Skater Squat
What Is the Skater Squat?
Skater Squat is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quads and also engages the glutes, adductors and calves, with the core working to keep the torso steady. It is an intermediate-level movement that builds single-leg strength, balance and knee control using nothing but body weight.
The defining detail is the rear leg. You bend it behind you and leave it free, reach both arms forward for counterbalance, and squat on the standing leg until the rear knee lightly touches the floor, without the rear foot ever touching down. The Shrimp Squat uses the same squat to the floor but holds the rear foot with the same-side hand, which takes away the free leg as a counterweight and makes it the harder of the two. Despite the similar name, the Skater Jump is a different exercise, a side-to-side bound rather than a squat.
Because the rear leg gives no help, the standing leg carries all of your body weight, unlike the Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat, where the back foot can push into the bench. The standing knee travels forward over the toes while the hips sit back and the torso leans slightly forward, so the quads do most of the work and the glutes and adductors help drive you out of the bottom. Compared with the Pistol Squat, it needs far less hamstring flexibility and ankle mobility, since the free leg stays behind you instead of out in front and the depth stops where the rear knee meets the floor.
Strength coaches use the skater squat as a main single-leg lift for athletes, and it scales from rehab work to heavy loading. Stacked foam pads under the rear knee shorten the range, light dumbbells held out in front make balance easier, and a weight vest adds load once full depth is easy. It suits anyone who already squats well on two legs. If you cannot yet control the descent, build up with the Bodyweight Reverse Lunge, the Bulgarian split squat and the Single-Leg Box Squat.
Muscles Worked
- Vastus Lateralis
- Primary
- Vastus Medialis
- Primary
- Gluteus Maximus
- High
- Rectus Femoris
- High
- Adductor Magnus
- Medium
- Gluteus Medius
- Medium
- Soleus
- Medium
Instructions
- Stand tall on one leg with the standing foot flat and pointing forward.
- Bend the other knee and lift that foot behind you, leaving the rear leg free.
- Raise both arms straight in front of you at shoulder height for balance.
- Brace your core and keep your chest up.
- Bend the standing knee and hip together, letting the knee travel forward over your toes as your hips sit back and your torso leans slightly forward.
- Let the rear knee travel down and back toward the floor, keeping that knee bent and the rear foot off the ground.
- Lower slowly until the rear knee lightly touches the floor or a pad just behind the standing heel, keeping that heel flat.
- Drive through the whole standing foot to stand back up, keeping the knee in line with your toes.
- Finish your reps, then switch legs.
Common Mistakes
Knee caving inward
Letting the standing knee collapse toward the midline shifts stress onto the knee joint instead of keeping it lined up over the toes.
Touching the rear foot down
Setting the rear foot on the floor turns the rep into a reverse lunge and lets the back leg take weight off the standing leg.
Dropping onto the rear knee
Falling through the last part of the descent slams the rear knee into the floor and gives up control in the deepest, hardest range.
Bouncing off the floor
Using the rear knee's contact with the floor as a springboard takes the work away from the standing leg.
Heel lifting
Rising onto the ball of the standing foot pushes more load onto the knee and makes balance harder, often because ankle mobility is limited.
Folding the chest over the thigh
Leaning far forward to reach the floor turns the rep into a hip hinge and usually means the depth is beyond your current strength.
Injuries
Skater Squat is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. It uses only body weight, but it takes one knee into deep flexion under the full load of the body, and the rear knee meets the floor at the bottom of every rep.
The front of the standing knee takes the most stress, especially when the knee caves inward or the last part of the descent turns into a drop. The rear knee can be bruised by landing hard on a bare floor, and limited ankle mobility shows up as the standing heel lifting, which shifts more load onto the knee. Losing balance is the other common problem, so clear the floor behind you before you start.
Lower slowly, keep the standing knee tracking over the middle toes, and use a pad or folded mat under the rear knee as a depth target. To regress, stack two or three pads and remove one at a time as you get stronger, hold light dumbbells straight out in front as a counterweight, or hold an upright post or a band for support. The TRX Single-Leg Squat and the Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat are good stepping stones. Add load only once full-depth reps are controlled, starting with a weight vest so your arms can still counterbalance, and treat the Shrimp Squat as the harder bodyweight progression.
Stop if you feel sharp or pinching pain in the knee, hip or ankle, pain in the rear knee that a pad does not fix, or knee pain that lingers after the session. Anyone with a current knee injury or patellar tendon pain should check with a qualified professional before training this depth on one leg.
- Primary Focus
- Quads
- Equipment
- Body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is the difference between a skater squat and a shrimp squat?
In the skater squat the rear leg stays free and bent behind you, while the Shrimp Squat holds the rear foot with the same-side hand. Both lower the rear knee toward the floor, but holding the foot removes the free leg as a counterweight, so the shrimp squat is the harder of the two.
- Q: Is the skater squat the same as the skater jump?
No. The Skater Jump is a plyometric bound from one foot to the other, while the skater squat is a slow single-leg squat that never leaves the floor.
- Q: Does the rear knee have to touch the floor?
A light touch of the rear knee marks full depth, but it should only brush the floor, never take your weight. If you cannot reach it with control yet, stack a few foam pads behind you as a target and remove one at a time as you get stronger.
- Q: Is the skater squat easier than the pistol squat?
For most people, yes. The free leg stays behind you rather than out in front, so the skater squat needs far less hamstring flexibility and ankle mobility than the Pistol Squat, even though the standing leg still carries your full body weight.
- Q: How do I make the skater squat harder?
Wear a weight vest first so your arms can still counterbalance, then hold a plate or medicine ball out in front, and later dumbbells at your sides. Holding the rear foot instead of leaving it free turns it into the harder Shrimp Squat.
- Q: Can the skater squat be used as a fitness test?
Yes, as a simple check of single-leg function. Coaches count reps in 30 seconds on each leg to compare sides, and in a study of 25 active young men that count lined up moderately with single-leg long jump distance but not with knee extensor strength measured on a dynamometer, so treat it as a function check rather than a strength test.