Band Squat
Description
The band squat adds resistance band tension to a bodyweight squat by standing on the band and holding the ends at the shoulders. The band provides increasing resistance as you stand up, loading the top of the squat where standard bodyweight squats lose tension. It is a useful at-home leg exercise.
Muscle Group
Equipment Required
Band Squat Instructions
- Stand on the center of a resistance band with feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly out.
- Hold both ends of the band at your shoulders. Loop the band over each shoulder if it is long enough for stability.
- Stand tall. Brace your core. Lift your chest.
- Sit your hips back and down into a squat.
- Lower until your thighs are parallel or your hip crease drops below your knees.
- Drive through your full foot to stand. The band tension increases as you rise.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top against the peak band tension.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Band Squat Form & Visual
Band Squat Benefits
- Adds progressive resistance to bodyweight squats
- Increasing tension at the top loads the lockout
- Highly portable
- Easy to scale by changing band thickness
- Useful when no weights are available
- Mimics accommodating resistance in powerlifting
Band Squat Muscles Worked
- Quadriceps
- Gluteus maximus
- Hamstrings
- Adductors
- Calves
- Core (stabilizer)
Band Squat Variations & Alternatives
- Bodyweight Squat
- Band Lunges
- Dumbbell Goblet Squat
- Front-Loaded Band Squat
- Banded Sumo Squat
- Banded Pause Squat
- Resistance Band Squat
- Bar Band Squat
