Legs / Beginner / Compound (multi-joint)

Dumbbell Squat

A squat holding dumbbells at the sides that builds the quads and glutes.

At a glance

Primary

Quads, Glutes

Secondary

Adductors, Hamstrings, Forearms & grip

Equipment

Dumbbells

Movement pattern

Squat

Level

Beginner

Type

Legs, Compound (multi-joint)

Loads the knee. Use a load you can control and skip it if it causes pain.

How to do it

1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
2. Brace your core and sit your hips back and down, bending the knees.
3. Lower as far as you can control, ideally thighs parallel to the floor.
4. Drive through your feet to stand back up.

Tips

• Keep your chest up and heels down.
• Knees track in line with toes.

Common mistakes

• ✗ Leaning forward and letting the weight pull the chest down.

  Why it hurts: The load moves far in front of the hips and turns the squat into a rounded-back hinge that strains the lower back.

  ✓ Instead: Hold the weight against the chest, keep elbows inside the knees and sit straight down between the heels.

• ✗ Bouncing out of the bottom.

  Why it hurts: The rebound jolts the knees and hips at their most stretched position.

  ✓ Instead: Control the descent and pause for a second at the bottom before standing up.

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