Skater Squat

Move · Resistance Training · Movement, Typed Supps

The forward lean is not a fault here — it is what brings the glutes and inner thigh into a movement that would otherwise be nearly all quad.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Rear leg trails behind): The trailing leg makes trunk lean the counterweight, which shifts the bottom position toward hip rather than knee flexion.
During the descent (Hip-dominant loading): Deeper hip flexion with an inclined torso recruits gluteus maximus and the posterior fibres of adductor magnus.
Throughout (Frontal-plane control): Gluteus medius and the hip external rotators keep the knee tracking over the foot rather than collapsing inward.
Months later (Lateral stability and strength): Single-leg stability and lateral push-off strength build over two to three months, on top of early balance gains.

Muscles trained

Primary: glutes, quads
Secondary: adductors, hip abductors, hamstrings

Intensity

8 METs (Calisthenics (e.g., push ups, sit ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks), vigorous effort).

Time to effect

Weeks: Balance and control usually improve fastest of anything in the first couple of weeks, since the lateral, hip-driven pattern is unfamiliar even to people who already squat well on one leg.
Months: By 2 to 3 months, the added adductor and glute involvement typically shows up as sturdier single-leg stability and stronger lateral movement in sports that involve cutting or pushing off to the side.

Related supplements

Creatine Monohydrate

Common myth

"The skater squat only works your quads, just like any other single-leg squat." In reality: The forward lean and hip-driven bend recruit the adductors and glutes more heavily than a straight-down single-leg squat does, closer to the actual muscle demands of skating, cutting, or lateral bounding than a pistol squat, which is a more purely sagittal-plane movement.