How to do the Pause Goblet Squat
Step by step
- Hold one dumbbell vertically against your chest with both hands under the top end.
- Stand with feet about shoulder-width and toes slightly out.
- Squat down until your thighs are at least parallel, staying tall.
- Pause for two seconds at the bottom without collapsing your chest.
- Drive up through your feet to stand tall.
The thing people get wrong
Stay tall and braced during the pause - do not relax at the bottom or let your chest fall toward the floor.
Coaching cue
Count the pause out loud so you do not quietly cut it short as the set gets hard.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Shorten the pause to one second, or use a lighter dumbbell.
- Harder: Hold the bottom pause for four seconds.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Quads, Glutes
- Secondary: Core
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
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.