Kettlebell Squat

Muscles worked by the Kettlebell Squat

Primary

QuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Secondary

GlutesGluteus Maximus

Also called: quad, quads, quadriceps, quadriceps femoris, front thigh.

Equipment

Kettlebell

Also called: kb, cast iron kettlebell, competition kettlebell, girya.

How to do the Kettlebell Squat

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell with both hands in front of you.
2. Let the kettlebell hang naturally between your legs as you brace your core.
3. Bend your hips and knees to squat down, keeping the kettlebell close to your body.
4. Drive through your feet to stand back up to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Keep your chest up and back flat throughout the movement.
• Let the kettlebell act as a counterbalance to help you sit deeper into the squat.
• Push your knees out in line with your toes as you descend.

At a glance

Kettlebell 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": "kettlebell-squat",
  "name_en": "Kettlebell Squat",
  "name_de": "Kettlebell-Kniebeuge",
  "name_es": "Sentadilla con Kettlebell",
  "description_en": "A squat variation holding a kettlebell with both hands hanging low between the legs, adding load to a standard bodyweight squat pattern.",
  "description_de": "Eine Kniebeugen-Variante, bei der eine Kettlebell mit beiden Händen tief zwischen den Beinen gehalten wird, um eine klassische Kniebeuge mit Zusatzgewicht zu belasten.",
  "description_es": "Una variante de sentadilla sosteniendo una kettlebell con ambas manos colgando baja entre las piernas, añadiendo carga a un patrón de sentadilla estándar.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "kettlebell",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "leg_day",
    "glute_focus",
    "knee_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "squat",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell with both hands in front of you.",
    "Let the kettlebell hang naturally between your legs as you brace your core.",
    "Bend your hips and knees to squat down, keeping the kettlebell close to your body.",
    "Drive through your feet to stand back up to the starting position.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stelle dich mit schulterbreitem Stand hin und halte eine Kettlebell mit beiden Händen vor dir.",
    "Lasse die Kettlebell natürlich zwischen deinen Beinen hängen, während du den Rumpf anspannst.",
    "Beuge Hüfte und Knie, um in die Kniebeuge zu gehen, die Kettlebell bleibt nah am Körper.",
    "Drücke dich über die Füße wieder hoch in die Ausgangsposition.",
    "Wiederhole für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ponte de pie con los pies separados al ancho de los hombros, sosteniendo una kettlebell con ambas manos frente a ti.",
    "Deja que la kettlebell cuelgue naturalmente entre tus piernas mientras contraes el core.",
    "Flexiona las caderas y las rodillas para bajar en sentadilla, manteniendo la kettlebell cerca del cuerpo.",
    "Empuja con los pies para volver a la posición inicial.",
    "Repite el número deseado de repeticiones."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep your chest up and back flat throughout the movement.",
    "Let the kettlebell act as a counterbalance to help you sit deeper into the squat.",
    "Push your knees out in line with your toes as you descend."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte die Brust hoch und den Rücken gerade während der gesamten Bewegung.",
    "Nutze die Kettlebell als Gegengewicht, um tiefer in die Kniebeuge zu kommen.",
    "Drücke die Knie beim Absenken nach außen, in Linie mit den Zehen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén el pecho arriba y la espalda recta durante todo el movimiento.",
    "Usa la kettlebell como contrapeso para ayudarte a bajar más profundo en la sentadilla.",
    "Empuja las rodillas hacia afuera, en línea con los dedos de los pies, al descender."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/kettlebell-squat-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/kettlebell-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 === "kettlebell-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.