The plié squat is a wide-stance squat for your quads and inner thighs: with your feet wide and your toes turned out, lower your hips straight down, pause, and press up through your heels. It needs no equipment, works five muscle groups when done with good form, and suits beginners, at home, in the gym or outdoors.

This guide accompanies our video lesson above. The video teaches the movement at the speed it is really performed, from the front, where you can see whether the knees track over the toes, and from the side, where the tall chest and the depth show. Then it explains the muscles at work, the breathing and the tempo, and names the four most common mistakes, each with the cue that fixes it. Last come twelve plié squats at full speed, from all four camera angles, for you to follow along with.

How to do a plié squat, step by step

  1. Set up. Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes turned out at about 45 degrees. Clasp your hands at your chest, lift your chest, draw your shoulders back and engage your core.
  2. Lower your hips straight down. Bend your knees and lower your hips straight down in about two seconds, keeping your back neutral.
  3. Keep your knees over your toes. As you lower, your knees open out over your toes. Never let them cave in.
  4. Pause at the bottom. Go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor, or as low as is comfortable, with your heels on the floor, and pause there for one second.
  5. Press up through your heels. Press up through your heels and squeeze your glutes to return to standing in about one second.
  6. Repeat. Both legs work together, so every repetition is the same. Keep your chest tall from the first repetition to the last.

Muscles worked in a plié squat

The plié squat is a compound, knee-dominant squat, and five muscle groups share the work: the quadriceps lead as its target muscles, and the inner thighs, glutes, hamstrings and calves assist them.

  • Quadriceps: these four muscles across the front of the thigh (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius and vastus medialis) bring you back up.
  • Inner thighs: the wide stance works the adductors (the adductor longus and the adductor magnus), which help you through the whole movement.
  • Glutes: the gluteus maximus helps you stand, while the gluteus medius and minimus keep your hips steady.
  • Hamstrings: they control the way down.
  • Calves: they steady your ankles and keep you balanced over your feet.

Breathing and tempo: 2-1-1

Every repetition follows the same rhythm and takes about four seconds:

  • Down, 2 seconds: breathe in as you lower.
  • Pause, 1 second: at the bottom, with your heels on the floor.
  • Up, 1 second: breathe out as you press up through your heels.

That rhythm is what turns movement into training: the slow way down and the pause keep your muscles working under control instead of letting momentum do the job. Keep the same tempo on every repetition, and don’t speed up as you tire.

4 common plié squat mistakes and how to fix them

  • Knees caving in. If your knees cave in, push them out over your toes. Cue: “push your knees out”.
  • Rounding the back. If your back rounds, lift your chest. Cue: “chest up”.
  • Stopping too high. If you stop too high, go as low as is comfortable, ideally until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Cue: “as low as is comfortable”.
  • Rising onto the toes. If you rise onto your toes, shift your weight back into your heels. Cue: “weight in your heels”.

Sets, reps and variations

For general fitness, 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 repetitions are typical, with about 60 seconds of rest between sets. Adjust the volume and the rest to your fitness level and your goal. A good first set is the one in the video: twelve plié squats at the 2-1-1 tempo.

  • Easier: don’t go as low, or keep one hand on a chair for support.
  • Harder: add weight with dumbbells or a kettlebell, go deeper, or change the tempo, for example with a slower way down.

Safety

Keep your spine neutral, don’t let your knees collapse inward, and don’t lean too far forward or let your heels lift off the floor. If you have knee, hip or lower-back problems, consult a professional before doing plié squats.

Your turn

Play the video above and do twelve plié squats with the coach, at the speed you would really train: chest tall, knees out and weight in your heels. Which was harder to keep, knees out or heels down? Tell us in the comments under the video on YouTube. If this lesson helped, subscribe to HealthyShape on YouTube for a new exercise lesson every week. Every exercise in the HealthyShape app carries the same muscle view and tempo guide you see in the video.