The prisoner squat is a bodyweight exercise that involves standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands behind your head. From this position, you squat down as low as you can while keeping your back straight and your chest up. This exercise targets your quads, glutes, and hamstrings, and can be modified to make it more challenging by adding weights or increasing the number of reps.
Type
Strength
Equipment
No Equipment
Difficulty
Intermediate
Key Benefits
- Strengthens the lower body muscles, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes
- Improves balance and stability
- Increases flexibility in the hips and ankles
- Can be done without equipment and in a small space
- Can be modified for different fitness levels by adjusting the depth of the squat
How to perform
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands behind your head.
- Lower your body by bending your knees and pushing your hips back as if you were sitting in a chair.
- Keep your chest up and your back straight as you lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
- Pause for a moment, then push through your heels to stand back up to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps.
FRONT VIEW
BACK VIEW
Glutes
Primary
Hamstrings
Primary
Calves
Secondary
Abs
Secondary