Goblet squat

The goblet squat is a squat with a dumbbell or kettlebell held at the chest. The weight in front acts as a counterbalance, which lets you sit straight down instead of folding forward.

That is why it is the squat most people get right immediately, and why it is worth doing even if you already squat with a bar. The load ceiling is low, though, so it stops being a strength exercise fairly quickly.

Sets, reps and RIR

A heavy multi-joint lift with free weights. Keep a rep or two in reserve on most sets so technique holds.

RIR means reps in reserve: how many you could still have done when you racked it. RIR 2 is two short of failure.

How to do it

1. Hold a dumbbell vertically by one end at chest height, elbows tucked in under it.
2. Set your feet about shoulder width, toes slightly out.
3. Brace, then sit straight down between your feet, letting the elbows track inside the knees.
4. Go until the hip crease passes the knee, or until your lower back starts to round.
5. Pause for a beat at the bottom, then stand up without letting the weight drift away from your chest.

Common mistakes

Letting the weight drift forward

The counterbalance stops working and your lower back takes the difference. Keep the dumbbell against your sternum.

Heels lifting

Usually ankle mobility, not effort. A small plate under the heels fixes it today, and calf and ankle work fixes it over weeks.

Rushing the bottom

The pause is what makes the position stick. Bouncing turns it into a faster, shallower exercise.

Staying here too long

Once you can do 15 clean reps with the heaviest dumbbell in the gym, the exercise has nothing left to give. Move to a front or back squat.

How it differs from the neighbouring variants

The front squat is the barbell version of the same upright position, with a much higher load ceiling and a much harder setup. The back squat lets you go heavier still, at the cost of a more forward torso.

The bodyweight squat is the same movement without the counterbalance, which makes reaching depth harder, not easier, for most beginners.

What it suits

Goblet squats fit as the first leg exercise for someone new to training, or as a warm-up set before barbell squats for everyone else. Eight to fifteen reps. It is also the squat to fall back on when your back is tired, since the load is low and the position is easy to hold.

Muscles worked

Primary: Quads, Glutes.

Secondary: Abs, Adductors, Abductors.

Estimate your one-rep max

Epley's formula, from a set you have actually done. It is an estimate, and it drifts above eight reps, so keep the input between one and twelve.

What it is called elsewhere

• Norsk Goblet squat
• Svenska Goblet squat
• Dansk Goblet squat
• Deutsch Goblet Squat
• Español Sentadilla goblet
• Italiano Goblet squat
• Português Agachamento goblet
• Русский Приседания с гантелью у груди
• Français Goblet squat

Related legs exercises

• Squat (barbell)
• Front squat
• Box squat
• Lunges (barbell)
• Hip thrust (barbell)
• Good morning

athlate logs this exercise, keeps the numbers, and tells you what you lifted last time.