Legs · Barbell
Barbell Squat 2 Sec Hold
How to do the barbell squat 2 sec hold, 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
Hold a barbell across your upper back with feet about shoulder-width apart. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat until your thighs are at least parallel, then pause for two seconds at the bottom holding the position still. Drive through your heels to stand back up. The pause kills the bounce and forces your legs to work from a dead stop.
- 1Quads and glutes loaded and tight through the two-second hold
- 2Core braced and chest tall during the pause
- 3Heels driving the floor away to stand up
Common mistakes
- Relaxing or sinking lower during the pause
- Letting your knees cave inward
- Rounding your back or letting your chest drop at the bottom
Muscles worked
The barbell squat 2 sec hold mainly works the quads and glutes, with the lower back, hamstrings, upper abs, lower abs, calves, and adductors assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- Lower BackSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Upper TrapsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
Kovo programs the barbell squat 2 sec hold 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.