QuadsDumbbell or kettlebellBeginner

How to Do a Goblet Squat

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

· Updated Sep 30, 2026

A goblet squat is a squat with one dumbbell or kettlebell held against your chest. Keep your elbows down, squat straight down between your knees and go as deep as your heels stay flat. It mainly trains the quads, with the glutes and adductors helping. Most lifters do 3 sets of 8 to 15 reps.

Sets x reps 3 x 8-15
Median 10-rep weight 6027.5 lbkg men 4018 lbkg women
Muscles Quads, glutes, adductors
Setup One weight at your chest, feet shoulder-width
Goblet Squat start and bottom positions
  1. 1Start. Hold one kettlebell or dumbbell against your chest with your elbows down. Feet shoulder-width, toes turned out slightly.
  2. 2Bottom. Squat straight down with your chest up until your elbows reach the inside of your knees, then stand up through your whole foot.
Watch 3 video demonstrations
Video 1 of 3

Find more video demonstrations in the Gravitus app

Technique

How to do a goblet squat

  1. Hold one dumbbell upright by its top end, or a kettlebell by the handle or the bell, against your chest with your elbows pointing down.
  2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your toes turned out slightly.
  3. Take a big breath, brace your abs and squat straight down. Let your knees travel forward and out over your toes.
  4. Go as deep as you can with your heels flat and your back flat. Your elbows should end up inside your knees.
  5. Stand up by pushing through your whole foot, keeping the weight against your chest. Breathe out near the top.
Depth and balance

Why the weight in front keeps you upright

The weight in front of your chest keeps your torso upright because you have to stay balanced. Your body and the weight together must stay over the middle of your feet. In a back squat the bar already sits over your mid-foot, so your hips can travel back and your chest tips forward. With the weight at your chest, leaning forward would push it out past your toes, so you stay tall and your hips sink straight down.

A lab study measured it: the further forward the load sat, the less lifters bent their trunk and tilted their pelvis, while hip, knee and ankle loading stayed about the same (Goršič 2024).

That upright position is why the goblet squat makes depth easy. Go as deep as you can with your heels flat and your back flat, which is below parallel for most lifters. Over 12 weeks, deep squats to 120 degrees of knee bend grew the front of the thigh 4 to 7% more than shallow squats to 60 degrees (Bloomquist 2013). Full squats and half squats grew the quads by the same amount, but full squats grew the glutes and adductors 2 to 3 times as much (Kubo 2019).

Knees past toes

Your knees will travel past your toes at the bottom, and that is fine. In a squat study, stopping the knees at the toes cut knee torque by 22% but raised hip torque more than tenfold (Fry 2003).

Setup

Goblet squat stance

Start hereShoulder-width, toes out slightlyA good default. Adjust an inch at a time until your heels stay flat at full depth.
Wider stanceMore glutes and adductorsTurn the toes out with it. Quad work stays the same.
Narrower stanceNot more quadsQuad activity did not rise when the feet moved in. Use it only if it lets you go deeper.
Heels on a small plateDeeper with stiff anklesAdds ankle and knee bend, not hip bend. Useful when your heels lift.

Stance width changed glute and adductor activity but not quad activity in squat studies (McCaw 1999, Paoli 2009). Raising the heels added 4 to 5 degrees of ankle and knee range across 14 studies, with no change in hip or trunk range (Ghasemi 2026). Pick the stance where your heels stay down and you reach full depth.

Gravitus data

How much weight should you goblet squat?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 60 lb (27.5 kg) for 10 reps on the goblet squat, and the median woman 40 lb (18 kg).

Men, typical 60 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
45 to 75 lb
Top 10% lift
95 lb or more
Starting out
under 45 lb
Women, typical 40 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
27.5 to 50 lb
Top 10% lift
60 lb or more
Starting out
under 27.5 lb
Men, typical 27.5 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
20 to 35 kg
Top 10% lift
42.5 kg or more
Starting out
under 20 kg
Women, typical 18 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
13 to 22.5 kg
Top 10% lift
27.5 kg or more
Starting out
under 13 kg
PercentileMenWomen
25th60 / 45 lb37.5 / 27.5 lb
Median80 / 60 lb55 / 40 lb
75th100 / 75 lb65 / 50 lb
90th125 / 95 lb80 / 60 lb
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 6,522 men and 4,072 women who log the goblet squat on Gravitus, computed Oct 11, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
PercentileMenWomen
25th27.5 / 20 kg17 / 13 kg
Median35 / 27.5 kg25 / 18 kg
75th45 / 35 kg30 / 22.5 kg
90th57.5 / 42.5 kg37.5 / 27.5 kg
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 6,522 men and 4,072 women who log the goblet squat on Gravitus, computed Oct 11, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Weights are the one dumbbell or kettlebell you hold. Grip and upper back often give out before your legs. When the heaviest weight you can hold is easy for your legs, add a pause at the bottom or move to a front squat.
Anatomy

