If you frequently spend time doing leg exercises at the gym, you probably think squats are the gold standard for building size and strength. The back squat is a tried-and-true strength training exercise for functional health and athleticism. But its many variations, especially unilateral (one-sided) variations, provide even greater benefits. Bulgarian split squats help correct imbalances, and Kazakh squats increase mobility. In fact, we think the Kazakh squat is one of the most underused exercises.
This squat variation is perfect if you don't have access to a gym and want to exercise at home or in a hotel. Sure, you can throw an old squat rack in the garage to do heavy back squats, but without the right safety equipment, your risk of injury skyrockets. Not to mention that pre-existing injuries, limitations, and biomechanics can make traditional back squats a nightmare.
Cossack squats go beyond building mobility, flexibility, and strength in your legs simultaneously. Here's how to embrace the one-sided world of education.
What is the Pullover Squat?
In essence, a Kazakh squat shifts the body's weight almost entirely to one leg at a time, introducing a lateral component to the squat. Given its unilateral nature, most people consider the Pullover squat as an alternative to the pistol squat. However, since both legs remain on the ground for the entirety of the movement, it is not as challenging as the true pistol squat, which provides zero support from the other leg. Although they are different movements, they have a few things in common: Both exercises place great demands on mobility, control and joint stability.
Directions
Start with 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 8 repetitions per leg. When learning the move, remember to move slowly at first, using only your body weight. Quality reps are key here, so focus on the technique tips outlined below.
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How to Do the Pullover Squat?
- To start, consider a very wide stance; even wider than the sumo deadlift setup.
- Turn your left foot out so that the back of the heel is on the floor and the toes are pointing up. Shift your weight to your right side.
- Squat down on your right leg, keeping your right foot glued to the ground.
- Keep your back straight (never let it arch downwards), keep your center of gravity lower, and ensure the length of your hamstrings covers your calves.
- The other leg will be stretched to a completely straight position.
- Step through your planted foot to stand up.
- Complete all reps on one leg before switching to the other side.
Pro Tip
If you're just starting out with this move, try doing it using your body weight first. After two weeks, hold the medicine ball or kettlebell close to your chest.
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How to Do the Typewriter Pullover Squat
- To start, consider a very wide stance; even wider than the sumo deadlift setup.
- Turn your left foot out so that the back of the heel is on the floor and the toes are pointing up. Shift your weight to your right side.
- Squat down on your right leg, keeping your right foot glued to the ground.
- Keep your back straight (never let it arch downwards), keep your center of gravity lower, and ensure the length of your hamstrings covers your calves.
- The other leg will be stretched to a completely straight position.
- Step through your planted foot to stand up.
- Instead of doing all reps on one leg, switch from one leg to the other in a fluid motion.
Pro Tip
This is called the “typewriter” method and can be a good teaching tool for understanding the flow and line of movement and allowing the legs to express mobility with minimal adjustments.
Related: 4 Fitness Tests to Measure Strength, Flexibility, Conditioning, and Power
What Muscles Does the Pullover Squat Work?
Think you can build strength in your lower body just by doing barbell back squats? Think again. Cossack squats work tons of muscles in your lower body and improve your mobility as well. Although it doesn't have the same strength benefits as a barbell back or front squat, it can increase the strength of the connective tissue between your hip, knee, and ankle joints, which can keep your lower body healthier and reduce the risk of injury.
Quaternary
Given the nature of the movement pattern, this exercise focuses a great deal on the quads (trust us, you'll feel the burn right away). Even if you're only doing Cossack squats temporarily, strengthening your quadriceps can help with knee pain, hip flexion, knee stability, and a host of other issues that may be keeping you from doing back squats. But it doesn't end there.
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adductors
Given that you're squatting with one leg out at a time, this movement also opens the door to a lot of activation of the adductors (inner thighs), which are responsible for stabilizing the pelvis and trunk, flexing the thigh, and beyond.
hip muscles
Considering that the pullover squat is a unilateral movement, a lot of emphasis is placed on the hip muscles, especially the gluteus medius. Because the gluteus medius muscle is connected to the hip abductor muscles, it can help stabilize the pelvis and move the legs away from the center of the body.
