How long should you hold the deep squat when you are new to the exercise?

Aim for 3 rounds of 30 to 60 seconds, broken into shorter holds at first if a minute is too much. Build toward a single continuous 2-minute hold before worrying about doing more rounds.

How do I make the deep squat hold easier or harder?

To make it easier, put a rolled towel or small wedge under your heels, or hold onto a doorframe so you can relax into the position without balancing. To make it harder, hold a light weight at your chest, remove the support, or add slow rocks forward and back at the bottom.

What is the deep squat hold good for and who should be careful with it?

It restores ankle, hip, and groin range that sitting all day tends to erase, and it is a useful daily habit for anyone training squats or just wanting to sit comfortably on the floor. Go carefully, or skip it for now, if you have a knee injury that hurts in deep flexion, since forcing depth through pain will not fix a mobility limit.

Intermediate

Deep Squat Hold

The deep squat hold is a full lower-body mobility position that stretches the groin and glutes while asking for ankle range and an upright spine. Using your elbows to press the knees out gently deepens the groin stretch. Hold it daily to reclaim a resting position most adults have lost.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Glutes, Thighs
Type: Stretching
Browse by muscle: Adductor Magnus, Gluteus Maximus

How to do it

1
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly out.
2
Push your hips back and down and sink into the bottom of a squat.
3
Let your heels stay flat and keep your chest as tall as you can.
4
Bring your elbows to the inside of your knees and gently press them outward.
5
Hold the bottom position and breathe, letting the hips settle lower over time.
6
Push through your feet to stand back up.

Tips

Hold a rack or doorframe for support if you tip backward, or place a small wedge under the heels.
Keep the weight spread across the whole foot rather than rolling to the toes.
Press the knees out over the toes to spread the load through the hips and groin.

Variations

Common mistakes

The lower back rounds hard at the bottom as you force extra depth, which trades a hip and ankle stretch for a spinal one.
Bouncing in and out of the bottom rather than settling into stillness turns a mobility hold into a rushed rep, and the joints never get the sustained stretch that makes this drill work.
Relying on the elbows to muscle the knees out instead of letting the hips relax open first stalls the very mobility gain this position is meant to build over weeks.
The ribs flare and the low back arches to keep the chest up, which fights the very upright-spine goal of the hold instead of achieving it honestly.

Frequently asked

How long should you hold the deep squat when you are new to the exercise?: Aim for 3 rounds of 30 to 60 seconds, broken into shorter holds at first if a minute is too much. Build toward a single continuous 2-minute hold before worrying about doing more rounds.
How do I make the deep squat hold easier or harder?: To make it easier, put a rolled towel or small wedge under your heels, or hold onto a doorframe so you can relax into the position without balancing. To make it harder, hold a light weight at your chest, remove the support, or add slow rocks forward and back at the bottom.
What is the deep squat hold good for and who should be careful with it?: It restores ankle, hip, and groin range that sitting all day tends to erase, and it is a useful daily habit for anyone training squats or just wanting to sit comfortably on the floor. Go carefully, or skip it for now, if you have a knee injury that hurts in deep flexion, since forcing depth through pain will not fix a mobility limit.

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