How to do the goblet squat
The easiest squat to learn and the best one to start with. It teaches depth and knee position, and it's a solid leg builder on its own.
The Helthy team · Updated · 5 min read
- Works
- Quads, Glutes
- Also works
- Adductors, Core
- Equipment
- Dumbbell or kettlebell
- Level
- Beginner
The goblet squat is where we'd start anyone who's new to squatting. Holding one dumbbell or kettlebell against your chest acts as a counterweight: it pulls your torso upright and lets you sit deep without falling backward, which is exactly what most beginners can't do with a bar on their back. You learn where your knees go, how deep you can get and what bracing feels like, all with a weight you can drop in front of you if a rep goes wrong. It's not only a teaching tool, either. For higher-rep leg work it holds its own long after you've moved on to the barbell.
How to do a goblet squat
- Hold the weight at your chest. With a dumbbell, stand it on end and cup the top head in both palms, like holding a goblet. With a kettlebell, hold it by the horns with the bell against your chest. Either way it touches your sternum, with your elbows pointing down.
- Set your feet about shoulder width apart. Turn your toes out 15 to 30 degrees. Slightly wider is fine if it helps you get deeper.
- Take a breath and brace. Fill your belly with air and tighten your stomach before you move.
- Sit straight down between your legs. Your knees travel forward and out over your toes, your hips go down rather than back, and the weight stays pinned to your chest.
- Go as deep as you can with your heels down and your back flat. For most people that's with the hip crease below the knees. At the bottom, your elbows should end up just inside your knees.
- Stand up by pushing the floor away. Keep your chest tall and the weight close, and breathe out as you pass the halfway point. Finish standing fully with your hips squeezed.
You should feel it in your quads and glutes, and your upper back will work to keep the weight in place. If your lower back is the thing that's tired, the weight is drifting away from you.
Cues for the goblet squat
"Elbows inside your knees." At the bottom, use your elbows to gently push your knees out. It fixes knees caving in and opens your hips for more depth.
"Keep the weight glued to your chest." Stops the dumbbell drifting forward and pulling you over. If that doesn't land, try "show the weight to the wall in front of you".
"Sit down between your heels." Down, not back. Fixes the habit of reaching back with your hips like you're lowering onto a chair.
"Proud chest." Keeps your upper back from rounding over the weight.
Common mistakes
Rounding your upper back. Your shoulders slump forward and your chest caves over the weight, usually in the bottom half. The cause is either a weight that's too heavy to hold up or letting your arms go slack. Pull the weight into your chest, lift your chest toward the ceiling, and drop to a lighter dumbbell if that doesn't hold.
Not sitting deep enough. Stopping at a half squat misses the main reason to do this lift. The counterweight is there to help you get low. If you can't reach parallel with your heels down, widen your stance, turn your toes out a touch more or put your heels on small plates, and try again.
Letting the weight pull you forward. The dumbbell creeps out in front of your chest, your weight shifts onto your toes and your heels lift. It's like holding a bag of shopping at arm's length instead of against your body: same weight, much harder. Keep it pressed into your sternum on every rep, even when the set gets hard.
Knees drifting in on the way up. It's common in beginners and usually eases once you know what to feel for. Use the elbows-inside-knees cue at the bottom and think about spreading the floor with your feet as you stand.
Knees going past your toes isn't on this list. They're supposed to, because that's how you stay upright and get deep. What matters is that they point the same way as your feet and your heels stay down.
Sets, reps and how much weight to use
Goblet squats work best for moderate to high reps: 3 sets of 8 to 15 is a good default. Use a weight you could do 2 or 3 more reps with. Rest about 90 seconds between sets.
Start with a light dumbbell, something like 15 to 25 lb (7 to 11 kg) for most beginners. Once you can do 3 sets of 15 with clean reps, move up to the next dumbbell and drop back to 8 to 10 reps. That's the simplest form of progressive overload and it works well here.
Here's roughly what people use for working sets:
| Bodyweight | beginner | intermediate | advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 130 lb (59 kg) | 15 lb (7 kg) | 25 lb (11 kg) | 45 lb (20 kg) |
| 160 lb (73 kg) | 15 lb (7 kg) | 30 lb (14 kg) | 55 lb (25 kg) |
| 190 lb (86 kg) | 20 lb (9 kg) | 40 lb (18 kg) | 65 lb (29 kg) |
| 220 lb (100 kg) | 20 lb (9 kg) | 45 lb (20 kg) | 75 lb (34 kg) |
| 250 lb (113 kg) | 25 lb (11 kg) | 50 lb (23 kg) | 90 lb (41 kg) |
The goblet squat has a ceiling. Once you need something much heavier than 70 to 100 lb (32 to 45 kg), holding the weight becomes harder than squatting it, and your upper back and arms give out first. That's the sign to move to the barbell squat or front squat for your heavy work and keep goblets as a lighter second leg exercise or a warm-up.
If you're using it as a warm-up before barbell squats, 1 or 2 easy sets of 8 to 10 with a light dumbbell and a short pause at the bottom is plenty.
Variations and alternatives
- Bodyweight squat: the starting point if even a light dumbbell feels like too much. Hold your arms out in front as a counterweight.
- Heels-elevated goblet squat: put your heels on a small wedge or plates. It lets tight ankles get deep and puts more work on your quads.
- Pause goblet squat: hold the bottom for 2 to 3 seconds. Builds comfort at depth without needing a heavier weight.
- Front squat: the barbell version of the same upright position, for when the dumbbells get too heavy to hold.
- Leg press: a good swap if your back is sore and you still want to load your legs.
Goblet squat questions
Is the goblet squat enough to build legs?
For a beginner, yes, especially paired with lunges or split squats. After a few months most people outgrow the heaviest dumbbell they can hold, and that's when a barbell or leg press becomes the better way to keep adding load.
Dumbbell or kettlebell?
Whichever your gym has in the weight you need. The kettlebell is slightly more comfortable to hold at lighter weights; dumbbells go heavier in most gyms.
Why do I tip backward at the bottom?
The weight is probably too light to act as a counterweight, or your ankles are tight enough that your knees can't travel forward. Try a slightly heavier weight, or lift your heels on a small plate.