Band Squat
A bodyweight squat with a loop band above the knees, keeping tension on the quads and glutes throughout.
How to do it
- Place a loop band around both legs just above the knees.
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width and toes turned out a little.
- Brace your abdominals and set your chest tall with your arms in front.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees while pressing outward against the band.
- Lower until your thighs are roughly parallel with the floor.
- Drive through your whole foot to stand tall and repeat.
Key technique cue
Press the knees out into the band and don't let them cave in; heels stay down.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Choosing a band that is too strong, which buckles the knees inward and stresses the joint.
- ✕ Letting the knees drift past the toes while the hips stay high, which shifts load off the glutes.
- ✕ Rounding the lower back at the bottom instead of holding a braced trunk.
- ✕ Rising onto the toes because the heels lift, which removes the drive through the whole foot.
Benefits
- ✓ Keeps tension on the quads and glutes through the whole range of motion.
- ✓ Trains the knees to track outward instead of collapsing inward.
- ✓ Needs one band and no rack, bar or bench.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Band Squat
- Bodyweight Box Squat
- Bodyweight Squat
- TRX Squat
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Step 2 -
Step 3 -
Step 4
About the exercise
The band squat adds a loop band above the knees to an otherwise unloaded squat. Because a band pulls harder the further it stretches, tension stays on the muscles through both the lowering and the standing phase rather than dropping off at the bottom. The quadriceps extend the knees, the gluteus maximus extends the hips, and pushing the knees outward against the band keeps them tracking over the toes instead of caving in. The hamstrings and adductors assist while the abdominals stabilize the trunk. It is the band version of the air squat and suits bodyweight and band-only programs, warm-ups, and knee-tracking practice.
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