Touchdown Squats: What They Are, How to Do Them, and Their Benefits

How to do touchdown squats?

Touchdown squats are a dynamic unilateral (single-leg) exercise designed to enhance lower body strength, balance, and proprioception by challenging stability through a controlled, single-leg squat motion while reaching towards the ground.

What Are Touchdown Squats?

The touchdown squat is a highly effective unilateral lower body exercise that builds upon the fundamental squat pattern. Unlike traditional bilateral squats where both feet remain on the ground, the touchdown squat involves shifting your weight entirely onto one leg while the other leg extends backward, and the opposite hand reaches towards the ground. This movement pattern demands significant stability from the standing leg and core, making it a powerful tool for addressing muscular imbalances, improving balance, and developing functional strength crucial for activities like running, jumping, and changing direction.

Muscles Worked

Touchdown squats engage a comprehensive array of lower body and core musculature:

• Primary Movers:
  • Quadriceps (Vastus Lateralis, Medialis, Intermedius, Rectus Femoris): Responsible for knee extension during the ascent and controlling knee flexion during the descent.
  • Gluteus Maximus: Extends and externally rotates the hip, powerfully driving the body upward from the squat.
• Stabilizers:
  • Gluteus Medius and Minimus: Crucial for abducting the thigh and stabilizing the pelvis, preventing the standing knee from collapsing inward (valgus).
  • Hamstrings (Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus): Assist in hip extension and control knee flexion.
  • Core Musculature (Transverse Abdominis, Obliques, Erector Spinae): Provide anti-rotational and anti-lateral flexion stability to maintain a neutral spine and prevent torso twisting.
  • Calves (Gastrocnemius, Soleus): Stabilize the ankle joint.

Benefits of Incorporating Touchdown Squats

Adding touchdown squats to your regimen offers several distinct advantages:

• Enhanced Unilateral Strength: Directly targets and strengthens each leg independently, helping to identify and correct strength imbalances that can lead to injury.
• Improved Balance and Proprioception: The single-leg stance significantly challenges your body's ability to maintain equilibrium, sharpening your spatial awareness and coordination.
• Increased Core Stability: The need to maintain a stable torso while moving through a single-leg squat greatly activates the deep core muscles, improving overall trunk control.
• Functional Movement Pattern: Mimics real-world athletic movements like running, cutting, and jumping, making it highly transferable to sports performance and daily activities.
• Joint Health and Stability: Strengthens the muscles surrounding the knee and hip joints, contributing to better joint integrity and injury prevention.
• Reduced Load on the Spine: Compared to bilateral squats with heavy external loads, touchdown squats can be a lower-impact way to build lower body strength, making them suitable for individuals with certain back sensitivities.

How to Perform Touchdown Squats: A Step-by-Step Guide

Executing touchdown squats with proper form is paramount to maximizing benefits and minimizing injury risk.

1. Starting Position:

   • Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, chest up, and shoulders back.
   • Engage your core by bracing as if preparing for a punch.
   • Shift your weight onto one leg (e.g., your left leg), slightly lifting the other foot off the ground and extending it slightly behind you. This will be your non-working leg.
   • Keep your gaze forward or slightly down to maintain a neutral neck alignment.

2. Initiate the Descent:

   • Begin by hinging at your hips and simultaneously bending the knee of your standing leg.
   • As you descend, extend your non-standing leg further back for balance, allowing your torso to lean slightly forward while maintaining a neutral spine.
   • The goal is to lower your body in a controlled manner, as if sitting back into a chair with one leg.

3. The "Touchdown":

   • Continue lowering until your opposite hand (e.g., your right hand if your left leg is standing) can comfortably "touch down" towards the ground, your ankle, or your shin. The depth will depend on your flexibility and balance.
   • Crucially, maintain control of your standing knee, ensuring it tracks in line with your toes and does not collapse inward or outward. Keep your chest lifted.

