Legs · Bodyweight
Hip Squat
How to do the hip 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 feet slightly wider than shoulder-width and toes turned out a touch. Sit your hips back and down into a squat, focusing on driving the hips rather than the knees, then stand by squeezing your glutes at the top.
- 1Feel your glutes and quads load as you sit the hips back and down
- 2Drive through your heels and squeeze the glutes hard at the top
- 3Keep your chest tall and core braced throughout
Common mistakes
- Do not let your knees cave inward or your heels lift
- Avoid rounding your back or letting your chest collapse
- Do not cut the depth short; sit the hips below the knees if mobility allows
Muscles worked
The hip squat mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings, lower back, and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- AdductorsMinor
Kovo programs the hip 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.