Intermediate

TRX Cossack Squat

The Cossack squat shifts your weight into one deeply bent leg while the other stays straight, hammering the adductors, glutes, and single-leg mobility. Holding the straps lets you sit into full depth and build hip flexibility under load without falling backward. It is excellent mobility-strength work for lifters with tight, weak inner thighs.

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

How to do it

  1. 1

    Face the anchor with a wide stance and a handle in each hand.

  2. 2

    Keep light tension on the straps and stand tall.

  3. 3

    Shift your weight to one side, bending that knee and sitting the hip back and down.

  4. 4

    Let the trailing leg straighten with the toes up as you descend.

  5. 5

    Sink as low as your mobility allows while keeping the heel down.

  6. 6

    Drive back up to center and repeat to the other side.

Tips

  • Keep the heel of the bent leg planted; do not roll onto the toes.
  • Use the straps to ease into depth, not to yank yourself up.
  • Point the toes of the straight leg toward the ceiling to stretch the adductor.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Body weight ends up hanging from the arms so the legs never really load; the straps should feel like a fingertip of support at the bottom, not a handrail.
  • Standing too far from the anchor leaves you leaning back at the bottom, which opens the hips but takes the working glute and quad out of the position; step in until the straps hang close to vertical when you are tall.
  • Strap length gets left where the last person had it, so the handles sit at your hips at the bottom and you have to reach down; set them near chest height when standing.
  • Slack appears in the straps on the way down and then gets snatched up, which jerks the shoulders; keep light tension the whole way into the bottom.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the TRX Cossack squat should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Two to three sets of 8 per side, and let the progression be how little you use the straps rather than how many reps you do. Session one might have both hands pulling hard; a few weeks in, aim for two fingers on each handle. Once you can descend with the straps barely tight, move to the bodyweight or goblet version.
What can I use instead of a TRX for the TRX Cossack squat?
One hand on a squat rack upright, a doorframe or a heavy table gives almost the same assistance for free. A pair of gymnastic rings or any anchored strap works identically. If you have no support at all, hold a light dumbbell out in front of you: the counterweight keeps you from tipping backward, which is most of what the straps were doing.
What is the TRX Cossack squat good for, and when is it not the right choice?
The straps let you reach a depth your hips cannot yet control alone, so it suits anyone whose adductors are tight and who falls backward in the unassisted version. It is a poor choice for loading the legs, since the arms quietly take a share of the work, and it depends entirely on the anchor being solid. Once depth is comfortable, move on to a loaded version.

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