I first tried the Cossack squat back when I was into Beach Body’s Insanity workout program in college. And I’ll be honest: they hurt like hell and quickly became THE dreaded part of my pre-workout stretching.
But I’ll stand by it: NOTHING gives my legs a good stretch like the Cossack squat. So, I literally still do them today before I do any form of cardio. Despite hating them SO MUCH.
Different from a regular up-and-down squat, the Cossack squat resembles a dance move coined by the Cossacks of Eastern Europe.
The Cossack squat works the frontal plane through lateral/side-to-side stretching.
And it’s a majorly powerful stretch for hip mobility.
Today, I’ll review everything you need to know about adding the Cossack squat into your workout routine.
We’ll cover:
- How to Do a Cossack Squat
- Cossack Squat Muscles Worked
- Cossack Squat vs. Regular Squat
- Cossack Squat vs. Side Lunge
- Cossack Squat Benefits
- Cossack Squat Pro Tips
- Cossack Squat Regression
- Cossack Squat Progression
- More Squat & Hip Resources
- Cossack Squat FAQs
We’re Back Muscle Solutions, and we’ve made it our mission to fight back pain like superheroes fight crime. Hip flexor muscles–when tight and angry–like to wreak havoc on lower backs. That’s why we love to focus on hip massage, stretching, and strengthening. And today, our focus is the cossack squat.
How to Do a Cossack Squat
Let’s start with the basics of how to do a Cossack squat. It’ll feel similar to a regular squat with a few key differences.
1) Stand with your legs wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes slightly pointing outward for each foot.
2) Hinge back at your hips, keeping your chest tall, and bringing your butt back.
3) Hold out both arms in front of your body, holding your palms together.
4) As you do this, intentionally shift your weight to your right side, bending your right knee.
5) While you bend your right knee, keep your left leg straight while externally rotating it–meaning your toes will turn even more outward.
6) Keep your left heel flat on the floor while you raise your right toes up.
7) Hold the stretch.
8) Then, maintaining an upright torso, shift the weight and repeat on the other side.
Cossack Squat Muscles Worked
The Cossack squat provides a comprehensive lower-body workout.
Cossack squat muscles worked:
- Quads
- Glutes
- Calves
- Core
Cossack Squat vs. Regular Squat
So now that you know:
- How to do a Cossack squat
- And the Cossack squat muscles worked…
…let’s compare it to a regular squat.
Both the Cossack squat and the regular squat work the same muscles–just in different ways because the motion is side-to-side vs. up and down.
|
Cossack Squat |
Regular Squat |
|
- Lateral/side-to-side bending - Wider than shoulder-width stance - Toes pointed slightly out - One leg is externally rotated - Same muscles worked |
- Up and down bending - Shoulder-width stance - Toes pointing forward - No external rotation - Same muscles worked |
Cossack Squat vs. Side Lunge
So, what’s the difference between a side lunge (AKA the lateral lunge) and a Cossack squat? Honestly, they’re pretty similar.
The Cossack squat is HARDER. It has a deeper range of motion (ROM) and requires more flexibility. The side lunge is EASIER. It tends to focus more on strength.
|
Cossack Squat |
Side Lunge |
|
- Deeper ROM in the squat - Legs are stationary - Easier on the joints - Demands more flexibility - Same muscles worked |
- Less ROM - Small step from side to side - Harder on the joints due to the stepping movement - Focused less on flexibility and more on strength and stability - Same muscles worked |
Cossack Squat Benefits
The Cossack squat pushes your body into a unique position that you wouldn’t necessarily take during your everyday movements. Because of this, it has some pretty special benefits that not every exercise or squat might have.
Cossack Squat Benefits #1: Frontal Plane Movement
Okay, let’s break this down.
Most exercises have you moving in a front-to-back motion. The fancy term for this is the sagittal plane. Think about a deadlift, for example. You bend down and forward. Then, you propel your body up and back.
The thing is: our bodies move in more directions than JUST front and back, right? This is why adding in exercises that address these other planes of movement is so important.
The Cossack squat has you moving from side to side. And the fancy way to say that is that you’re moving in the frontal plane.
The more ways your body moves during your exercises–the more flexible and less injury-prone you’ll become!
Cossack Squat Benefits #2: Unilateral Movement
All right, while we’re throwing in all the fancy exercise terms, we may as well talk about this one. The Cossack squat ALSO trains you unilaterally.
What this means: you train one side at a time.
While the traditional squat really works both sides at the same time, the Cossack squat enables you to focus on one leg at a time.
And why is that so good?
