Open Exercise

Development draft, v0. Formats and IDs may change.

Catalogue

Lateral Squat

oec:lateral-squat

A lower-body exercise performed in a wide stationary stance where you shift weight to squat down on one leg while keeping the opposite leg straight.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Side Split Squat, Stationary Side Lunge, Stationary Lateral Lunge, Side Squat, Side split squats left

How to do it

Setup

  1. Stand tall with your feet placed substantially wider than shoulder-width apart, pointing your toes straight ahead or slightly angled out.
  2. Brace your core and hold your hands together in front of your chest for balance.

Movement

  1. Shift your weight toward one side, hinging at the hip and bending that working knee while keeping the opposite leg straight.
  2. Descend until your working thigh is approximately parallel to the floor, ensuring both feet remain flat on the ground.
  3. Drive through the midfoot and heel of the working leg to extend the knee and hip back to the starting wide stance.
  4. Complete all prescribed repetitions on one side before switching, or alternate sides as programmed.

Breathing

Inhale as you descend into the squat on the working leg; exhale forcefully as you press back up to the top.

Cues

  • Sit back into your hip
  • Keep both feet flat
  • Knee tracks over toes
  • Chest stays proud

Common faults

Allowing the heel of the working foot to lift off the floor during the descent.
Push the hips back more and limit your depth to what your ankle mobility permits while maintaining full foot contact.
Letting the working knee collapse inward (valgus collapse).
Actively track your knee in line with your toes throughout the descent and ascent.
Lifting the inner edge of the trailing foot.
Firmly plant the entire sole of the straight leg to stretch the adductor and maintain a stable base.

Safety

  • Do not force depth if you feel sharp discomfort or strain in the adductor muscles of the extended leg.

Muscles

  • Quadriceps prime mover
  • Gluteus maximus prime mover
  • Adductor magnus synergist
  • Hamstrings synergist
  • Gluteus medius stabilizer
  • Gracilis stretched

Joints

  • Hip: Flexion, Extension, Abduction, Adduction
  • Knee: Flexion, Extension
  • Ankle: Dorsiflexion, Plantarflexion

Details

Movement
Squat, Lunge
Modality
Calisthenics, Mobility, Strength
Mechanics
compound
Force
push
Laterality
unilateral
Kinetic chain
closed
Level
beginner
Equipment
None
Record
Repetitions
Load
bodyweight, not applicable

Related

Sources

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

lateral-squat.json