How to Do the Dumbbell Squat: Be Brilliant at the Basics

There’s nothing like the sensation of getting stuck under a loaded bar at the bottom of a barbell squat, only to battle out an incredible one-rep max. But no matter how much raw strength you have, that’s…not where your squatting journey is going to start. You’ll start more humbly — but arguably, just as powerfully.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of bodyweight squats, you’ll gradually begin using free weights. And what are the best dumbbells good for if not to train you to squat heavy loads? That’s where the dumbbell squat comes into play. Nail down your mechanics here and you’ll translate a great amount of strength and skill into the barbell version. Here’s how to make the most of this move.

How to Do the Dumbbell Squat

You can easily perform dumbbell squats with either dumbbells or kettlebells depending upon what equipment you have access to. Regardless of equipment, you can perform this move in five easy steps: 

• Step 1 — Set your feet about shoulder-width apart, and maybe a little wider depending on your height. Point your toes out just slightly, cueing yourself to “spread the floor” to encourage active drive into the ground.
• Step 2 — Pick the dumbbells up (one in each hand) and gaze straight forward. Stand nice and tall, pulling your shoulder blades down and back away from your ears.
• Step 3 — Once you have a neutral posture, take a big breath of air, making your stomach nice and wide. Then contract your belly from all directions, forming a tight brace. Act like you’re going to exhale, but hold your breath inside to create pressure in your brace.
• Step 4 — Once you have braced, unlock your knees and hips (toes out; knees out; sit back) and slowly descend to sit back into your heels.
• Step 5 — Once you have reached depth (typically when your hip joint is below your knee joint), push with your legs, keeping a big chest and standing tall to reset.

Sets and Reps

Depending on your goals, you’ll have different sets and reps schemes. While there is overlap — you can build strength even if your main goal is to build muscle, for instance — the general rule of thumb is that for strength, train heavy and for lower reps. For endurance, train lighter with more reps (but don’t rush!). Muscle hypertrophy falls in the middle range of both weight and volume, but don’t be afraid to load it up once you’ve got proper form down.

• For Strength: 4 to 5 sets of 5-6 reps
• For Hypertrophy: 4 to 5 sets of 7 to 12 reps
• For Endurance: 4 to 5 sets of 12 or more reps

Modifications 

• Make it Easier: Elevate your heels by wearing weightlifting shoes or standing on a slant board or small weight plates. This will assist you in reaching the end range of motions that may be limited due to flexibility issues. 
• Make it Harder: Add a tempo training element or even try the exercise from different stances. To build muscle, slow your tempo down on the movement’s eccentric portion (squatting down). Take four to five seconds to reach your end range and feel how your quads burn after six or more reps! Or, challenge your balance and coordination — try doing the same movement pattern from a different starting position. Do the squat with an elevated rear foot or a split stance. Try performing six to eight reps on each leg.

[Read More: The Best Leg Workouts With Dumbbells for Strength, Fat Loss, Muscle, and More]

Dumbbell Squat Variations

• Rear Foot-Elevated Split Squat (Bulgarian Split Squat): The rear foot-elevated split squat (RFESS) is a squat variation where your back foot is elevated on a weight bench or other surface. To get set up, you shift most of your weight to your front foot while elevating your back foot on an object. Once set up, perform a squat using primarily your front leg. 
• Front Foot-Elevated Split Squat: The front foot elevated split squat (FFESS) is a squat variation where your front foot is elevated on blocks or bumper plates. Place your front foot on the stacked plates or elevated surface to get set up. Once set up, slowly descend straight down or toward your toes, working to your end range of motion. Then stand tall. 
• Dumbbell Overhead Squat: If you are looking for a challenge, this is the variation for you! The dumbbell overhead squat will demand functional stability, flexibility, and balance. To perform this variation, balance a single dumbbell overhead, brace and keep your back straight, and drop down into a squat! 

Dumbbell Squat Alternatives

Listed below are lower body exercises that are alternates for the dumbbell squat. Utilize these exercises in your workout to work similar muscle groups! 

Goblet Squat 

[Read More: The Dumbbell Goblet Squat – Technique and Benefits]

1. Grab a dumbbell and hold it with both hands directly in front of your chest. 
2. Set your feet shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointed out slightly. 
3. Take a big breath, brace, unlock your hips, and sit back into a squat until your elbows come between your knees, to your inner thighs, or right above. 
4. Drive through your heels and stand tall to finish. 

Sumo Squat

1. Start with your feet wide (similar to a sumo deadlift). 
2. Hold a dumbbell at its base with both hands between your legs. 
3. From this position, slowly descend into a squat position with your knees tracking towards your toes. 
4. Once your hip joint breaks parallel, drive through your heels to stand back at the start position. 
5. If you have very long arms, you can stand on a bumper plate on either side so the dumbbell has more clearance at the bottom range of motion.