Well, if you’re like me, you’ll notice discrepancies between your legs and the flexibility you can achieve with each.
For example, when I first started adding Cossack squats into my workout routine, I was able to go down lower on my right side. It showed me that my left side was actually NOT as flexible and needed a little extra work to keep muscular balance in my body.
Cossack Squat Benefits #3: Improves Your Regular Squats & Deadlifts
Because the Cossack squat shifts the plane of movement typically achieved in a squat, you’ll actually find that your squats and deadlifts become stronger. That’s because achieving strength in multiple planes of motion makes you stronger in general.
Plus, the Cossack squat requires you to go WAY lower in that squat than a regular squat–hence me having a special love-hate relationship with the Cossack squat. But because of this deeper ROM requirement, you will see a marked improvement in your regular squats as well as your deadlifts.
Cossack Squat Benefits #4: Improves Daily Performance
Cossack squats demand flexibility.
So, as a result, you’ll see improvement NOT JUST in your workout routine–but also in your daily life.
Bending over will be easier.
As well as tight hips from sitting in an office chair for hours during the day.
And we all know that with tight hips comes lower back pain. So in this way, the Cossack squat can even help prevent lower back pain during your daily routine.
Cossack Squat Benefits #5: THE BEST Hip Opener
In my opinion, when it comes to stretches that open up the hips, there’s NO rival to the Cossack squat. That’s why, like I mentioned, I still do them before any intense cardio workout–even though I dread them because they’re so hard.
You know that feeling when you pushed it really hard with a lift? Your arms are on fire but it was all worth it because you can actually feel the pain making you stronger.
That’s exactly how it is with the Cossack squat. You kind of hate doing them. But afterward, you can feel how much more flexible your hips and legs are–and you know it was worth it.
Cossack Squat Benefits #6: Easy on the Joints
Remember when we compared the Cossack squat to the side lunge?
One of the main differences is that your legs remain stationary throughout the exercise with the Cossack squat.
Adding in a small step like you would in a side lunge just puts a bit more wear and tear on the joints.
While this is minimal, it’s still noteworthy. If you do have any joint issues, but you still want to gain flexibility in your legs and hips, Cossack squats are worth checking out.
Cossack Squat Pro Tips
Now that you’re sold from hearing all of those Cossack squat benefits, let’s explore some finer details of how to do the Cossack squat like a pro!
Cossack Squat Pro Tip #1: Arms Out for Balance
Some people will say it doesn’t matter what you do with your arms during a Cossack squat. And I politely disagree.
Because you push your hips so far back during a Cossack squat, it’s easy to lose your balance.
We can use our bodies to naturally counter that.
That’s why I recommend holding your arms straight out in front of you during the Cossack squat.
Of course, you can find a style that works for you, but I recommend that you:
- Bring your hands in front of your chest, interlacing your fingers.
- Flip your palms outward–away from your body, extending your arms with this motion.
By interlacing your fingers, you keep your arms together and stable to work as a counterforce to the squat on the other side.
Cossack Squat Pro Tip #2: Use a Dumbbell for Balance
If you’re trying the arms-out version, and you’re still a bit wobbly on the Cossack squat…no sweat. Let’s use some gym tools to balance you out.
Grab a light dumbbell–nothing too heavy. Just enough to provide a little weight on the front side of your body.
- Hold the weight in a goblet hold–right in front of your chest.
- Then, go into the Cossack squat from there.
You’ll most likely feel a shift in balance with this slight change.
Please note: You can also use heavier weight to increase the intensity of the Cossack squat. This is called a goblet Cossack squat, and I’ll cover this in progressions.
Cossack Squat Pro Tip #3: Keep an Upright Torso
Some people tend to try to help the balancing act by leaning their torsos forward, but this actually can compromise your back and detract from the stretch.
Two helpful hints to keep that torso upright is to:
- Think about pushing your hips and butt back
- And keep a tall and proud chest
And last: Don’t look down to check your form. I know it's SO natural to look down and see what your body’s doing during a Cossack squat, but as soon as you do, you’ll find your torso leaning forward, and you’ll lose form.
Both of these cues help me maintain that upright torso throughout.
By the way, keeping an upright torso is important even as you switch from one side to the other during the Cossack squat.
Cossack Squat Pro Tip #4: Keep a Flat Back
One other form mistake some people make during the Cossack squat is rounding the lower back, which can never lead to ANYTHING good.
A lot of times, this goes hand-in-hand with leaning your torso forward.
So, keep your lower back safe during the Cossack squat, and maintain a flat and unrounded back.