Muscles worked

QuadricepsStraighten the knee. Goblet squats drew more quad activity than landmine squats at the same load (Collins 2021).
Primary
GlutesExtend the hip. They grow more the deeper you squat (Kubo 2019).
Secondary
AdductorsExtend the hip at the bottom of a deep squat, more with a wide stance.
Secondary
Spinal erectors and absHold your trunk upright against the weight in front.
Stabilizer
Upper back, arms and gripHold the weight against your chest. They often tire before your legs do.
Stabilizer
HamstringsSteady the knee and hip. They did not grow from full or half squats (Kubo 2019).
Stabilizer
Research

Goblet squat advice that does not hold up

Many goblet squat guides repeat cues that are wrong for this lift:

  • Goblet squats are easier on your lower back. Only because the weight is lighter. At the same load, moving the weight forward reduced trunk lean but raised the load on the lower back (Goršič 2024).
  • Sit back as if into a chair. That cue belongs to the back squat. With the weight at your chest, sitting back tips you forward. Squat straight down and let your knees go forward.
  • Drive through your heels. Push through your whole foot. The weight in front only balances when the pressure stays over your mid-foot.
  • A narrow stance hits the quads, a wide stance the inner quads. Stance width did not change quad activity in either study that tested it (McCaw 1999, Paoli 2009).
  • Your hamstrings are a main mover. They steady the knee, but full and half squats did not grow them (Kubo 2019).
Compare

Goblet squat vs front squat vs back squat

Goblet squatFront squatBack squat
Where the load sitsAt your chestOn your front deltsOn your upper back
TorsoUprightUprightLeans forward more
What limits the weightGrip, upper backUpper back, wristsLegs, hips
Best forLearning to squat, high repsHeavy quad workHeaviest loads
Verdict

Use the goblet squat to learn the pattern and for higher reps, then add a barbell once your heaviest dumbbell is easy for your legs. Front and back squats recruited the leg muscles equally, and the front squat put less compression on the knee (Gullett 2009). Six weeks of kettlebell training with goblet squats raised back squat strength less than weightlifting with back squats (Otto 2012).

Programming

Sets, reps and progression

3Sets
8-15Reps
1-3Reps left

Stop each set 1 to 3 reps short of failure, before your heels lift or your back rounds. Sets taken close to failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021), so higher reps work when your heaviest dumbbell is light for your legs.

Add reps first. When every set reaches 15, move up 5 to 10 lb (2.5 to 5 kg) and go back to 8. When you run out of weight, add a 3-second pause at the bottom or switch to a front squat.

Form

Common mistakes

Variations

Goblet squat variations

Heel-elevated goblet squatHeels on a plate or wedge. More knee and ankle bend, so you can go deeper with stiff ankles.
Pause goblet squatHold the bottom for 2 to 3 seconds. More work from the same weight.
Goblet Cossack squatShift side to side into one leg at a time. Trains the adductors at long lengths.
Front SquatThe next step up. A barbell in the front rack, with much heavier loads.
Zercher SquatThe bar sits in the crook of your elbows. Front-loaded like a goblet squat, but heavier.
FAQ

Questions people ask

What muscles do goblet squats work?

Mainly the quads, with the glutes and adductors helping. Your abs, spinal erectors, upper back and grip hold the weight in place. The hamstrings steady the knee but barely grow from squats (Kubo 2019).

Do goblet squats work glutes?

Yes, and more the deeper you go. Over 10 weeks, full squats grew the glutes 6.7% and half squats 2.2% (Kubo 2019). A wider stance adds glute activity (Paoli 2009).

Are goblet squats better than barbell squats?

Better for learning the squat and for high reps, not for heavy strength. The weight in front keeps your trunk upright (Goršič 2024), but you cannot hold as much as a bar. Six weeks of kettlebell training with goblet squats raised back squat strength less than training with back squats (Otto 2012).

Are goblet squats effective?

Yes, as long as the weight takes your legs close to failure. Sets that end a few reps short of failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021). When your heaviest dumbbell gets easy, add pauses or move to a barbell squat.

How low should you squat?

As low as your heels and back stay flat, which is below parallel for most lifters. Deep squats grew the thighs more than shallow ones (Bloomquist 2013).

How much weight should I use for goblet squats?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 60 lb (27.5 kg) for men and 40 lb (18 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 75 lb (35 kg) and 50 lb (22.5 kg) or more.

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References
  1. Goršič et al. 2024. Sports Biomech 23(2):166-181.
  2. Bloomquist et al. 2013. Eur J Appl Physiol 113(8):2133-2142.
  3. Kubo et al. 2019. Eur J Appl Physiol 119(9):1933-1942.
  4. Fry et al. 2003. J Strength Cond Res 17(4):629-633.
  5. McCaw and Melrose 1999. Med Sci Sports Exerc 31(3):428-436.
  6. Paoli et al. 2009. J Strength Cond Res 23(1):246-250.
  7. Ghasemi et al. 2026. Sports Biomech 25(7):1022-1038.
  8. Collins et al. 2021. J Strength Cond Res 35(10):2661-2668.
  9. Gullett et al. 2009. J Strength Cond Res 23(1):284-292.
  10. Otto et al. 2012. J Strength Cond Res 26(5):1199-1202.
  11. Schoenfeld et al. 2021. Sports 9(2):32.