Belt Squat
A machine squat with the load hanging from a belt around your hips: you stand on a platform and squat down and up without any weight on your shoulders or spine.
- Primary muscles
- Quads, Glutes
- Secondary
- Lower back, Adductors
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
With the weight at your hips, the belt squat trains your quads and glutes hard without loading your upper body, which suits lifters with a tired back, shoulders that don't like holding a bar, or high-volume leg days. It's easier to learn than a back squat and lets you push close to failure without a spotter. Change your stance to shift the focus: wider for more glutes, narrower for more quads.
How to do it
Fasten the belt around your hips and attach it to the machine's chain or hook.
Stand on the platform with your feet shoulder-width apart. A wider stance brings in more glutes, a narrower one more quads.
Push your hips back and bend your knees until your thighs are at least parallel to the platform.
Drive back up, stopping just short of lockout. The load hangs from your hips instead of pressing on your spine, which makes this useful when your back is beat up.
Common mistakes
Belt sitting too high
A belt riding up onto your waist pulls you forward and digs in. Fasten it snugly low around your hips so the chain hangs straight down between your feet.
Feet too far forward or back
Standing off-center on the platform makes the load swing on every rep. Set your feet so the chain hangs straight down between them.
Squatting shallow
Without a bar on your back, there's little reason to stay high. Sit down until your thighs are at least parallel to the platform.
Locking out hard at the top
Snapping your knees straight lets the weight rest on your joints and the belt swing. Stop just short of lockout to keep tension on your legs.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
