Single-Leg Squat
The single-leg squat is a squat on a single leg: you stand on one foot, hold the other leg off the floor in front of you and sit down as deep as you can control. It trains the quads and glutes of the standing leg hard, along with the hip muscles that keep your knee in line, and it needs nothing but your body weight.
How to do the single-leg squat
Stand on one foot, lift the other leg slightly in front of you and reach both arms forward for balance.
Brace your midsection, then push your hips back as you bend the knee of your standing leg.
Lower yourself under control, with your knee tracking over your toes and your whole foot flat on the floor.
Go as deep as you can control, keeping the free leg off the floor; sit to a bench or box while you build up to it.
Push through your whole foot to stand back up, without letting your knee drift inward.
Finish all reps on one leg, then switch sides and do the same number.
Setup and balance for the single-leg squat
Find a spot with room in front of you and a bench or box behind you. Stand on one foot, slightly turned out, and lift the other leg just off the floor in front. Reach your arms forward at shoulder height: they act as a counterweight as your hips move back. If your balance is shaky, stand next to a rack and let one hand rest lightly on it until you trust the movement.
Bracing and breathing
Breathe in and tighten your midsection before you start down, and breathe out as you stand up. A firm trunk keeps your chest from tipping forward at the bottom, where most single-leg squats fall apart.
Depth and the box
Depth is the main way to make this exercise harder. Start by sitting down to a bench at knee height or higher and standing straight back up without rocking. Over the weeks, use a lower box until you can reach the bottom with nothing behind you. Every rep in a set should reach the same depth.
Knee and foot position
Your knee travels forward over your foot and stays in line with your second toe. Keep your heel down and your weight over the middle of the foot. Your free leg stays straight and off the floor; the deeper you go, the higher it has to lift, which also asks a lot of your hip flexors.
Tempo
Lower yourself slowly enough that you could stop at any point, then stand up with intent. The way down is where you build control, so never let it turn into a drop.
Muscles worked by the single-leg squat
- Primary
- Quads
- Glutes
- Secondary
- Abductors
- Hamstrings
- Calves
The quads and glutes of the standing leg do most of the work: the quads straighten the knee, the glutes extend the hip and control the way down. Because you stand on one leg, the gluteus medius on the side of your hip has to keep your pelvis level and your knee in line. In an EMG study, the single-leg squat activated the glutes, hamstrings and vasti more than the forward lunge and the lateral step-up. The calves and the muscles of your foot keep you balanced.
Common single-leg squat mistakes
Letting the knee cave in
When the knee drifts toward the middle, the hip muscles stop doing their share and the knee leaves its line. Keep it over your toes; if it caves, use a higher box.
Lifting the heel
Rising onto the ball of your foot makes balance shaky and shifts the load forward. Keep the whole foot down and push through the middle of it.
Dropping into the bottom
Falling the last part of the way skips the hardest piece of control. Lower at a pace you could stop at any moment, and sit to a box if you cannot.
Pushing off with the free leg
Tapping the floor or a box with the other foot hands part of the rep to the wrong leg. Keep the free foot in the air for the whole set.
Going deeper than you can control
Depth only counts when you can stand up from it on one leg. Use the deepest point you own and lower the box over the weeks.
How Muscla coaches the single-leg squat
- Warm up with a few two-leg squats and easy single-leg reps before your first set. Muscla plans no ramp sets for bodyweight exercises.
- Stop each set with about two good reps left, three if you are new to training. When balance starts to go, the set is done.
- Rest 2 minutes between sets when you train for strength and 90 seconds for other goals, so your balance is back before the next set.
- With body weight only, Muscla works in a range of 8–15 reps per leg. Once every set reaches 15, you stay at 15 until the block ends and keep every rep clean.
- Start each set with your weaker leg and match its reps with the stronger one. That keeps both sides even over time.
Single-leg squat sets, reps and rest
| Goal | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 8–15 | 2 min |
| Muscle | 8–15 | 90 s |
| Lose fat | 8–15 | 90 s |
| Fit | 8–15 | 90 s |
| Comeback | 8–15 | 90 s |
Bodyweight: one range for every goal.
The table shows the app's range for body weight: 8–15 reps per leg. Once every set reaches 15, you stay at the top of the range until the block ends and keep every rep clean. It is an advanced squat: Muscla's level filter leaves it out for lifters it would be too hard for, and a training day never holds two squat variations.
Single-leg squat alternatives
- Barbell Squat
- Hack Squat
- Leg Press
- Dumbbell Goblet Squat
- Kettlebell goblet squat
- Smith squat
- Dumbbell squat
- Dumbbell bench squat
- Barbell Front Squat
- Band squat
Single-leg squat questions
Is the single-leg squat the same as a pistol squat?
The pistol is the deepest version: you sit all the way down with your free leg straight out in front. The single-leg squat covers every depth, from a squat to a bench down to the full pistol, so you can grow into it.
What muscles does the single-leg squat work?
The quads and glutes of the standing leg first, with the gluteus medius keeping your pelvis level and the hamstrings and calves helping. Your trunk works to keep you upright.
Is a single-leg squat better than a regular squat?
It is different. In female athletes, a single-leg squat with the back foot on a bench drew more glute medius and hamstring activity, the two-leg squat more quad activity. In a small 6-week study with sedentary young women, bodyweight squats that progressed to single-leg versions built strength and muscle about as well as barbell squats.
How do I build up to a full single-leg squat?
Squat to a bench or box on one leg and lower the box as you get stronger. Holding a light weight out in front of you shifts your balance forward and makes the bottom easier to control.
Are single-leg squats bad for your knees?
It puts your whole body weight on one knee, so control matters: keep the knee in line with your toes and only go as deep as you control. If you tell Muscla to go easy on your knees, it leaves out squats and lunges, including this one.
How many single-leg squats should I do?
With body weight alone, Muscla plans 8–15 reps per leg in each set. Light loads, body weight included, build muscle about as well as heavy ones when the sets are taken to or very near failure.
Train it with Muscla
Muscla plans your sets, reps and rest, and sets your next rep target after every session.
Coming to the App Store. Free to start.
Sources
- Muyor JM, Martín-Fuentes I, Rodríguez-Ridao D, Antequera-Vique JA. Electromyographic activity in the gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and rectus femoris during the Monopodal Squat, Forward Lunge and Lateral Step-Up exercises. PLoS One. 2020;15(4):e0230841. PubMed
- McCurdy K, O'Kelley E, Kutz M, et al. Comparison of lower extremity EMG between the 2-leg squat and modified single-leg squat in female athletes. J Sport Rehabil. 2010;19(1):57-70. PubMed
- Wei W, Zhu J, Ren S, et al. Effects of progressive body-weight versus barbell back squat training on strength, hypertrophy and body fat among sedentary young women. Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):13505. PubMed
- Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523. PubMed