Exercise guide · Advanced · Compound

Barbell One Leg Squat: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The barbell one leg squat is a challenging lower body exercise that targets the quadriceps while also engaging the glutes, hamstrings, and calves. It requires significant balance, strength, and coordination, as you perform a squat on one leg while holding a barbell across your upper back.

Primary muscles
Quads
Secondary muscles
Calves , Hamstrings , Glutes
Equipment
Barbell
Level · type
Advanced · Compound
Demonstration of the barbell one leg squat
Front view: muscles worked by the barbell one leg squat. Primary: quads. Secondary: calves, hamstrings and glutes.
Back view: muscles worked by the barbell one leg squat. Primary: quads. Secondary: calves, hamstrings and glutes.
Primary Secondary

How to do the barbell one leg squat

  1. Step 1: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a barbell across your upper back.
  2. Step 2: Lift one foot off the ground and extend it forward, keeping it parallel to the ground.
  3. Step 3: Bend your standing leg and lower your body down as if sitting back into a chair, keeping your chest up and your back straight.
  4. Step 4: Lower yourself until your thigh is parallel to the ground, then push through your heel to return to the starting position.
  5. Step 5: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch legs and repeat.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the barbell one leg squat by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Barbell One Leg Squat alternatives

More exercises that train the quads as their main target:

More quads exercises

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Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.