Cossack Squat

Muscles worked by the Cossack Squat

Primary

GlutesGluteus MaximusQuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Secondary

AdductorsHip AdductorsHamstringsHamstring Muscles

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

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Cossack Squat

1. Stand in a wide stance with toes turned slightly out.
2. Shift your weight to one side, bending that knee and sinking into a deep squat.
3. Keep the trailing leg straight with the heel down and toes up.
4. Sink as low as your mobility allows, keeping the chest tall.
5. Drive through the bent leg back to center, then repeat to the other side.

Form tips

• Keep the working heel planted -- do not roll onto the toes.
• Point the straight leg's toes up to keep tension in the adductors.
• Hold a light weight at your chest for a counterbalance if needed.

At a glance

Cossack Squat in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Banded Figure-4 Stretch
• Banded Glute Bridge
• Banded Good Morning
• Banded Hip Thrust
• Banded Kneeling Hip Thrust
• Banded Romanian Deadlift
• Banded Squat
• Banded Sumo Walk

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": "cossack-squat",
  "name_en": "Cossack Squat",
  "name_de": "Kosakenkniebeuge",
  "name_es": "Sentadilla cosaca",
  "description_en": "A wide-stance lateral squat that sinks the body deep over one bent leg while the other stays straight, training single-leg strength, hip mobility, and adductor flexibility.",
  "description_de": "Eine breite seitliche Kniebeuge, die den Körper tief über ein gebeugtes Bein absenkt, während das andere gestreckt bleibt, und so einbeinige Kraft, Hüftbeweglichkeit und Adduktoren-Flexibilität trainiert.",
  "description_es": "Una sentadilla lateral de base amplia que hunde el cuerpo profundamente sobre una pierna flexionada mientras la otra permanece recta, entrenando fuerza unilateral, movilidad de cadera y flexibilidad de aductores.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "adductors",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": true,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand in a wide stance with toes turned slightly out.",
    "Shift your weight to one side, bending that knee and sinking into a deep squat.",
    "Keep the trailing leg straight with the heel down and toes up.",
    "Sink as low as your mobility allows, keeping the chest tall.",
    "Drive through the bent leg back to center, then repeat to the other side."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stehe in breitem Stand mit leicht nach außen gedrehten Zehen.",
    "Verlagere das Gewicht auf eine Seite, beuge dieses Knie und sinke in eine tiefe Kniebeuge.",
    "Halte das andere Bein gestreckt, die Ferse am Boden und die Zehen nach oben.",
    "Sinke so tief, wie es deine Beweglichkeit erlaubt, und halte die Brust aufrecht.",
    "Drücke dich über das gebeugte Bein zurück in die Mitte und wiederhole zur anderen Seite."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ponte en una postura amplia con las puntas de los pies ligeramente hacia afuera.",
    "Desplaza el peso hacia un lado, flexiona esa rodilla y húndete en una sentadilla profunda.",
    "Mantén la pierna contraria recta, con el talón en el suelo y los dedos hacia arriba.",
    "Baja tanto como te permita tu movilidad, manteniendo el pecho erguido.",
    "Empuja con la pierna flexionada para volver al centro y repite hacia el otro lado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep the working heel planted -- do not roll onto the toes.",
    "Point the straight leg's toes up to keep tension in the adductors.",
    "Hold a light weight at your chest for a counterbalance if needed."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte die Ferse des Arbeitsbeins am Boden — rolle nicht auf die Zehen.",
    "Zeige mit den Zehen des gestreckten Beins nach oben, um Spannung in den Adduktoren zu halten.",
    "Halte bei Bedarf ein leichtes Gewicht vor der Brust als Gegengewicht."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén el talón de la pierna que trabaja apoyado: no ruedes hacia las puntas.",
    "Apunta con los dedos de la pierna recta hacia arriba para mantener tensión en los aductores.",
    "Sujeta un peso ligero frente al pecho como contrapeso si lo necesitas."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/cossack-squat-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/cossack-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 === "cossack-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.