maratoolOne Leg Squat with Barbell
How to do the one leg squat with barbell
- The One Leg Squat isolates the muscles of the leg for optimal exercise. This exercise is also used to build or rebuild strength after injury.
- Place a bench or box 12-18 inches tall behind you. The taller the box the greater the difficulty of the exercise.
- Lifting a barbell off of a weight rack, position it on your shoulders.
- Place one foot up on the bench, and your other foot firmly on the floor 2-3 feet in front you.
- Drawing your abs in descend slowly by bending your front knee and hip as if you are sitting down (squatting).
- Lower yourself as far as you can control without letting your body shift towards your toe (this will cause you to loose balance).
- Pause in the downward position and slowly return upright to the starting position.
- Switch legs and repeat.
- Notes: A pad on the bar or towel on your shoulders can help improve your grip and reduce the discomfort of the bar against your back. Practice the squat without any weight to allow yourself to become comfortable with the movements.
Muscles worked
The prime movers are the quadriceps across the front of the thigh, which straighten the knee and, just as importantly, control it on the way back down.
Because more than one joint is moving, the work does not stay in one place: the calves control the ankle and hold the heel position; the hamstrings assist hip extension and slow the knee down; the glutes finish hip extension.
Every exercise for:QuadricepsCalvesHamstringsGlutes
How this movement works
The working muscles shorten as they drive the load away from you, and more than one joint changes angle to do it. Load spreads down a chain instead of sitting on one muscle, which is why a compound push handles more weight than any single-joint alternative — and why joint position, not the muscle, is usually what fails first.
It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.
What you need
A barbell locks both hands to one bar, so neither side can drift and the load climbs in plate-sized steps. That makes it the simplest way to add weight and the least forgiving thing to bail out of.
Every exercise using:Barbell
These train the quadriceps too, using equipment this one does not:
- One-Arm Overhead Kettlebell Squatskettlebell
- Pile Squat with Dumbbelldumbbell
- Quadriceps-SMRfoam roll
- Rear Leg Raisesbody only
- Recumbent Bikemachine
Difficulty
Listed at expert level. It asks for range, stability or speed that takes time to build, and it punishes a rushed set-up much harder than an easier movement would.
Of the 173 quadriceps exercises in this database, 18 are listed at expert level.
Illustration: Everkinetic — CC BY-SA 4.0 — license. Modified versions are shared under the same license. Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.