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Kettlebell exercises

Cossack Squat: The Sideways Squat for Hips and Inner Thighs

From a wide stance, sit deep into one hip with the bell at your chest while the other leg goes straight. Works your glutes, quads and inner thighs.

Strength at length · Hips · 3 min read · In Structure · Sideways

Why it works: Chapter 13, Why stretching your hamstrings will not loosen them

How to do it

  1. 1

    Stand wide

    Feet about twice shoulder-width, toes turned out a little. Hold the bell against your chest by the horns, the two upright sides of the handle.

  2. 2

    Sit into one hip

    Shift your weight over one foot and sit down on that side, knee following your toes. The other leg straightens out to the side.

  3. 3

    Both heels stay down

    The bent leg's heel stays flat. The straight leg's heel stays on the floor too: foot flat if it will go, toes pointing up if not. This is not a balance drill, and you'll feel it where it belongs, in the inner thigh of the straight leg and the hip of the bent one.

  4. 4

    Chest stays up

    The bell at your chest is what keeps you upright. Let it drop away and you'll fold forward and lose the hip.

  5. 5

    Go as low as your range allows

    First rep is your shallowest. Each one goes a little deeper as the hip opens. Never force the bottom.

  6. 6

    Push back to the middle

    Drive through the bent leg to stand, then shift across to the other side.

  7. 7

    The test

    Heels down, chest tall, and the straight leg genuinely straight. When any of those goes, that's your depth for today.

Watch for

  • The bent leg's heel lifting. Your weight tips onto the ball of the foot, the knee takes the strain and the hip stops working.
  • Folding forward. The bell drifts off your chest, your back rounds and you lose the hip range the squat is for.
  • The bent knee caving in. It drops inside your foot and loads the inside of the knee instead of the hip.
  • Forcing depth on the first rep. That is how a groin gets pulled; the range opens as the set goes on.

Questions

What are the benefits of the Cossack squat?

It takes your hip sideways and works the inner thigh of the straight leg at full length, a sideways range no front-to-back squat or hinge loads. Holding a bell at your chest is what turns that range into something you can get stronger in, not just reach.

Should your heel be up or down in a Cossack squat?

Down. The heel of the bent leg stays flat, and the straight leg's heel stays on the floor with the toes flat or pointing up. If a heel has to lift for you to go lower, that is your depth for today.

Cossack squat or lateral lunge?

A lateral lunge steps out and back each rep. In a Cossack squat your feet stay wide and planted, you usually sit much deeper and the other leg goes fully straight, so both hips work at the end of their range.

How many Cossack squats, and how heavy?

Cossack squats pair with a suitcase carry in the second half of the Structure · Sideways routine: 5 each side, holding 3 seconds at the bottom, then a carry, twice, resting until you feel fresh. Use a bell light enough that both heels stay down at your deepest; it is usually lighter than your heels-elevated squat bell. Build depth across the sets rather than opening at your deepest.