The “Asian squat” is a search term for a flat-footed deep resting squat. You bend the hips and knees, keep the feet in contact with the floor, and settle the hips close to the heels. Some readers can rest there with little effort. Others need hand support, a higher starting depth, or a heel lift.
Comfort in this position depends on several demands working together. Ankle and hip motion matter, but so do stance, trunk position, foot pressure, balance, body proportions, footwear, past practice, and injury history. One squat attempt cannot diagnose a tight joint or predict who will gain the position with practice.
This guide explains the resting position, separates it from loaded squatting, and gives you supported ways to explore it without forcing depth.
What Does “Asian Squat” Mean?
The term describes a deep resting squat with the feet flat. The knees and hips bend far enough for the hips to approach the heels, while the feet create a base of support. “Deep resting squat” gives coaches and readers a more precise description because it names the position and its purpose.
A flat foot provides one useful reference point, but it is not a test of character or movement quality. If your heels lift, you have learned how your body solves the task at that depth. Reduce the depth or add support before deciding that one joint caused the change.
Foot width and toe angle do not have one correct setting. Start near your normal squat stance, then make small changes until your feet stay planted and your hips feel clear. A stance that suits one person may block another.
How Is a Resting Squat Different From a Loaded Squat?
A resting squat uses body weight and time in the bottom position. A loaded squat asks you to control an external load, produce force, and brace for the chosen exercise. Similar joint shapes do not make the two tasks interchangeable.
| Feature | Deep resting squat | Loaded squat |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Resting, position practice, or access to floor level | Strength, power, skill, or muscle development |
| External load | Body weight | Barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, machine, or another load |
| Trunk strategy | Adjusted to maintain comfort and balance | Braced to control the load and chosen squat style |
| Time at depth | A comfortable hold may be the goal | The bottom often connects the lowering and rising phases |
| Progression | Support, depth, heel contact, and comfort | Load, repetitions, range, tempo, and technique |
Research on barbell squats cannot prove that sitting in a resting squat builds muscle or strength. If your goal involves loaded training, read our guide to squat biomechanics or learn the goblet squat. Those pages own the loading and strength questions.
What Does a Deep Resting Squat Demand?
A deep resting squat combines motion at the ankles, knees, and hips with a balance strategy that keeps your body over your feet. No joint works alone. Changing stance, trunk angle, hand position, or heel height can change the result.
Ankle motion and heel contact
As you descend, the knees can travel forward while the shins angle over the feet. That action uses ankle dorsiflexion. A 2015 study of 101 healthy adults found associations between ankle motion, hip motion, and squat depth, but its models explained part of the variation (Kim et al.).
Heel lift can reflect depth, stance, balance, footwear, or available motion. It does not confirm an ankle restriction. If you want to examine the ankle outside this squat, use the separate weight-bearing ankle mobility test and treat the result as one piece of information.
Hip position and stance
The hips need enough flexion for the thighs and trunk to close together. Stance width and toe angle change how the thigh approaches the pelvis, so a small stance adjustment can change comfort. Soft-tissue contact and body proportions can also limit how close the hips come to the heels.
In a 2024 study of 18 healthy university students, the group that completed a deep squat showed more hip flexion and ankle dorsiflexion than the group that did not. The groups also differed in body-size measures and muscle activity (Okayama and Otsuki). The small observational study supports a multifactor explanation, not a universal threshold.
Trunk position and balance
Your trunk may lean forward to keep your center of mass over your feet. A vertical torso is not required for a resting squat. Loaded squatting uses a separate bracing strategy because the external load changes the task.
A 2022 force-plate study of 28 healthy adults found that center-of-pressure position improved prediction of knee-extensor moment contribution when paired separately with ankle dorsiflexion or trunk flexion (study details). The study did not test balance or comfort in a resting hold.
Why Do Your Heels Lift or Why Do You Fall Backward?
