The exercise sees you hold a weight with both hands in front of your chest, then sink into a squat until your elbows tickle the insides of your knees. The \u201cgoblet\u201d moniker is inspired by how the weight is held, while also providing a sly nod to John\u2019s love of Arthurian legend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m at the point where I don\u2019t recommend squatting with a barbell to practically anybody any more because it\u2019s done so poorly,\u201d says John. \u201cWhen you see something being done poorly over and over again, you sit back one day and you say, \u2018Maybe we can do better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
That is why he invented the goblet squat \u2013 an exercise that automatically reinforces better squat technique. <\/p>\n
By holding the weight in front of you, you are forced to keep your chest up and core tight throughout; by dropping your hips and elbows between your legs, your knees are pushed wider and naturally track over your toes; by ticking these first two boxes, you will achieve full depth in your squat. <\/p>\n
If you can do one textbook goblet squat with a 24kg kettlebell, your lower body likely has the strength and mobility needed to handle the rigours of daily life, John says. If you can do 10, \u201cyou\u2019re doing great\u201d. <\/p>\n
As someone with a couple of kettlebells knocking around the house, I decided to invest in John\u2019s impressive elevator pitch and commit to doing goblet squats every day for a month. The results impressed me \u2013 although many of the benefits came in unexpected areas. <\/p>\n
How to do the goblet squat<\/p>\n
Stand upright with your feet just outside shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed outward slightly. Play around with this position to find what feels comfortable for you.Hold a dumbbell, kettlebell, medicine ball or any other weighty object in both hands in front of your chest.Brace your core by imagining someone is about to strike you in the stomach, and tightening your midsection muscles accordingly. Keeping your chest proud throughout, push your hips back, then lower them between your legs until your elbows touch the insides of your knees. Drive through your feet to return to the starting position. Your weight should be between your midfoot and heel. To check if this is the case, you should be able to wiggle your toes at any point of the exercise. You can watch the video below for a demonstration of the exercise. <\/p>\n
Read more: An expert trainer says \u2018this is the best thing you can do with kettlebells\u2019 to build full-body strength and muscle<\/a><\/p>\n What happened when I did goblet squats every day for a month<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It is not wise to do the same exercise at the same gut-busting intensity every single day. Instead, I chose to change the emphasis of my goblet squat sessions by playing with variables such as weight and tempo. <\/p>\n Some days I used a heavy weight for five sets of five repetitions to target strength days. Some days I used a moderate weight for three sets of 15 repetitions to build muscle in my legs and glutes. Some days I incorporated them into a sweaty circuit to tax my cardiovascular system. Some days I picked a lighter weight and sat in the bottom position of a goblet squat for 30 seconds or more to develop mobility. <\/p>\n This approach proved fruitful, leading to the perks listed below. <\/p>\n Read more: Expert trainer names his three essential exercises for a stronger, more mobile body<\/a><\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Expert strength coach Dan John says the goblet squat is \u2018the single most important transformational exercise in the history of exercise\u2019 \u2013 he should know, he invented it (Harry Bullmore\/The Independent)<\/p>\n My whole body felt more robust <\/p>\n The SAID principle stands for \u2018Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands\u2019. It can be applied to exercise in any form, and simply means your body will get better at the things you consistently ask it to do. Inversely, the body operates on a rough use-it-or-lose-it basis, and will gradually relinquish access to any movements you neglect for prolonged periods. This is often the case with squatting. <\/p>\n John lists squatting as one of five fundamental human movements, alongside pushing, pulling, hinging and carrying. But while the latter four show up frequently in our daily lives, the invention of chairs has seen the skill of squatting fall by the wayside. <\/p>\n It is no wonder, then, that people walk into gyms and struggle to perform a picture-perfect squat. Even those who exercise regularly will still only spend a few seconds at the bottom of a squat each week, as opposed to the hours our ancient ancestors likely accrued. <\/p>\n By doing goblet squats each day, and particularly sitting in the bottom position for 30 seconds or more, I found this movement started to feel far more natural. My hips, knees and lower back became stronger and more limber, while my ability to maintain tension throughout the movement translated to other exercises I enjoyed. <\/p>\n Read more: I tried \u2018the best kettlebell workout\u2019, and it was surprisingly simple yet effective in just 10 minutes<\/a><\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Other variations of the squat are often performed incorrectly, especially when people learn them in the absence of a coach. The goblet squat helps guide your body into the correct position using a few simple cues (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n I became stronger<\/p>\n John himself admits that, for enthusiastic exercisers, goblet squats have a ceiling. You are limited by the amount of weight you can hold, so most people won\u2019t be able to match the loads they can lift with a barbell squat. For that reason, John jokes, he will \u201cget toasted online\u201d by passionate powerlifters for suggesting most people don\u2019t need to do barbell squats \u2013 strength athletes represent an exception to this rule. <\/p>\n However, while lifting progressively heavier weights is incredibly important for building strength, it is not the only factor to consider. Lifting weights is a skill, so you can get better at it through practice. But not just any practice. <\/p>\n The phrase \u201cpractice makes perfect\u201d remains popular, but I prefer a tweaked alternative: \u201cPractice makes permanent\u201d. If you practice with poor technique, you will improve at squatting with poor technique, so it is important to prioritise correct form in all your training sessions \u2013\u00a0the goblet squat helps with this. <\/p>\n By doing daily goblet squats, I got into the groove of performing squats with good technique, and my body felt better because of it. Then, when I returned to barbell squats, a PB soon followed as I was able to move the weight more efficiently and effectively than I had before. <\/p>\n Read more: Swap the gym for this trainer\u2019s six-move kettlebell workout to build full-body strength at home<\/a><\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The goblet squat made me stronger and more mobile over the course of the month (Harry Bullmore\/The Independent)<\/p>\n My mobility improved<\/p>\n The squat is widely seen as a strength-building exercise, and rightly so. It recruits the entire body to move large loads, providing the stimulus needed for your body to adapt to help you lift even heavier weights in future. But the benefits don\u2019t end there. <\/p>\n \u201cThe best way that we know to improve flexibility and range of motion is to load a stretch position safely,\u201d Dr Andy Galpin<\/a>, a tenured full professor at Parker University and world-renowned human performance coach, tells me. In other words, strength training beats long static stretches for improving your flexibility. <\/p>\n I\u2019ve long believed that if you can comfortably hang from a bar, press a weight overhead and perform a solid squat, your body is probably in pretty good nick. The goblet squat reinforced this belief, improving mobility in my hips, knees and ankles over the course of the month. <\/p>\n For this reason, John likes to prescribe an incredibly simple two-move daily mobility protocol for most people: hang from a pull-up bar for 30 seconds, sit in the bottom of a goblet squat for 30 seconds, then repeat this sequence one or two more times. <\/p>\n![\"Expert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Expert-strength-coach-Dan-John-says-the-humane-burpee-kettlebell-workout-can-improve-your-strength-m.jpeg\")
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