Legs · Bodyweight
Side Squat
How to do the side 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 feet wider than shoulder-width and toes pointed slightly out. Shift your weight to one side, bending that knee and pushing your hips back into a squat while the other leg stays straight, then push back to center and repeat on the other side.
- 1The working glute and quad loading as you sink to one side
- 2A stretch through the inner thigh of the straight leg
- 3Your weight staying in the heel of the bent leg
Common mistakes
- Letting the bent knee cave inward
- Rounding your back or collapsing your chest
- Letting the heel of the working leg lift off the floor
Muscles worked
The side squat mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings, adductors, lower back, and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
Kovo programs the side 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.