The single-leg squat touchdown is a squat on one leg in which the opposite hand reaches down toward the toes of your standing foot. The reach sends your hips back and your chest forward, so the standing leg works through a range most people can control from the first session — which makes it the usual way in before a full single-leg squat.
How to do it
- Stand on one leg with a soft knee, the other foot just off the floor beside it.
- Bend the standing knee and push the hips back as the opposite hand reaches toward its toes.
- Push through the whole foot to stand tall; finish your reps before switching legs.
Common mistakes
- Reaching by rounding the back instead of bending at the hip and knee.
- Letting the heel lift or the knee cave in as you reach.
What it trains
- Quads
- bend and straighten the standing knee under your whole bodyweight — the prime mover
- Glutes
- control the hips as they travel back during the reach, and keep the pelvis level
- Obliques
- stop the torso twisting as the hand reaches across your body
- Feet and ankles
- keep you balanced as your centre of mass shifts out over the toes
Variations and alternatives
Common questions
Which hand reaches down?
The one opposite the standing leg: stand on your right leg, reach with your left hand. Reaching across the body makes your hips and trunk resist twisting, which is part of the exercise; the same-side hand is easier and leaves that part out.
Do I have to touch my toes?
No — reach only as far as you can with the knee lined up and the heel down. Getting lower is how the exercise progresses: the hand to the knee first, then the shin, then the ankle, then the toes.
Do I log both legs?
No — log the reps of one leg. The other side does the same number, but only one leg goes into the set; if one side falls short, enter that side's count. StackUp tracks it by reps and raises your target reps as you beat them, so added weight is optional and rarely needed here.
When should I move on to the full single-leg squat?
When you can do ten to fifteen clean reps per leg with the hand reaching your toes, the heel down and the knee tracking over the foot. At that point the touchdown has done its job; keep it as a warm-up and move your working sets to the single-leg squat.
In StackUp. Logged as reps per set. Add weight if you use a belt or a dumbbell and StackUp progresses it like any other lift. Get the app.
Legs
