The heel-elevated goblet squat is a functional, full-body exercise that strengthens and stabilizes the major muscles in your body, while also engaging your core. This exercise can be done with just a few pieces of equipment, and it’s incredibly versatile, allowing you to customize the intensity level to your fitness level.

The benefits of doing the heel-elevated goblet squat:

1. Improved Strength and Stability: The heel-elevated goblet squat works your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and core muscles, developing a foundation of strength and stability that is essential for all types of functional movements.
2. Improved Balance and Mobility: By using a heel-elevated position, you can focus on your form, which will improve your balance and increase your range of motion.
3. Core Engagement: The heel-elevated goblet squat requires you to engage your core muscles, which helps to improve overall stability.
4. Increased Flexibility: This exercise will help to increase flexibility in your hips, ankles, and other lower body joints, which is important for overall mobility and range of motion.

Overall, the heel-elevated goblet squat is a great exercise for developing strength, stability, and mobility, and it should definitely be a part of your workout routine. So give it a try and see how it can help you reach your fitness goals.

Who Can Do the Heel Elevated Goblet Squat?

The heel-elevated goblet squat is a move that may help everyone in the gym, from those who never skip leg day to those who want to avoid it at all costs because it can serve a variety of functions within your training.

If you want to increase lower body muscle and strength—including that aesthetically beautiful “teardrop” shape in the front of your legs—the heels elevated goblet squat becomes an excellent choice since it isn’t as demanding as heavy barbell lifts and can be programmed into your workouts at high volume. This allows you to focus solely on quad growth and hypertrophy.

The heel-elevated goblet squat is particularly beneficial for both powerlifters and functional fitness athletes, as this goblet squat variation offers an essential alternative to your typical squat day routine. Because you’re elevating your heels, you’ll be able to focus on keeping an upright torso throughout the lift, which may be challenging when juggling a load of 45-pound plates on your shoulders.

If you have limited ankle flexibility, the elevation factor of this goblet squat will be much more comfortable for your ankles, allowing you to target your quadriceps in a far less stressful manner than a standard squat on level ground.

How to Perform a Heel-Elevated Goblet Squat

You may have spotted a slant board lying around your local gym (probably collecting dust). For techniques like the heels elevated goblet squat, the slant board, or other comparable devices are excellent for solid foot and heel positioning.

If you don’t have a slant board, a stack of weight plates, such as one or two 45-pounders, well enough to provide enough heel elevation to feel it impact your quadriceps. You keep your quadriceps engaged and your ankles comfy by placing your heels on top of the weight and attaching your toes to the floor.

How many elevations Will You Require?

The degree of elevation required for this maneuver is determined by your ankle flexibility. The heels-elevated goblet squat becomes more accessible as the elevation increases.

According to Samuel, starting with a lower platform is pointless because less elevation will significantly strain your Achilles’ flexibility. “When we execute this squat, we want the knee to be in front of the toe. We’re attempting to make the knee the main lever in our squat so that we can focus on our quads.

The Heel Elevated Goblet Squat: How to Do It

The heels elevated goblet squat is similar to the average one in terms of setup.

• Begin by placing a dumbbell or kettlebell in front of your torso. Maintain high elbows, mid-back tension, and core brace to hold the weight and protect your body from tipping forward.
• Securely elevate your heels on a plate stack or slant board-type device. You may have a narrower stance than regular squats, which is fine.
• Lower down into a rep, pushing your butt back as far as possible. The idea is for your knees to “push” in front of your toes. Could you not allow them to sag to the sides?
• To get back on your feet, press off the floor.

From here, maintain your body as straight and erect as possible while holding the weight in front of you. While heel placement is an important consideration, keep the following essentials in mind:

• Keep your arms close to your torso as you hold the weight, and don’t let them flare out.
• Maintain total-body tension by squeezing your glutes, shoulder blades, and abs and maintaining your rib cage firm.

How Deep Should the Heels Elevated Goblet Squat Be?

The primary guideline for completing the heels-elevated goblet squat is that the lower you can go, the better. More importantly, focus on lowering as profoundly as possible—this is where you’ll get that fantastic quad stretch. If your ankles aren’t as flexible, having your thighs parallel to the floor will give a sufficient challenge to your quads—and you’ll still get some glute, hamstring, and hip work.

How many sets and reps should you do for the heels elevated goblet squat?

Because the heels-elevated goblet squat differs from typical squats, doing them like a back or front squat will not be your primary emphasis. There will be no one-rep maxes in this game.

Because you’re holding a weight in front of you, your load will be limited, making the heels-elevated goblet squat an excellent choice as a finishing action or as an exercise utilized later in the session after back squats or other heavy exercises. The volume will be the deciding factor here. To optimize this exercise while developing muscular quad tension properly, try three to four sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.

Conclusion

Also, the heels-elevated goblet squat is an excellent technique for alternating tempos. Try lowering or elevating (or both) for three to four seconds, stopping at the bottom, and various variants using a lesser weight (or even your body weight). After reading this post, you might want to read our blog on Landmine exercises. You’ll find it informative and appealing.