Single Leg Mini Squat

Teaching points

• Stand on one leg with the other knee bent
  
  
• Use a wall or banister to help keep your balance
  
  
• Bend the standing leg and push your buttocks out behind you
  
  
• Start with only a small movement
  
  
• Make sure your hips stay level, don't let one drop down
  
  
• Don't allow your knee to move forwards past your toes

Variations & progressions

• Rest the non-standing leg on a bench or chair behind you

Muscles worked

• Gluteus medius
  
  
• Gluteus minimus
  
  
• Rectus femoris
  
  
• Vastus medialis
  
  
• Vastus intermedius
  
  
• Vastus lateralis
  
  
• Biceps femoris
  
  
• Semimembranosus
  
  
• Semitendinosus
  
  
• Gluteus maximus
  
  
• Gastrocnemius

Alternative exercises

• Single leg ball squat
  
  
• Heel drops
  
  
• Squat

Related injuries

• Iliotibial band friction syndrome
  
  
• Patellofemoral pain syndrome