Box Squat

Muscles worked by the Box Squat

Primary

GlutesGluteus MaximusQuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Secondary

Lower BackErector SpinaeGlute MediusGluteus MediusHamstringsHamstring Muscles

Also called: glute, glutes, gluteus maximus, buttocks, butt, quad.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Box Squat

1. Stand in front of a box or bench, feet shoulder-width apart, with your arms extended forward for balance.
2. Push your hips back and bend your knees, sitting back toward the box rather than straight down.
3. Touch the box lightly with your glutes without collapsing onto it.
4. Drive through your feet to stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Use a box height that lets your thighs reach about parallel to the floor and lower it as mobility improves.
• Keep your weight through the middle of your feet — do not rock onto your toes.
• Touch and go: fully relaxing onto the box loses core tension and stresses the spine.

At a glance

Box Squat in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Barbell Back Squat
• Bodyweight Squat
• Bulgarian Split Squat
• Dumbbell Front Squat
• Dumbbell Split Squat
• Front Squat
• Goblet Squat
• Hack Squat

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "box-squat",
  "name_en": "Box Squat",
  "name_de": "Box Squat",
  "name_es": "Sentadilla en Caja",
  "description_en": "A squat performed to a box or bench, which fixes the depth and teaches sitting back into the hips.",
  "description_de": "Eine Kniebeuge zu einer Box oder Bank, die die Tiefe konstant vorgibt und das Zurücksetzen in die Hüfte trainiert.",
  "description_es": "Una sentadilla realizada hasta una caja o banco, que fija la profundidad y enseña a sentarse hacia atrás en las caderas.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "gluteus_medius",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "squat",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand in front of a box or bench, feet shoulder-width apart, with your arms extended forward for balance.",
    "Push your hips back and bend your knees, sitting back toward the box rather than straight down.",
    "Touch the box lightly with your glutes without collapsing onto it.",
    "Drive through your feet to stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stelle dich vor eine Box oder Bank, die Füße schulterbreit, die Arme zur Balance nach vorne gestreckt.",
    "Schiebe die Hüfte nach hinten und beuge die Knie, wobei du dich zur Box zurücksetzt statt gerade nach unten zu gehen.",
    "Berühre die Box leicht mit dem Gesäß, ohne dich hineinfallen zu lassen.",
    "Drücke dich durch die Füße nach oben und spanne am oberen Punkt die Gesäßmuskeln an.",
    "Wiederhole die Bewegung für die gewünschte Wiederholungszahl."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ponte de pie frente a una caja o banco, con los pies al ancho de los hombros y los brazos extendidos hacia adelante para el equilibrio.",
    "Empuja las caderas hacia atrás y flexiona las rodillas, sentándote hacia la caja en lugar de bajar en línea recta.",
    "Toca la caja ligeramente con los glúteos sin dejarte caer sobre ella.",
    "Empuja con los pies para volver a ponerte de pie, apretando los glúteos arriba.",
    "Repite las repeticiones deseadas."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Use a box height that lets your thighs reach about parallel to the floor and lower it as mobility improves.",
    "Keep your weight through the middle of your feet — do not rock onto your toes.",
    "Touch and go: fully relaxing onto the box loses core tension and stresses the spine."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Wähle eine Boxhöhe, bei der die Oberschenkel etwa parallel zum Boden kommen, und senke sie mit zunehmender Beweglichkeit weiter ab.",
    "Halte das Gewicht über der Fußmitte — kippe nicht auf die Zehen.",
    "Tippe die Box nur kurz an, statt dich vollständig darauf abzusetzen — wer komplett entspannt, verliert die Rumpfspannung und belastet die Wirbelsäule."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Usa una altura de caja que permita que los muslos queden aproximadamente paralelos al suelo, y bájala a medida que mejore tu movilidad.",
    "Mantén el peso en el centro de los pies — no te inclines hacia los dedos.",
    "No te sientes por completo en la caja: relajar todo el peso sobre ella te hace perder tensión en el core y sobrecarga la columna."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/box-squat-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/box-squat-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "box-squat");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.