Goblet Squats

How to Perform a Dumbbell Goblet Squat
  • Stand with feet wider than hip-width apart, toes angled outward.
  • Hold the kettlebell at chest level, cupping the handles with elbows bent.
  • Warm up with a lighter kettlebell, then switch to a heavier weight for your set.
  • Engage your core, keep your back neutral, and look straight ahead.
  • Press your hips back and bend your knees to squat, inhaling as you lower.
  • Keep the kettlebell close to your body and chest tall.
  • Lower your hips below knee level, maintaining proper alignment.
  • Keep your weight on your heels, ensuring your elbows stay inside your knees.
  • Press through your heels to rise, exhaling and squeezing your glutes.
  • Complete the set, rack the kettlebell carefully, and repeat for more sets

 
What Muscles Do Goblet Squats Work?

The goblet squat primarily targets quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. As you squat, the quadriceps in the front of your thighs extend your knees, while the glutes and hamstrings engage to help lower and rise from the squat. The core muscles, including the abdominals and lower back, stabilize the torso and maintain proper alignment throughout the movement. Additionally, the inner thigh muscles (adductors) help stabilize the legs, making the goblet squat an effective full-body exercise for strength and stability.

Benefits of Goblet Squats

The goblet squat is an effective exercise that promotes proper form while targeting major lower body muscles like the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. It also engages the core, back, forearms, shoulders, and upper back for added stability. As a beginner-friendly progression of the air squat, it helps individuals add resistance while improving squat form. By holding the kettlebell in front, the goblet squat emphasizes the quadriceps more than other squat variations, making it a great choice for building strength in this muscle group while working the entire body.


What Are Variations of Goblet Squats?

Single-Leg Goblet Squat: Hold the kettlebell in front of your body and squat on one leg, engaging your core and working on balance and stability.

Goblet Squat with Overhead Press: At the top of the squat, press the kettlebell overhead. This adds an upper-body component, targeting the shoulders and core while still focusing on the lower body.

Goblet Squat Jump: After reaching the bottom of the squat, jump up explosively, landing softly back into the squat position. This variation adds a plyometric element, boosting power and explosiveness.


Source:

Verywell Fit. (n.d.). How to goblet squat. Verywell Fit. Retrieved January 28, 2025, from https://www.verywellfit.com/how-to-goblet-squat-4589695