Dumbbell Squat

Muscles worked by the Dumbbell Squat

Primary

GlutesGluteus MaximusQuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Secondary

HamstringsHamstring Muscles

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

Equipment

Dumbbell

Also called: db, dumbell, hex dumbbell, rubber dumbbell, hand weight.

How to do the Dumbbell Squat

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width, a dumbbell in each hand at the sides.
2. Brace the core and keep the chest up.
3. Squat down by hinging at the hips and bending the knees.
4. Descend until the thighs are parallel or below.
5. Drive through the heels to stand back up.

Form tips

• Keep the chest up and the back flat throughout.
• Push the knees out in line with the toes.
• Use straps if grip becomes the limiting factor.

At a glance

Dumbbell Squat in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Banded Squat
• Barbell Back Squat
• Bodyweight Squat
• Box Squat
• Bulgarian Split Squat
• Dumbbell Front Squat
• Dumbbell Pistol Squat
• Dumbbell Split 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": "db-squat",
  "name_en": "Dumbbell Squat",
  "name_de": "Kurzhantel-Kniebeuge",
  "name_es": "Sentadilla con Mancuernas",
  "description_en": "A back squat pattern loaded with a dumbbell in each hand, accessible without a barbell.",
  "description_de": "Eine Kniebeuge mit je einer Kurzhantel pro Hand, ohne Langhantel zugänglich.",
  "description_es": "Un patrón de sentadilla cargado con una mancuerna en cada mano, accesible sin barra.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "leg_day"
  ],
  "variation_group": "squat",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand with feet shoulder-width, a dumbbell in each hand at the sides.",
    "Brace the core and keep the chest up.",
    "Squat down by hinging at the hips and bending the knees.",
    "Descend until the thighs are parallel or below.",
    "Drive through the heels to stand back up."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Schulterbreiter Stand, je eine Kurzhantel an den Seiten.",
    "Spanne den Rumpf an, halte die Brust offen.",
    "Hocke ab, indem du an den Hüften beugst und die Knie anwinkelst.",
    "Senke ab, bis die Oberschenkel parallel oder tiefer sind.",
    "Drücke über die Fersen wieder hoch."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Pies a la anchura de los hombros, una mancuerna en cada mano a los lados.",
    "Activa el core y mantén el pecho arriba.",
    "Baja en sentadilla flexionando caderas y rodillas.",
    "Desciende hasta que los muslos queden paralelos o más abajo.",
    "Empuja con los talones para volver a subir."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep the chest up and the back flat throughout.",
    "Push the knees out in line with the toes.",
    "Use straps if grip becomes the limiting factor."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Brust offen, Rücken gerade halten.",
    "Drücke die Knie in Linie mit den Zehen nach außen.",
    "Nutze Zughilfen, wenn der Griff zum limitierenden Faktor wird."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén el pecho arriba y la espalda recta.",
    "Empuja las rodillas en línea con los dedos del pie.",
    "Usa straps si el agarre se convierte en el factor limitante."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/db-squat-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/db-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 === "db-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.