Legs · Compound

Front Foot Elevated Split Squat

A split squat variation with the front foot on a small platform, increasing range of motion and quad activation. The extra depth lets the front knee travel further, loading the quads through a range a flat-floor split squat never reaches. It is one of the best knee-strengthening exercises available when the depth is built up gradually.

By Macros Inc Team Verified by Alex Dedmon Updated August 2026

Intermediate Bodyweight Compound Lunge
front-foot-elevated-split-squat-poster
  • Level Intermediate
  • Equipment Bodyweight
  • Primary Muscles Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads
  • Movement Compound Lunge

Demonstration

Watch the Form Demo

Technique

How to Do the Front Foot Elevated Split Squat

  1. Place a plate or low step two to four inches high in front of you.
  2. Set your front foot fully on the platform and step your back foot into a split stance behind you.
  3. Keep most of your weight through the front heel.
  4. Brace and lower straight down until the back knee approaches the floor.
  5. Drive through the front foot to stand, without pushing off the back leg.
  6. Complete all reps on one side before switching.

Anatomy

Muscles Worked

legs
Primary muscles
Hamstrings Quads
Secondary muscles
Glutes

Do This

Form Cues

  • Put the front foot on a plate or low step, two to four inches high.
  • Keep the weight through the front heel.
  • Drop the back knee straight down rather than travelling forward.
  • Let the front knee travel forward over the toes as you sink. That extra travel is the point of the elevation.

Avoid This

Common Mistakes

  • Using a platform so high that the hips cannot stay square.
  • Pushing off the back foot.
  • Letting the front knee cave inward at the bottom.
  • Avoiding the deeper knee bend the platform exists to create, which turns it back into a normal split squat.

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