What Do Goblet Squats Work?

If you’ve ever heard of the goblet squat, then the chances are you will already be intrigued.

This type of squat is one up from the regular air squat in that it will really task your glutes, hams, lower back and core, while also preventing you from making the rookie mistakes that you might get from air squats.

Because when it comes to air squats, there are some common mistakes that you’ll often make. Some people lean way too far forward, which will cause them to slowly tip over. Other people will have their knees caving in, which will cause you significant injury as time goes on.

This exercise is both great for beginners and intermediate exercise enthusiasts, although we would recommend that you only try goblet squats if you have at least tried one lot of air squatting.

It requires a kettlebell or a dumbbell, which will keep you held forward, giving you everything you need for a stable foundation.

This exercise will mimic some of those that you might experience in everyday life. An exercise that will improve the quality of your everyday movement will be very important, as it will help you perform your daily tasks much easier and better.

So how can you perform a goblet squat properly? What are the benefits of doing these exercises regularly?

How can you develop the proper alignment to ensure that you have total control over your movements? How can you stop your knees from caving in? What happens when you don’t perform a full squat?

Well, if you want all the answers to these squatting questions, then we would suggest that you keep reading. We have all the info on the goblet squat, whether it is proper form, how to hold your kettlebell or how to avoid the common mistakes often associated with this type of squatting movement.

What Do You Need For Goblet Squats?

All you need for one of these squats is a kettlebell (or you can use a dumbbell, although these might be harder to hold), which you hold by the handles in front of you. This will not only make the exercise that little bit harder, but it will also help you to keep your center of gravity a lot more stable.

The Benefits Of Goblet Squats

Much like the regular air squats, these lifts will exercise your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calf muscles. They are some of the best exercises that you can do for your lower body. However, this is a little more advanced than the air squat, because you are holding a weight, it will also help you to develop the muscles in your upper body.

That’s right, this one will also help you to grow your triceps, biceps, chest muscles and back. This is perfect for anyone who wants to get those total body workouts. You can also be sure that it will help you to strengthen up your spine, which is handy if you are recovering from any severe injuries.

Proper Squat Form

Because you are holding a weight, then you will need to be more aware of how your body will be positioned when you are lowering yourself. You will need to keep your spine straight and tall, making sure there is no bending in your back when you are lowering yourself to the floor.

When you are lowering yourself, tip your hips forward and jut your knees out. We would then recommend that you lean your chest forward and keep your feet at an angle to make your surface area completely even.

The most important thing to remember is that you engage your core and roll your shoulders forward with the weight in your hand. You’ll need to keep your torso completely upright, as this will prevent you from falling forward and really hurting yourself.

Having Proper Alignment

The purpose of this exercise is to get your elbows to touch your knees when you are hitting the lowest position for your squat. This move will promote the correct alignment of your knees with your toes, so make sure that you are not going against that.

If you have misaligned knees – something which is common with certain people – then you’ll have to make sure this is overcorrected by putting your elbows on the inside of your knees. This will encourage your toes to be in direct alignment with the shape of your knees.

Common Goblet Squat Mistakes

There are a few common mistakes that people make with this goblet squat, one of the main ones being holding the weight too far away from your body. You should make sure that the weight is touching your chest, rather than being held out forward, which will cause you to lose balance and topple forward.

Leaning Forward

The kettlebell will naturally pull you forward, so make sure that you are holding it firm and that the force of your spine is counteracting the weight of the bell itself. You’ll also want to make sure that your stomach is clenched, as this will be the area of torque that you’ll be trying to resist as you squat.

You should try and observe yourself in the mirror the first time you do these exercises, as this will be one surefire method of seeing whether or not you are performing the exercising with all of your joints in the correct position.

Knees Caving In

This is where your knees will cave in as your squat. You can rectify this by placing your elbows on the inside of your knees as you drop to the floor.

Not Performing A Full Squat

Performing the squat fully will be the only way you’ll be able to engage the muscles in your lower body and really get that blood flowing and muscle growing.