Sunflower seed
Since you need to keep your upper body in an upright position as you move from side to side, your core muscles also have some work to do. When properly supported, your core stabilizes your body as you move; which is especially helpful during Kazakh squats.
Related: 20 Butt Exercises to Build Your Best Butt
Who Should Do the Pullover Squat?
The good thing about the pullover squat is that almost anyone who can squat can perform it. While getting into the starting position may be difficult for some athletes, doing these mostly with just your body weight makes them easier to handle than barbell squats.
Strength athletes, such as powerlifters, can benefit from Cossack squats as they not only improve your range of motion but also strengthen the adductors, which can increase your squats and deadlifts to a 1-rep max. Strengthening these muscles isn't just good for strength athletes, either. Published research Nature It suggests that hip adductor strength plays an important role in both balance and ankle mobility; two things runners benefit from every time they hit the pavement.
It should go without saying that anyone who walks and moves regularly (regardless of hitting the gym or going for a 5 a.m. run) can benefit from improved hip and ankle mobility, increased lower body strength, and improved balance and balance. coordination. Whether you're a strength athlete, a marathon runner, or just someone who enjoys pain-free walks with your dog, Cossack squats can be a great addition to your routine.
Related: The 10 Best Kettlebell Exercises for Mass, Strength, and Endurance
Benefits of the Pullover Squat
In general, the Pullover is a more athletic, one-sided variation that promotes the movement of the body in space with the load in a completely different vector. This can be a welcome departure from classic sagittal plane movement patterns like the front squat, which can contribute to greater injury resistance and healthier joints. And don't feel like you're forced to do Kazakh squats at full depth as an all-or-nothing directive. If you can't yet achieve the range of motion or skill shown above, set up a low box or squat target to achieve perfection in a shallower range. There's no shame in making a throwback!
Improved Mobility
If you've been doing heavy squats for years or tend to sit for long periods of time throughout the day, there's a good chance your range of motion is pretty limited, especially when it comes to your hips. Like other types of squats, the Cossack squat improves hip, knee and ankle mobility, reduces injuries and improves range of motion in other movements.
Injury Friendly
Whether you suffered a back injury years ago or are struggling with chronic hip pain, there are tons of reasons why people can't do traditional back squats. But that doesn't mean you have to lose strength gains. Because they don't require you to put anything on your back, they may be better suited to lifters who don't have the strength, proportions, or mobility to perform full-range squats.
Increased Power
When you think of bodyweight moves, there's a good chance you're picturing a bunch of Instagram fitness influencers trying to feed the general public a bunch of nonsense about gaining strength. While it's safe to say that nothing adds muscle like heavy lifting, there's a time and a place for progressive bodyweight moves like the Pullover squat. Because the Cossack squat primarily targets muscles like the adductors, hamstrings, and quads, it promotes balanced development that can help with everything from everyday movements like walking to the next big squat. You can also add weight with dumbbells or kettlebells to continue progressing once you've completed the move.
Related: The 50 Best Quad Exercises of All Time
Cossack Squat and Lateral Lunges
While there are similar movements that target multiple lower body muscles, there are a few distinctions to be made between Cossack squats and lateral lunges.
Lateral Lunge
The main difference is that the lateral lunge changes from what is called a “closed chain” to an “open chain”. Simply put, the lunge pattern can be a little tougher on the joints when it comes to stability, striking, and deceleration because it requires one foot to lift off the ground, plant, and then assume the bottom position.
Benefits of Lateral Lunge
Similar to squats, lunges are compound movements that can help you build strength in your lower body. While many lifters prefer forward and reverse lunges as a workout finisher guaranteed to develop the hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes, side lunges have several unique benefits of their own. Considering lateral (side to side) movement, lateral lunges engage the hip abductor muscles (outer thighs), a part of the leg that is often overlooked during training. Since many hip and knee problems are caused by weak adductor and abductor muscles, strengthening these muscles is key to preventing injuries.
Pullover Squat
A lifter with cranky knees may find the side lunge slightly less forgiving on their joints compared to the Cossack squat, which keeps both feet in place the entire time. This makes it easier to control the Cossack squat with pinpoint accuracy. The straight leg stretch achieved by the Cossack squat under load is slightly more aggressive than the classic side lunge, where the non-lunging leg tends to keep the knee slightly bent. This means less activation for the adductor group and less stretch for the hamstrings.