The Cossack Squat is a intermediate-friendly bodyweight stretch that targets the quadriceps and adductors, with the glutes, hamstrings and abdominals working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesQuads, Adductors
Secondary musclesGlutes, Hamstrings, Abs
EquipmentBodyweight
LevelIntermediate
TypeStretching
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Cossack Squat
Stand with your feet well outside shoulder width and toes pointing forward.
Brace your abdominals and lift your chest tall.
Shift your weight over one leg and bend that knee, sitting the hips back and down.
Keep the other leg straight and let its foot roll onto the heel with the toes up.
Descend only as far as your hips and ankles allow with the loaded heel flat.
Push through the bent leg to return to center, then repeat on the other side.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Trains strength in the frontal plane that forward facing leg work misses.
Loads the adductors and hamstrings of the extended leg through a long stretch.
Builds hip, knee and ankle range that carries over to every squat pattern.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Arching the lower back to reach depth, which loads the lumbar spine instead of the hips.
Letting the heel of the squatting leg lift, which is an ankle mobility limit, not a strength one.
Bending the extended leg, which removes the adductor and hamstring stretch.
Rushing the transition between sides, which loses control at the deepest position.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Cossack Squat, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
