels do in [3].
Tempo
1.2 s down, 0.2 s at the bottom, 1.2 s up, 0.4 s standing with the arms forward. Breathe in on the way down and out on the way up.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stance, heel to heel | 1.0 × shoulder width | 1.0–1.2 × | [1] |
| Toe-out, each foot | 5° | 0–15° | [1] |
| Arms at the top, shoulder elevation | 90° (chest height) | 80–95° | [1] |
| Hands at the bottom | beside the heels | within 10 cm of the heels | [1] |
| Heels at the top | flat on the floor | 0 cm | [1] |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Hindu Squat is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
Sources
- Healthline, Hindu Squats: How to, Benefits and Modifications (medically reviewed by a CPT, 2020)
- Schoenfeld 2010, J Strength Cond Res, "Squatting kinematics and kinetics and their application to exercise performance"
- Monteiro et al. 2022, Human Movement 23(2):97–103, "Comparing the kinematics of back squats performed with different heel elevations"
- Alter 1992, The Wrestler's Body: Identity and Ideology in North India, University of California Press
