Kneeling SquatMuscles Worked
The kneeling squat works your glutes almost on their own, with your hamstrings helping, your abs bracing and your lower back holding the bar position. Because you're on your knees, the knee angle barely changes, so the quads stay mostly out of it and your hips do the work.
PrimaryGlutes
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Level
- Intermediate
- Type
- Compound
- Force
- Push
How to do it
- Set the bar in a squat rack at shoulder height for your kneeling position, put the safety arms just below the bottom position and pad your knees with a thick mat.
- Kneel under the bar, set it across your upper back with your shoulder blades squeezed, and lift it off the hooks.
- Brace your abs and keep your chest up, then sit your hips back until your glutes touch or come close to your heels.
- Drive your hips forward to return to an upright kneeling position, squeezing your glutes at the top.
- When the set is done, set the bar back on the hooks while staying on your knees.
Form tips
- Lead with your hips, not your chest: keep your torso fairly upright so the bend happens at the hips.
- Start light, because the bar sits high above your hips and balance is trickier than it looks.
- Squeeze your glutes hard at the top without leaning back past vertical.
Why it made the list
No. 11 of 12
Best Glute Exercises
Barbell kneeling squat isolates the glutes by removing quad involvement. Unique movement for glute-specific loading.
More glute exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Kneeling Squat sets in KasMaker and watch your glutes, abs, hamstrings, and lower back fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
