Legs · Barbell
Barbell Elevated Heel Squat
How to do the barbell elevated heel squat, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Set a barbell across your upper back and stand with your heels raised on a small plate or wedge. Squat down as deep as you can with an upright torso, then drive back up. Elevating the heels lets your knees travel forward and shifts the work onto the quads.
- 1Quads loading hard through a deep, upright squat
- 2Knees tracking forward over the toes
- 3Heels driving into the wedge on the way up
Common mistakes
- Letting your torso pitch forward like a low-bar squat
- Caving the knees inward under load
- Cutting depth short or bouncing out of the bottom
Muscles worked
The barbell elevated heel squat mainly works the quads, with the lower back, glutes, upper abs, lower abs, hamstrings, calves, and adductors assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- Lower BackSupport
- GlutesSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the barbell elevated heel squat for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.