Kneeling Squat Guide: How-To, Muscles Worked, Benefits, Variations & More

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Related guides: bench squat, burpee broad jump, goblet lunge, reverse lunges, v squat, b stance hip thrust

We all want strong, stable legs, and kneeling squats have a multiplicity of benefits that most people aren’t aware of. We’ve put together the complete guide on the exercise (and secret squat tip) to avoid injury and build strength. 

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How to do a kneeling squat

Kneel with your knees roughly 5 to 7 inches (depending on your size) wider than your shoulders on each side.

Then, to start the movement, flex at the hips whilst pushing your glutes to your feet. 

Once you’re at the end of your range of motion, squeeze your glutes and push your pelvis forward until you have full hip extension. 

Secret squat tip: squeeze your glutes before starting the movement

What are the chances that your hip, glutes, hamstrings and calves are all in perfect balance? I’ll give you a hint: not very high. Everyone has imbalances, and imbalances in the legs and hips can cause your hips to be tilted to one side. Imagine your shoulders pointing forward, but your hips pointing slightly to the left or right. 

Not only can this lead to further imbalances when squatting due to one side of your body working harder, but it can also lead to injury. 

By squeezing your glutes before starting the movement you’re ensuring that your hips are level, avoiding the issues described above. Useful, right?

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Related guides: bench squat, burpee broad jump, goblet lunge, reverse lunges, v squat, b stance hip thrust

Kneeling squat benefits

Increased focus on the glutes

The kneeling squat is great for glutes due to its ability to isolate these muscles better vs a standing squat. With a standing squa,t there’s a lot to think about throughout your entire posterior chain which can make glute activation hard to achieve. As there are fewer muscles involved in the kneeling squat, you can achieve a better mind-muscle connection and isolate the glutes more effectively, leading to increased strength and muscle growth.

Safer than a standing squat

For bodyweight squats, this is a much smaller issue. However, you’re more likely to injure yourself with a weighted standing squat vs a weighted kneeling squat for two reasons:

  • Standing weighted squats are a more complex movement, therefore leading to a higher chance of incorrect form and injury
  • You can add much more weight to standing squats. Whilst this is great for sparking muscle growth, it’s common for people to not have the required strength in their primary or stabilisation muscles to perform a weighted squat correctly, once again, leading to injury

Great for rehabilitation

Because of the simple and safe nature of this exercise, it’s great for rehabilitating injuries, especially in the knees. If a knee joint has been subject to wear and tear, leading to inflammation, fluid or a baker cyst, kneeling squats do a great job of building muscle around the knee joint, building glute strength and increasing knee flexion.

Drawbacks of the kneeling squat

Activates fewer muscles than a standing squat

Alright, I know I just said that standing weighted squats are more likely to get you injured, but hear me out. Whilst kneeling squats are safer, if you can do standing squats correctly (and pain-free) there are many more benefits to the body. As it’s a full-body exercise, the standing squat works your core, back and legs more, as well as causing the release of more hormones that drive muscle growth across the body.

It’s harder to progressively overload your muscles with more weight

If you were doing a traditional barbell squat you would most likely be using a rack to pick the barbell up from and put back down. When doing a kneeling squat this becomes a lot harder, even impossible. How are you going to load your shoulders with a barbell 1.5x your weight safely? There’s a reason that squat racks are made of thick steel and that’s safety. The huge benefit of progressive overload with more weight is that you can spark more muscle growth as your body tries to adapt. This is much harder when in a kneeling position.

Imagine trying this from a kneeling position…

Kneeling can be painful for some

Whilst a traditional barbell squat has its challenges, kneeling can also be difficult for a wide range of people. It can be a lot of weight to put on joints that usually one of the first to creak as we age. For some, a bodyweight squat may be more comfortable that a kneeling squat as the ankles, knees, hip flexors, glutes and posterior muscles can all work together to complete the movement.

Kneeling squat workout routine

This exercise suits a hypertrophy workout so we’ll be looking for 10 – 12 reps for 3 – 4 sets. 

If you’re looking to get a little extra from this workout, try a drop set if you’re already trying weighted kneeling squats. At the end of your last set, remove the weight and rep out until failure to gain more muscle growth.

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Kneeling squat muscles worked

Glute Maximus

The gluteus maximus is the largest glute muscle that covers the majority of the posterior side of the pelvis. It has several functions, however, it’s main function during a squat is hip extension (pushing the hips forward).

glute maximus muscle

Glute Medius 

Situated on the lateral side of the pelvis, this muscle assists in keeping the hips and pelvis stable during a squatting motion.

As mentioned in our benefits and drawbacks section, the kneeling squat employs fewer muscles than the standing squat. With regard to the glute muscles (maximus, medius and minimus), these muscles would be working much harder to keep the knees pointing outwards and pelvis stable during a standing squat.

glute medius muscle

Quadriceps 

The quadriceps muscles, located in the front of the thigh, are one of the primary muscle groups used during a squat. These muscles consist of four heads: the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, and vastus medialis.

During a squat, the quadriceps function to extend the knee and straighten the legs. As the lifter lowers down into the squat, the quadriceps work to control the descent and prevent the body from collapsing. As the lifter pushes back up to the starting position, the quadriceps help to extend the knee and straighten the legs.

