Legs · Bodyweight
Bodyweight Single Leg Squat
How to do the bodyweight single leg squat, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand on one leg with the other extended out in front of you. Push your hips back and bend the standing knee to lower toward the floor, keeping your chest up and the free leg off the ground. Drive through your heel to return to standing, then repeat on the same leg before switching.
- 1Your quad, glute, and hamstring of the working leg as you lower and rise
- 2Tight core and steady balance throughout the descent
- 3Your knee tracking over your toes with your chest lifted
Common mistakes
- Collapsing at the knee or letting it cave inward
- Using momentum to bounce out of the bottom
- Rounding your back; hinge slightly at the hips to sit back
Muscles worked
The bodyweight single leg squat mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings, lower back, and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the bodyweight single leg 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.