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Kettlebell Deadlift Squat?

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StewieG

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Hi all, first post here. The community looks great so thought I’d sign up and ask a question.

I’d be grateful for a second opinion on an exercise I’ve been experimenting with. I haven't seen it elsewhere, so would like an experienced eye to tell me what they think. Does it look safe and effective for building squat strength?

I’ve attached a picture to help explain. I’m trying to get into a squat position, but while holding the kettlebell in a deadlift(ish) position. I’m holding the base of the bell to be able to get into a deeper squat position than if I was holding the handles
48225DD5-7DA4-4CC3-97DB-7BB4843DBDD1.jpeg

if you’re wondering why I’m not just doing goblet squats...I am still doing them, but I find they fatigue my core and back more quickly than my legs. I’m keen to target the legs more (ex competitive swimmer = skinny legs) and I really feel a burn in the legs after doing a few of these.

So have I found a decent exercise here? Or just a new way to waste time and hurt myself? Looking forward to your opinions. Thanks all
 
AdamG said:
if you’re wondering why I’m not just doing goblet squats...I am still doing them, but I find they fatigue my core and back more quickly than my legs.
Click to expand...
Red Flag for injury.

Address any core weakness and fatigue in your back first, then look into changing your lifting technique. Many of us, myself included, learn this the hard way.

Are you able to post a video of your goblet squat technique?

Thank you.
 
AdamG said:
if you’re wondering why I’m not just doing goblet squats...I am still doing them, but I find they fatigue my core and back more quickly than my legs. I’m keen to target the legs more (ex competitive swimmer = skinny legs) and I really feel a burn in the legs after doing a few of these.
Click to expand...
If you wanna hit your legs more than goblet squats, try goblet lunges or goblet step ups. I've been playing around deficit reverse lunges, where the back foot is in a deficit:



I personally prefer to keep my weight more forward, which also forces more dorsiflexion on the active leg.

If you do 10 reps with a heavy kettlebell, you'll fell your legs.
 
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I was just about to recommend some leg exercises when @Oscar beat me to it! Lunge and split squat variations with kettlebells will work very well.

The goblet squat isn't really designed to work the legs hard. It's still an amazing drill and pretty much the single best exercise I've found for squat mobility.
 
AdamG said:
Hi all, first post here. The community looks great so thought I’d sign up and ask a question.

I’d be grateful for a second opinion on an exercise I’ve been experimenting with. I haven't seen it elsewhere, so would like an experienced eye to tell me what they think. Does it look safe and effective for building squat strength?

I’ve attached a picture to help explain. I’m trying to get into a squat position, but while holding the kettlebell in a deadlift(ish) position. I’m holding the base of the bell to be able to get into a deeper squat position than if I was holding the handles
View attachment 10792

if you’re wondering why I’m not just doing goblet squats...I am still doing them, but I find they fatigue my core and back more quickly than my legs. I’m keen to target the legs more (ex competitive swimmer = skinny legs) and I really feel a burn in the legs after doing a few of these.

So have I found a decent exercise here? Or just a new way to waste time and hurt myself? Looking forward to your opinions. Thanks all
Click to expand...

That's a potato sack squat... performed incorrectly. The load should be as close as possible to your center of gravity and your torso should be as upright as possible. The bell should be moving in a straight line without swinging (parking the bell like in front of you makes this impossible).

Try to imagine you suddenly have balls the size of a basketball and you need to prevent them to touch the floor.
 
AdamG said:
I’m trying to get into a squat position, but while holding the kettlebell in a deadlift(ish) position. I’m holding the base of the bell to be able to get into a deeper squat position than if I was holding the handles
Click to expand...
As above about strengthening legs--lunges, also split squats.

If your goal is actually to get deeper in the squat position, that is a mobility issue and using a weight to force it is, as mentioned, a red flag for injury. There are many possible mobility issues that could be involved. The trick is to figure out which ones apply and then work on those. When I was a younger I could squat ATG and just hand out there, read a book, etc. Post knee surgery at age 50 I have not been able to even get to parallel. Couple years ago I found the below video and working on the drills in the first few minutes, I got back my ATG squat in just a couple weeks. Right medicine, right body, right time.

Dan John Squat Video Remastered
 
What about double suitcase squats(dl's)? Or that difficult kettlebell hack squat with the bell behind your back, I personally never liked that one. From just looking at your pic, it seems the dbl suitcase sq's should get you in a similar low position, or stand on a two or three inch block or Oly. plates.
 
I do these every now and then. My favorite set up is to have each foot on a box on both sides of the bell so the kettlebell is directly below you and the handle is around the same height as your foot. Then go for higher reps and dont lock out at the top, keeping constant tension on the muscle. Gives you a nice burn on the legs and most of limiting factors on a goblet squat are removed from the equation.
 
Really handy to know about the potato sack squat, now I can try this with the proper technique in mind, thanks a lot guys. I’ve posted the link to Dan John explaining the proper potato sack squat below .


Thanks all for the other useful suggestions. I’ll be trying some of the exercises suggested and see what works. The wall squat in particular has put me to absolute shame. I can’t get very low before my head hits the wall. Seems like my shins are too vertical, need to work on my ankle mobility I think!
 
natewhite39 said:
Are you able to post a video of your goblet squat technique?
Click to expand...
Here’s my goblet squat. Full disclosure, this is after about 15 mins of warming up my hips and ankles and still doesn’t feel natural. I’m aware my ankle mobility is an issue which is why I think I lean too far forward and push the bell a bit forward to compensate, but would appreciate your thoughts
 
A couple tips for your goblet squat
1. Keep the bell closer to your chest
2. Think pulling the kettlebell down as if attached to a band on the ceiling
3. Keep the flat bottom of the kB parallel to the ground
If available maybe try a slightly heavy KB? I would suggest 24kg as this will help force the pattern you are looking for.
 
Based on what's been posted since, I again highly recommend the video I linked above
Dan John Squat Video Remastered

@AdamG, your goblet squat is pretty much how my squats looked until I followed a few of the drills in the video for a couple weeks. In particular, watch for Dan's lesson on "big chest, Buddha belly".
 
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