Legs · Bodyweight
Pause Squat
How to do the pause 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 about shoulder-width apart and squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Hold a deliberate pause at the bottom, then drive through your heels to stand back up.
- 1Your quads and glutes staying tight through the pause
- 2Hips sitting back and down with a tall chest
- 3A controlled push through your heels to rise
Common mistakes
- Bouncing or relaxing at the bottom of the pause
- Knees collapsing inward or heels lifting
- Rounding your back or letting your chest drop
Muscles worked
The pause squat mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings, lower back, calves, and adductors assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- CalvesSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
Kovo programs the pause 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.