Front Rack Squat 

1. Clean a pair of dumbbells up into the front rack position. 
2. From the front rack position, take a big breath, brace, unlock your hips, and sit down in the squat position. 
3. During descent, keep your elbows up and core tight. Find your depth (generally with your hips descending under your knees), then stand back to the start position. 

Muscles Worked by the Dumbbell Squat

Of all the strength training moves out there, you came to this exercise for a reason, right? Maybe something about leg day, supporting your running workouts, or bodybuilding goals — think teardrop quads and bigger glutes. Here are the precise muscles you’ll be taxing with the dumbbell squat.

• Quadriceps: Consisting of four muscles located on the front of your legs (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius), the quadricep’s main function is flexion and extension of the knee joint. The quadriceps are one of your main movers in the squat.
• Hamstrings: Made up of three muscles located on the back sides of your legs (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus), the hamstrings are responsible for hip extension and knee flexion. Considered a synergistic muscle, the hamstrings are responsible for stabilization during this taxing compound exercise. 
• Glutes: Consisting of three muscles (gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus), the glutes are the main driver of the squat. Their main responsibility is extension at the hip. 
• Core: Made up of the muscles that surround your stomach and lower back (rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, obliques, erector spinae, and quadratus lumborum), these muscles keep your posture upright and protect your spine. The involvement of your core really elevates this one to something more akin to a full-body exercise.

Benefits of the Dumbbell Squat

Squats — whether we’re talking barbell front squats, dumbbell front squats, or just plain old hands-by-your-sides dumbbell squats — are some of the most all-inclusive lower body strength and mass builders for any individual, athlete, or participant within any sport. They’re not popular for no reason. Here are just some of the reasons you’ll want to get your repetitions in with this hefty bodybuilding leg workout starter. 

It Boosts Overall Growth and Development 

Dumbbell squatting and similar movements — think lunges and other single-leg exercises, too — increase overall leg strength and muscular development in the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, erectors, and core. 

It’s not all about supplements when you’re thinking about longevity — it’s what you’re doing in the gym, too. Loading the body in this way can not only strengthen the affected muscles, but also help increase bone mineral density, and bolster ligaments and tendons. 

[Read More: Science-Backed Benefits of Squats You Should Know About]

When performing compound, multi-joint movements such as the squat, your body is also prompted to release hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone. These hormones stimulate growth and recovery — just make sure you’re doing a good warm-up to get the juices flowing first. 

You’ll Improve Body Awareness and Control

The squat is pretty much as functional as it gets. And while you may not walk around with the equivalent of a barbell on your back, you are likely to squat down with things in your hand (think — the grocery bags that you refuse to make multiple trips for).

Especially when you’re performing these with good form, you’ll stand to help yourself get a whole lot more coordinated day-to-day — not just in the gym.

It Builds Lower Body Strength

Even though this movement strains the muscles in the lower body, it’s a good kind of strain. The squat has a positive impact on overall muscle growth and development. This translation has a high sport specificity to powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, and functional sports like CrossFit, where your ability to apply force against the ground under heavy load is extremely important. 

[Read More: The Best Lower Body Exercises to Level-Up Your Leg Day]

Whatever kind of lifter you are, you’ll want to get your reps in with the dumbbell squat — even if it’s with light weights.

Common Dumbbell Squat Mistakes

Common mistakes that often occur with this exercise include: 

Body Posture

The squat and its many variants are used to build strong legs and core strength. Because of this, core strength also tends to be a limiting factor in how heavy you can go here.

If you don’t have the core strength to support the load you’re holding, you might curve forward or hyperextend in compensation. This can look like leaning forward too far or even looking straight up at the ceiling, causing exercisers to fall back. When squatting, try to maintain a neutral spine to negate unwanted spinal flexion or shear stress. 

Rushing Reps

Lifters who primarily use barbells may find themselves rushing through even the best dumbbell exercises because they’re “easier.” But if you rush through your dumbbell squats, you’re missing out. Rushing likely will lead you to use a smaller range of motion, and you’re cheating yourself out of all that time under tension that boosts muscle growth.

Perform high-quality reps, only moving up in weight or rep range when you can truly perform your sets with good form at a high effort level.

Partial Range of Motion

When squatting, it is imperative to move through full ranges of motion to not only get the most benefit from the exercise but also to alleviate stress on your body’s joints. One common mistake is exercisers using too much weight, thus causing them to squat “high” (doing more of a half squat than a full, deep squat). Over time, you won’t get nearly as much benefit from the exercise — generally speaking, squatting to depth with that full range of motion can help you improve strength, power, mobility, and muscle-building potential.

Frequently Asked Questions

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