Legs · Bodyweight
Deep Knee Bend
How to do the deep knee bend, 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 feet about shoulder-width apart and toes turned slightly out. Bend your knees and sink your hips all the way down into a deep squat, keeping your heels planted and chest tall, then drive back up to standing.
- 1Feel your quads and glutes working hard through the deepest part of the
- 2bend
- 3Keep your heels down and weight balanced across your whole foot
- 4Stay tall through your chest as you sink and rise
Common mistakes
- Do not let your knees cave inward as you descend
- Avoid rounding your lower back at the bottom
- Do not bounce out of the bottom; control the change of direction
Muscles worked
The deep knee bend mainly works the quads and glutes, with the lower back, lower abs, hamstrings, calves, and adductors assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- Lower BackSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the deep knee bend 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.