Beginner

Sumo Goblet Squat

Widening your stance and turning the toes out shifts a squat's demand onto the adductors as they control the knees travelling out on the way down and drive the thighs back together out of the hole. It is the most accessible way to load the inner thigh with something a beginner already knows how to do. Use it early in a lower-body day or as a primer before heavier bilateral squats.

Equipment
Dumbbell
Body part
Glutes, Thighs
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Squat
Muscles worked
Target
Adductor Magnus, Adductor Longus
Secondary
Gluteus Maximus, Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis
Tertiary
Erector Spinae

How to do it

  1. 1

    Hold one dumbbell vertically against your chest, cupping the top head with both hands.

  2. 2

    Set your feet well outside shoulder width with toes turned out about thirty degrees.

  3. 3

    Brace your trunk and sit straight down, tracking your knees over your toes.

  4. 4

    Descend until your thighs are roughly parallel while keeping your chest tall.

  5. 5

    Feel a stretch across the inner thighs at the bottom, then drive the floor apart and stand.

  6. 6

    Exhale as you stand and squeeze the inner thighs together at the top.

Tips

  • Push your knees out over your little toes so the load stays on the adductors, not the collapsing arches.
  • Keep the dumbbell tight to your sternum to stop your torso pitching forward.
  • Go only as deep as you can without your pelvis tucking under and rounding the low back.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Holding the dumbbell away from the chest with the elbows flared. The load sits on a long lever, and the upper back rounds long before the adductors are anywhere near tired.
  • Reading drive the floor apart as sliding the feet outward. The feet stay planted; the effort is rotational pressure into the ground, which is what keeps the knees out at the bottom.
  • Turning the toes out without also widening the stance. The hips have no room to travel, and the front of the joint pinches at the depth you are trying to reach.
  • Dropping the eyes to watch the knees. The head takes the chest down with it, the dumbbell slides toward the belly, and the tension leaves the inner thighs.
  • Bouncing out of the bottom to make the rep easier. The rebound comes from the tendons rather than the adductors, which is the one muscle group this variation exists to load.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the sumo goblet squat should a beginner do?
Two to three sets of ten to twelve works well, either as the first movement on a lower-body day or as a primer before heavier squats. Because the load sits at the chest, add a set before you add weight: go from two sets to three, then to four, and only then reach for a heavier dumbbell. If your form holds at twelve reps but your upper back is what gives out, you have found the ceiling of the goblet position.
What can I use instead of a dumbbell for the sumo goblet squat?
A kettlebell held by the horns sits closer to the chest and is often more comfortable. A backpack loaded with books, hugged to the sternum, does the same job at home, and so does a large water container held by the handle. With nothing at all, take the wide stance, clasp your hands at your chest and add a three-second pause at the bottom; the adductor stretch is still there, and the pause replaces the load.
What is the sumo goblet squat good for?
It is the most approachable way to load the adductors, so it suits beginners, anyone building inner-thigh strength, and lifters who want a primer before heavier bilateral squats. The front-loaded hold also teaches an upright torso. It is a poor choice when you need real quad loading, since a dumbbell you can hold at your chest will never be heavy enough, and it is worth avoiding while a groin strain or a hip that pinches in a wide stance is still settling.

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