Legs · Bodyweight
Bodyweight Heel Elevated Squat
How to do the bodyweight heel elevated squat, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand with your heels raised on a small plate or wedge and your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your torso tall, bend your knees and sit straight down into a deep squat, then drive back up through your feet. The heel lift lets your knees travel forward so your quads take the bulk of the work.
- 1Feel your quads loading as your knees travel forward
- 2Keep your torso upright and chest tall throughout
- 3Sit straight down and drive evenly through both feet
Common mistakes
- Do not let your knees cave inward at the bottom
- Do not lean your chest forward to dodge the depth
- Do not bounce out of the bottom; control the descent
Muscles worked
The bodyweight heel elevated squat mainly works the quads, with the glutes, lower back, upper abs, hamstrings, calves, and adductors assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Lower AbsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the bodyweight heel elevated 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.