Best Guide to the Curtsy Squat (Benefits, Technique and Mistakes)

This guide will teach you everything you need to know about the Curtsy Squat.

What is the Curtsy Squat?

A curtsy squat is a variation of the squat that targets the inner thighs and glutes. It gets its name from the traditional curtsy greeting, where you bow your head and bend one knee behind you.

In this exercise, you do a regular squat as you bend both knees to lower your body towards the floor. Then, instead of standing back up, step one leg diagonally behind your body and lower into a curtsy position on that leg.

You can perform curtsy squats with just your bodyweight to start out. If they feel too easy, try holding light dumbbells or a barbell in front of your chest to make them more challenging.

What Muscles Does the Curtsy Squat Work?

The curtsy squat is an exercise that sculpts and strengthens your legs, especially your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.

The curtsy squat is also great for strengthening and stabilizing your core.

Curtsy Squat Benefits

Curtsy squats are a great exercise to incorporate into your fitness routine because it targets each major muscle group in your legs.

The main muscles groups the curtsy squat targets are the quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves.

The curtsy squat is a low impact exercise, with little room for error which makes it a great exercise for beginners and those who are uncomfortable with high impact leg exercises. It’s also a great alternative to lunges because of its low-impact nature.

You can do curtsy squats anywhere – in the gym, at home or on vacation!

They don’t require any fancy equipment so you can add them as an extra warm up or cool down when you’re doing other workouts like running or yoga. While this move looks simple enough there’s some definite benefits to adding them to your workouts.

How to do Curtsy Squat

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, then step your right foot behind your left leg and bend your knees, lowering yourself into a lunge position.
• Your left knee should be bent at a 90-degree angle and your right knee should be just above the floor. Keep your hips square to the front and don’t let them rotate. Ensure that the knee of your extended leg doesn’t extend past that foot.
• Pause for one second, then slowly press through the heel of your left foot to return to standing position.
• Repeat in the other direction.
• Both legs count as a single rep.

Curtsy Squat Technique Tips

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of this exercise.

• Keep your chest lifted and your back straight. Brace your core by contracting it as if you’re about to be punched in the stomach, which will also help maintain good posture.
• As you lower into a curtsy squat, move your right leg back and to the left, keeping it angled at 45 degrees. This is what gives this exercise its name because it mimics a curtsy movement made when greeting someone in an elegant or formal manner, like royalty or nobility. When done correctly, the right leg’s movement should be similar to that of a reverse lunge.
• Be sure to keep the majority of your weight on your front heel so that you’re engaging more glute muscle throughout the movement. If you prefer performing squats with less weight on your heels, shifting more toward the front of your feet can help engage different areas of muscle than would sitting back on your heels during squats more often performed with weights instead of just bodyweight (such as barbell squats).
• As you push through your front heel for balance and power to raise up from a squatting position, make sure to squeeze both glutes at the top of each rep for even greater toning and definition results from doing curtsy squats. To make sure you have proper form during this move: * Do not allow either knee to cave inward as you perform each rep: Make sure both knees stay aligned over toes throughout each repetition until all sets are completed for one side before switching legs.

Curtsy Squat Mistakes

Make sure you aren’t making any of these errors.

Not Squatting Low Enough