Side Squat

Cómo hacer el Side Squat

1. 1Stand tall with your feet together and your hands on your hips or extended in front of you for balance.
2. 2Take a wide step directly to one side — roughly 1.5–2 times shoulder-width — and plant that foot flat on the floor with toes pointing forward or slightly outward.
3. 3Shift your weight onto the stepping leg and bend that knee, pushing your hips back and down as if sitting into a squat.
4. 4Keep the opposite leg straight and fully extended, with that foot flat on the floor and toes pointing forward.
5. 5Lower until your thigh on the bent leg is roughly parallel to the floor, or as far as your mobility comfortably allows.
6. 6Keep your chest up, your torso as upright as possible, and your bent knee tracking in line with your toes throughout the descent.
7. 7Drive through the heel of the bent leg to push yourself back up to the starting standing position.
8. 8Complete all reps on one side, then step out to the opposite side and repeat.

Consejos de técnica

• Push your hips back as you descend — think of reaching your glutes toward the wall behind you rather than letting your knee drift forward over your toes.
• Keep your core braced throughout the movement to maintain an upright torso and protect your lower back.
• Press the heel of the working leg into the floor on the way up to maximize gluteus maximus and quadriceps activation.
• If balance is a challenge, lightly hold a post or wall with one hand while you build the movement pattern.
• Control the descent — avoid dropping quickly into the squat, as a slow eccentric increases muscle engagement and reduces injury risk.

Errores comunes

• Letting the knee collapse inward on the working leg, which places harmful stress on the knee joint and reduces glute activation — actively push the knee out in line with your toes.
• Rounding the lower back at the bottom of the squat, which shifts load off the legs and onto the spine — keep your chest up and brace your core throughout.
• Raising the heel of the working foot off the floor, which reduces stability and limits depth — keep the whole foot flat and drive through the heel.
• Taking too narrow a step, which limits range of motion and reduces the lateral challenge to the adductors and glutes — step wide enough that the inactive leg stays fully straight.
• Rushing through reps without control, which reduces time under tension and increases the chance of losing balance — use a slow, deliberate tempo on both the way down and the way up.

Preguntas frecuentes