MONS Athletics

Heels-Elevated Squat

Squat with your heels raised and your torso vertical. The knees travel, the quads do the work, and the depth is deeper than a flat-footed squat allows.

The lesson

  1. 01

    Get the heels up

    Two or three centimetres is plenty. A board, a kerb, a thin book, the edge of a step. Not so high that your heels feel unstable.

  2. 02

    Bell at the chest

    Hold it by the horns against your chest, elbows in, exactly as you would a goblet squat.

  3. 03

    Let the knees travel

    This is the opposite instruction to most squats. The knees go forward over the toes and the torso stays vertical. That is the whole point.

  4. 04

    Straight down

    Drop between your feet rather than sitting back. Your hips finish under you, not behind you.

  5. 05

    Build the depth

    First set is shallower. Work down as the knees and ankles warm, and you'll go deeper here than you can flat-footed.

  6. 06

    Drive through the whole foot

    Even with the heels raised, press through the middle of the foot. Don't roll onto the toes.

  7. 07

    The test

    Torso vertical, knees forward, hips under you at the bottom, and it should burn across the front of the thighs. If your back is doing the work, you've sat back instead of down.