The Goblet Squat Exercise: How To, Benefits, Variations

The goblet squat revolutionized the way squats were performed and taught around the world after the great Dan John came up with them. If you don’t know what the goblet squat is, I have Dan John come to your house and personally walk you through his goblet squat workout — but if you just Google the name, it’s more is realistic. now! Ironically, Dean John stumbled upon the goblet squat by accident.

“Years ago, I was faced with teaching 400 athletes to squat properly. I tried one movement and one lift after another lift, yet I failed every time. I had to teach a kid the Zercher squat. saw a glimmer of hope from , and when we got the Kettlebells off the ground some people picked up the pattern, but nothing worked.

The answer was somewhere between a Zurcher and a potato squat. It came to me while I was resting between swings with a weight held in front of me like I was holding the Holy Grail. I got down there, pushed my knees out from my elbows, and lo and behold — the goblet squat.”

You could say he chose wisely. Here we’ll dive into what the goblet squat is, how to do it, common mistakes, and some variations to spice things up.

What is a goblet squat?

This exercise is a back squat variation performed with a kettlebell or dumbbell. Holding the weight forward encourages you to stand up straight, tighten the upper back and puff out. The weight is a balanced balance that encourages you to sit between your legs and not over your knees.

How to do goblet squats

1. Place your feet in your preferred position and hold a dumbbell or kettlebell by your side under your chin with your elbows.
2. Engage your back and keep your chest up and shoulders down.
3. Then grip the floor with your feet and sit between your knees, keeping your chest up.
4. Once you’ve reached the depth you like, push your feet into the floor, squat, and finish by squeezing your glutes at lockout.
5. Reset and repeat for desired response.

Muscles trained by the goblet squat

The goblet squat is primarily a lower-body movement, but since you’re holding the weight in your hands beforehand, there’s some upper-body movement as well. Here are the holy grail of squats to train big muscles.

Lower body

• Quadriceps: Most squats are knee-dominant exercises, and the goblet squat is no exception.
• Hamstrings: Almost all squatting variations are minimally involved, but the hamstrings provide eccentric power when descending into the squat and provide a little support to the glutes with hip extension.
• Glutes: The glutes work overtime to extend the hips as you squat from the hole to the lockout position
• Core: The goblet squat is an anteriorly loaded squat variation that requires you to maintain an upright torso and an engaged posterior core.

Upper body

• Upper Back: Since you are holding the weight in front of you, your upper back contracts periodically to keep the weight in place and for good posture during the set.
• Arms and Biceps: If you are holding a kettlebell, a good grip is required to hold the kettlebell in the goblet position.

4 Benefits of the Jobblet Squat

The beauty of the goblet squat is that almost anyone can do it, and after a few tips from the YouTube video and this article, most lifters are good to go. Here are a few more benefits of adding exercise to your routine.

• Beginner Friendly: The front loaded position of the goblet squat acts as a counterbalance allowing you to sit between your knees rather than over your knees for squat form. If you sit on your knees, you’ll get instant feedback and a full face on the floor. The goblet squat is a great gateway exercise to more complex squatting exercises like the barbell squat.
• Increases the strength of your posture: By the nature of the back-loaded position, you should keep your upper back, upright posture, and extended thoracic spine. If you can’t do any of these things, the weight will slip out of your hands, which can be embarrassing.
• Back cover strength: When you get set up with the goblet squat, you’ll feel the back magic. By keeping the weight in the goblet position, your core will engage to prevent forward collapse. You then need to brace and prevent excessive extension of the spine as you lower into the squat and stay balanced throughout the exercise.
• Friendly to the lower back: The barbell back squat is great, but is a compressive load on the spine, and if you have a sore lower back, it’s a no-go. Enter the goblet squat. Since you are not using a heavy load and back weight position, there is less compressive load on the lower back. For many lifters, the goblet squat allows you to train the squat movement without causing lower back pain.

Common mistakes

This movement is almost the perfect squat teaching drill and a great exercise to add muscle-building volume to your quads and glutes. Let’s face it, it’s a tough exercise to get wrong, but there are a few things to keep in mind to get the most out of this exercise.

• Go to the light: When you’re a beginner lifter, it’s okay to go lighter to get form and technique down, but if you’re an intermediate to advanced lifter, there’s no excuse. The goblet squat is one of those exercises where a heavy load can improve form because the weight acts as a balance. No need to pump mindless reps here. Load up and be more intentional between the 8-15 rep range.
• Use of partial range of motion: Squat depth touches. The goblet squat with rear loading is more depth friendly than other squat variations, so there is no need to do half reps. It is doable to get your elbows inside your knees under your squat. If not, work on hip mobility.
• It’s not good morning: The most important thing with the goblet squat is the loading of the back and the ability to keep the torso more upright while squatting. You should avoid deliberately leaning your torso forward or shooting your hips back like a hinge. Sitting between your knees and keeping your upper back engaged will help here.

Programming tips

The goblet squat isn’t a great strength exercise because the dumbbells are only so big, and they’re not easy to get into position and hold when they do. This IMO takes away from the effectiveness of this exercise. It is best to program the goblet squat for the muscles and reinforce better technique.

• For beginners and advanced techniques: When learning a new movement or improving your squat form, more reps (and not less) are better. Two to four sets of eight to 12 reps work well here.
• For muscles: Challenging weights, time under tension, and volume are important factors when your goal is to build muscle. Three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps with a moderately heavy dumbbell or kettlebell are required here.

GOBLET SQUAT VARIATIONS

Variety is the spice of life, and it’s no different with the goblet squat. Doing the same but slightly different will keep you busy, and you’ll stay on the gain train longer.

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