Proper activation of the quadriceps is important for maintaining good form and avoiding injury during the squat. If the quadriceps are not adequately engaged, other muscles, such as the hamstrings, may compensate and become overworked. This can lead to imbalances and potential injuries.

Because of the kneeling component of this exercise, the quadriceps won’t experience their full range of motion as they would with a standing squat.

quadriceps muscle

Hamstrings

The hamstrings are a group of three muscles located in the back of the thigh. They play an important role in many lower body movements, including the squat.

During a squat, the hamstrings function to extend the hip and flex the knee. As the lifter lowers down into the squat, the hamstrings are responsible for controlling the descent and preventing the body from collapsing. As the lifter pushes back up to the starting position, the hamstrings help to extend the hip and straighten the legs.

Proper activation of the hamstrings is important for maintaining good form and avoiding injury during the squat. If the hamstrings are not adequately engaged, other muscles, such as the quadriceps, may compensate and become overworked. This can lead to imbalances and potential injuries. In addition to their role in the squat, the hamstrings also help to stabilize the knee joint and provide a strong foundation for other lower body movements.

Hamstrings muscle

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Kneeling squat variations

Smith machine kneeling squat

This variation makes it much easier to increase the load on the quads and glutes due to the added safety of a smith machine. One drawback of using a smith machine is that a lot of the stabilisation work is done for you, making this a good exercise to isolate the glutes but less functional overall. This is because we’re only moving in one plane of motion.

If we want exercises to have as many real world applications as possible, we want to ensure we’re moving in a 3D plane of motion like we would in real life situations.

Kneeling squat with kettlebell

Contrary to the smith machine variation, the using a kettlebell with your squats is a great way to increase load whilst giving your core and stabilisation muscles more to do. As we’re using free weights, as we complete the movement our supporting muscles will be recruited to keep us stable. This is much more applicable to real world situations when we’re picking up and carrying items. Furthermore, this kneeling squat variation allows us to increase the weight (progressively overload) without the injury danger of a heavy bar being on our shoulders.

https://youtu.be/h8PGSRQ2pYQ

Kneeling banded squat – Kneeling squat with a resistance band

The kneeling banded squat is another useful way to increase the load on your glutes, quads and hamstrings. What you’ll find is that the rep will be harder as your hips have pushed forward and your legs and torso and parallel. This kneeling squat variation is also extremely accessible as all you need is a resistance band and something to attach it to. Once you’ve completed your set with bands, try removing the bands and repping out until failure.

Kneeling squat alternatives

The bodyweight squat

Before thinking about weighted exercises like the barbell squat, lets start with something more accessible. The bodyweight squat is a brilliant way to activate the lower body and core whilst being very safe, with plenty of room to find a level of exertion that suits the individual.

If someone has knee, ankle or hip mobility issues they can choose to only sink to a particular depth before returning to the starting position. From here you can begin to think about weighted squat variations to build in to.

The barbell squat

Ok, the barbell squat might be the most fundamental exercise in a strength building program, and if not, it’s in the top 3. This exercise is incredibly functional, it stimulates huge amounts of muscle growth vs other exercises and on top of this, it builds muscle in the upper body as well!

Although we should address the elephant in the room, this is a blog about the kneeling squat which is sometimes used for those in rehab or beginners. The barbell squat requires proper form to avoid injury, and when you’re loading your shoulders with a bar as heavy as your bodyweight, it’s important to do things correctly. This exercise is suitable for those moving up from the kneeling squat because they’ve recovered their injury or are looking for the next challenge.

The hip thrust

If you’re looking for glute activation, look no further. The hip thrust exercise is a strength training movement that targets the gluteal muscles, or glutes, as well as the hamstrings and lower back. It is typically performed using a barbell or dumbbells, and can be done with or without additional weight.

To perform a hip thrust, the lifter begins by sitting on the ground with their upper back resting on a bench and their feet flat on the ground. The lifter then places a barbell or dumbbells across their lap, and pushes through their heels to raise their hips off the ground until they are in a straight line from their knees to their shoulders. The lifter then lowers their hips back down to the starting position.

The hip thrust is a powerful exercise for building strength and size in the glutes, as well as improving hip stability and mobility. It can also help to improve athletic performance, as the glutes are a key muscle group for activities such as running and jumping.

https://youtu.be/SEdqd1n0cvg

The lunge

Whilst the lunge looks like a simple exercise, many get it wrong. The reason we’ve added it as an alternative to the kneeling squat is because it works all of the same muscles, it’s extremely accessible and can be overloaded with weight if needed.

If you’re looking for more glute activation from this exercise try to keep your torso upright. If you’re looking for more quad activation lean forwards slightly. Remember to keep control and balance throughout the entire movement. Keep your feet pointing forwards along with your knee. To begin with place your arms out to your side to help your balance. As you get more comfortable you can bring your hand to your chest or begin to add weight with dumbbells, kettlebells or a barbell.

Additional resources

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Olly is a CIMSPA accredited personal trainer with a BSc degree in sport management from Solent University. He has over 10 years experience helping clients reach their health & fitness goals.