Weighted Cossack Squats (Male)

Start with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in front of your chest with both hands. Shift your weight to one leg and bend that knee, keeping your other leg straight. Lower your body down until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Push through the heel of your bent leg to stand back up. Repeat on the other side.

How to perform the Weighted Cossack Squats (Male)

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Weighted Cossack Squats (Male) using your free weights.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your calves.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your calves rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

Build a free routine

Stage exercises here, then sign up to save them as a real Fitly routine — synced to web and mobile.

View staged routine (0)

Related exercises

0 exercises staged Save your routine — sign up free.