Cossack Squat Pro Tip #5: Knees in Line With Toes
Check your knees during this motion.
If you’re like me, you might tend to have that knee WAY too flexed and going forward over the toes.
A good rule of thumb is to keep your knees in line with your toes during the Cossack squat. This prevents you from collapsing inward AND leaning too far forward (again!).
Cossack Squat Pro Tip #6: Foot Positioning
The standard way of performing the Cossack squat is for your non-bent leg to be completely straight, heel on the floor, and toes pointed up.
The heel on the floor here helps to work your adductors and hamstrings.
But a quick pro tip for focusing on ankle flexibility instead, keep the whole foot planted on the floor instead of raising your toes up.
This slight variation just promotes ankle flexibility over stretching your leg muscles.
Cossack Squat Regression
The Cossack squat is not for the faint of heart. So no judgment if it’s a bit too advanced for you at the moment. Try out these Cossack squat regressions if you want similar benefits but an easier exercise.
Side lunge: We’ve already compared the two, but the side lunge uses similar lateral movement without requiring you to go as deep into the lunge.
Assisted Cossack squat: If balance is your issue–and not flexibility–grab a steady surface–like a chair–to help you get used to the movement and maintain balance.
Supported Cossack squat: Place a bench or plyo box behind your butt to provide extra support during the Cossack squat. I’ve also seen some people use exercise balls for this Cossack squat regression as well.
Elevated Cossack squat: If flexibility is the issue, you might need some time to work towards going so low into that lunge. I recommend elevating the working leg on a plyo box. This will require less flexibility while still giving you the benefits of the Cossack squat.
Cossack Squat Progression
Or if you’re feeling crazy, you might be ready for a Cossack squat progression. Check out these 3 progressions to take it to the next level.
Cossack Squat Progression #1: Goblet Cossack Squat: Once you’ve mastered the balance and the flexibility, adding heavier weight in front of you will increase the challenge of the exercise. Use a dumbbell or kettlebell to load up on the weight and master the goblet Cossack squat.
Cossack Squat Progression #2: Bar Rack Cossack Squat: If you’re ready to load up heavier on the weight, you can use a loaded barbell across your shoulders to get a level-up on your Cossack squats.
Cossack Squat Progression #3: Landmine Cossack Squat: I also like using the landmine machine for adding weight to squats. This cossack squat progression allows you to load up on weight while benefiting from the fixed structure and guidance of the landmine attachment.
More Squat & Hip Resources
Looking for similar resources?
We’ve got loads of articles on squat variations. Check them out here:
Articles:
“Heel Elevated Goblet Squat: How To Get Teardrop Quads”
“Landmine Squat: Benefits, How To, and 7 Pro Tips”
“Learn About the V Squat AKA the Sumo Squat”
Videos:
“Squatting with Back Pain | How I Stay Pain Free and Lift Heavy”
And as back pain experts, at Back Muscle Solutions, we take a special focus on hip health. Because angry hip flexor muscles like to take out their rage on your lower back, and well…that’s just not fair.
If your hip flexors are tight and angry, check out these resources:
“Hip Flexor Exercises - The Secret To A Strong Midsection”
“3 Step Hip Flexor Stretch Release For Lower Back Relief”
And lastly, check out the QL Claw. It’s our lower back massage device, and it’s designed to massage muscles in your lower back, glutes, AND your hip flexors to bring you from achy and hunched over to flexible and alive again!
Check out the QL Claw HERE.
Cossack Squat FAQs
What is the difference between a side lunge and a Cossack squat?
The difference between a side lunge and a Cossack squat is–the Cossack squat requires more flexibility and a deeper squat. The side lunge is an easier version of this exercise.
Why is the Cossack squat so hard?
The Cossack squat is so hard because it requires MAJOR flexibility in your quads, hamstrings, and hips. Think of this as the king of hip flexibility exercises.
What is a common mistake that occurs when doing a Cossack squat?
One common mistake during the Cossack squat is leaning your torso too far forward, which offsets your balance and can hurt your lower back by causing it to round.
How to properly do a Cossack squat?
To properly do a Cossack squat, push your butt and hips back, and squat down, shifting your weight to one side.
Do Cossack squats work the abductors?
Cossack squats work the ADDuctors–meaning the inner thigh muscles.
Do Cossack squats work glute medius?
Cossack squats work the glutes, including the glute medius.
Why is it called a Cossack squat?
It’s called a Cossack squat because it’s named after a dance move performed by the Cossacks of Eastern Europe.
[1] https://www.jstor.org/stable/24318174