maratoolSingle-Leg High Box Squat
How to do the single-leg high box squat
- Position a box in a rack. Secure a band or rope in place above the box.
- Standing in front of it, step onto the box to a full standing position, letting your other leg remain unsupported. Hold onto the band for balance
- . Continue stepping up and down on the same leg before switching to the opposite side.
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 glutes finish hip extension; the hamstrings assist hip extension and slow the knee down.
Every exercise for:QuadricepsGlutesHamstrings
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
These train the quadriceps too, using equipment this one does not:
- Single-Leg Leg Extensionmachine
- Smith Machine Hack Squatsmith machine + machine
- Snatchbarbell
- Split Jumpbody only
- Split Squat with Dumbbellsdumbbell
Difficulty
Listed at beginner level: the pattern is simple enough to pick up without coaching, and a position that goes wrong mid-set is obvious enough to correct on the next repetition.
Of the 173 quadriceps exercises in this database, 70 are listed at beginner level.
Photos: free-exercise-db — public domain (Unlicense) Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.