# Kettlebell Goblet Squat: how to do it

- Main muscles: quads, glutes
- Also works: adductors, abs
- Equipment: kettlebell
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/kettlebell_goblet_squat/96e2781bdb/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Hold the kettlebell by the horns against your chest, elbows down.
2. Stand with feet a little wider than your shoulders, toes turned out.
3. Sit down between your heels until your thighs are level or lower.
4. Keep the bell on your chest and your chest up.
5. Push through your whole foot to stand tall.

## Cues

- Bell glued to your chest.
- Elbows inside your knees at the bottom.
- Knees follow your toes.

## Common mistakes

- Letting the bell drift forward away from your chest.
- Dropping your chest and rounding your back.
- Letting your knees fall inward.

## Starting position

One kettlebell held by the horns (the two sides of the handle), bell hanging down, pressed against the chest just below the collarbones. Elbows point down and stay close to the ribs; a light outward pull on the horns keeps the upper back set. Heels a little wider than shoulder-width, toes turned out about 20°, whole foot flat. Stand tall, chest up, shoulders down and relaxed, eyes forward.

## The movement

Hips and knees bend together and the body sinks between the heels. The bell stays on the chest and travels in a vertical line over the mid-foot. Because the load sits in front, the trunk stays fairly upright. The knees travel forward and slightly out, in line with the turned out feet. At the bottom the elbows pass just inside the knees. Push through the whole foot to stand, hips and shoulders rising together.

## End position

Bottom: thighs at parallel or just below (hip crease a little below the top of the knee).

## Tempo

About 1.9 s down, 0.25 s pause, 1.4 s up, short stand at the top.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stance, heel to heel | 1.1 × shoulder width | 1.0–1.3 × | [1] [2] |
| Toe-out, each foot | 20° | 10–30° | [2] |
| Depth: hip crease vs top of knee | 3 cm below | 0–8 cm below | [1] |
| Shin lean from vertical at the bottom | 37° | 28–42° |  |
| Knee direction vs foot direction (front) | same line | within 10° | [1] [2] |
| Heel lift | 0 cm | 0 cm | [1] |

## Sources

1. [ExRx, Kettlebell Goblet Squat](https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Kettlebell/KBGobletSquat)
2. [NFPT, How to Perform a Goblet Squat](https://nfpt.com/how-to-perform-goblet-squat/)
3. [NASM, Goblet Squat](https://www.nasm.org/resource-center/exercise-library/goblet-squat)
4. [Myer et al. 2014, Strength Cond J, "The back squat: a proposed assessment of functional deficits and technical factors that limit performance"](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4262933/)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/kettlebell-goblet-squat