4. Ascend to Starting Position:

   • Drive powerfully through the heel and midfoot of your standing leg.
   • Extend your hip and knee simultaneously, returning to the upright starting position.
   • Maintain core engagement throughout the ascent to prevent any twisting or instability.

5. Breathing:

   • Inhale as you descend.
   • Exhale as you ascend and drive back to the starting position.

6. Repetitions:

   • Complete all desired repetitions on one side before switching to the other leg. This ensures consistent challenge and focus on one limb at a time.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Loss of Balance: Often caused by a lack of core engagement, rushing the movement, or looking down excessively. Focus on a fixed point ahead, brace your core, and move slowly.
• Knee Valgus (Knee Collapsing Inward): A common issue indicating weak glute medius and minimus. Actively push your standing knee slightly outward to keep it aligned with your toes.
• Rounded Back: Losing the neutral spine position, especially during the reach. Keep your chest up and engage your core to prevent spinal flexion.
• Too Much Speed: Rushing through the movement compromises form, stability, and muscle engagement. Control both the eccentric (lowering) and concentric (lifting) phases.
• Insufficient Depth: Not reaching an adequate depth limits the range of motion and the full activation of the glutes and quads. Work within your comfortable range, aiming for progression.
• Over-reaching: Sacrificing proper squat form (e.g., rounding the back, excessive knee valgus) just to touch the ground. It's better to maintain form and reach only as far as you can comfortably.

Variations and Progressions

To Make it Easier:

• Use Support: Hold onto a sturdy object (wall, chair back, squat rack) with one hand for added balance.
• Reduce Depth: Don't reach all the way to the floor; aim for your shin or knee.
• Elevate Target: Place a low block or step to "touch down" to, reducing the required range of motion.

To Make it Harder:

• Add Weight: Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in the hand opposite the standing leg (contralateral loading) or in a goblet position.
• Increase Range of Motion: If possible, reach further down or even under your standing leg.
• Slow Down Eccentric: Control the lowering phase for 3-5 seconds to increase time under tension.
• Plyometric Touchdown: Perform a controlled touchdown, then explode upward into a jump before landing softly back into the starting position (advanced).

Who Should (and Shouldn't) Do Them

Should Consider Touchdown Squats:

• Athletes: Especially those involved in sports requiring single-leg power, agility, and balance (e.g., runners, basketball players, soccer players).
• Fitness Enthusiasts: Looking to add a challenging and functional unilateral exercise to their routine.
• Individuals Addressing Imbalances: Those seeking to improve leg strength symmetry and overall stability.
• People Seeking Core and Balance Work: As a highly effective exercise for these components.

Should Exercise Caution or Avoid (Consult a Professional):

• Individuals with Acute Joint Pain: Especially in the knees, hips, or ankles.
• Significant Balance Impairments: Without prior foundational balance training or supervision.
• Beginners to Strength Training: May need to master bilateral squats and basic single-leg stability exercises first.
• Anyone with a History of Back Injury: Due to the spinal demands, though it can be less load-intensive than bilateral squats, form is critical.

Integrating Touchdown Squats into Your Workout

Touchdown squats can be a versatile addition to various workout structures:

• Warm-up: Perform 2-3 sets of 5-8 controlled reps per leg as part of your dynamic warm-up to activate the glutes, improve mobility, and prepare the nervous system.
• Main Workout: Integrate them as a primary lower body exercise. Aim for 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions per leg, focusing on perfect form.
• Accessory Work: Use them after your main bilateral lifts (e.g., back squats, deadlifts) to further target unilateral strength and stability.
• Frequency: Incorporate them 1-3 times per week, depending on your overall training volume and recovery capacity.

Conclusion

The touchdown squat is more than just a fancy variation; it's a sophisticated exercise that builds robust lower body strength, enhances crucial balance, and fortifies core stability. By meticulously following the step-by-step guide and being mindful of common pitfalls, you can safely and effectively integrate this powerful movement into your training. Embrace the challenge, prioritize perfect form over speed or depth, and you will unlock significant gains in both athletic performance and everyday functional movement.