How to do the Cyclist Squat
Step by step
- Raise your heels on a small weight plate or wedge and set your feet close together.
- Hold a dumbbell at your chest or one in each hand at your sides, and stand tall.
- Squat straight down, keeping your torso upright and letting your knees travel forward.
- Go as deep as is comfortable, then press through your feet to stand back up tall.
- Stay upright on the way up so the tension stays on your quads.
The thing people get wrong
Elevated heels and an upright torso keep the tension on the quads - do not lean forward like a normal squat or the load shifts to the hips.
Coaching cue
Lower slowly and let your knees drift well past your toes; the deep knee bend is the whole point.
Stay safe
Use a plate or wedge that cannot slip, and stop if you feel pinching in the front of the knee.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Do it with bodyweight only while holding a support for balance.
- Harder: Pause two seconds at the bottom of every rep.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Quads
- Secondary: Glutes
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.