Heels often rise when the current depth asks for a position your body cannot balance with the feet flat. Falling backward can arise from the same interaction. Test one change at a time instead of assigning the problem to your calves or ankles.
| What you notice | Factors worth testing | First change to try |
|---|---|---|
| Heels rise near the bottom | Depth, stance, ankle motion, shoe shape, balance | Use less depth or a small stable heel support |
| You fall backward | Foot pressure, trunk position, stance, confidence | Hold a counter or post and let the knees move forward as comfort permits |
| You pitch onto the toes | Depth, speed, trunk control, support placement | Slow the descent and use a higher target behind you |
| The hips feel blocked | Stance width, toe angle, depth, soft-tissue contact | Try a small increase in stance width or stop higher |
| The feet roll inward | Stance, pressure distribution, fatigue, footwear | Use hand support and reduce the depth |
A deep-squat screen cannot tell you which joint needs work. A 2024 motion-analysis study of 60 adults found that the Functional Movement Screen deep-squat score had low validity for identifying joint-mobility levels (Aleixo et al.). Use the table as a way to explore options, not as a diagnosis.
Why Does the Position Vary From Person to Person?
Two readers can use different stances and reach different depths without either person using poor form. Available joint motion, body proportions, soft-tissue contact, balance, footwear, past exposure, current symptoms, and injury history all shape the attempt.
Age alone does not tell you whether the position will feel comfortable. A younger person may lack balance or ankle motion, while an older person may use the position with no trouble. Recent injury, swelling, pain, and confidence can matter more than the number on a birth certificate.
Practice history may change familiarity with the position, but it does not guarantee a flat-footed resting squat. Individual anatomy and soft-tissue contact may influence depth. The cited studies do not establish a fixed structural limit or predict how much practice will change it. Aim for a controlled, comfortable version rather than another person’s depth.
Do Online Squat Labels Define Technique?
Labels attached to deep squats on social media do not define a standardized exercise. “Asian squat,” “Slav squat,” and “deep squat” can point to positions with different stances, heel contact, arm positions, and purposes. Describe the visible position instead of inferring a rule from the label.
Online memes attach several cultural labels to deep squats, but none establishes a required stance. For coaching, record the variables you can see: foot width, toe angle, heel contact, depth, trunk position, and support.
How Can You Explore the Position Without Forcing It?
A supported self-check lets you explore depth while controlling balance. It cannot diagnose a mobility restriction, and it does not require you to reach the floor. Use a solid counter, rail, or post that can support your hands without moving.
- Set your feet. Begin near your normal squat stance. Make a small width or toe-angle change if the hips feel blocked.
- Take support. Hold the counter with both hands before you bend the knees.
- Descend under control. Let the hips and knees bend together. Stop at the first depth where you can breathe and keep the feet secure.
- Observe the position. Note heel contact, foot pressure, hip comfort, trunk angle, and how much help your hands provide.
- Stand with support. Use the counter as needed. The check measures no score and carries no pass mark.
Run the check in stable shoes or barefoot on a non-slip floor. Do not use a loose object, wheeled chair, or door that can swing. A wall behind you can limit a fall, but it does not replace hand support in front.
How Can You Practice a Supported Resting Squat?
Begin with the version that lets you breathe, keep control, and leave the position without a struggle. Use up to five comfortable breaths as a first exposure, then stand. That breathing count is a coaching starting point, not a research-backed dose.
1. Counter-supported squat
Hold a stable counter with both hands and descend to a comfortable depth. Your arms can help keep your center of mass over the feet. Stop before the grip turns into a hard pull.
2. Squat to a target
Place a firm bench or box behind you and squat until you make light contact. A higher target limits depth and gives you a clear stopping point. Lower the target after the current height feels controlled.
3. Partial-depth hold
Pause above your deepest position while holding support. A partial hold can build familiarity without forcing the hips toward the heels. It still counts as useful practice.
4. Small heel support
Place both heels on the same stable wedge or firm plate. A 2026 systematic review of 14 studies and 177 participants found that heel elevation changed ankle and knee range of motion during squatting (Ghasemi et al.). The wedge changes the task; it does not prove or correct an ankle restriction.
5. Reduced hand support
Move from two hands to light fingertip support once you can hold the position without pain or loss of balance. Unsupported depth is optional. Keep support if it makes the position more useful.
Change one variable per practice session. You might lower the target, reduce hand support, or remove the heel wedge. Changing all three hides which adjustment helped.
Use the troubleshooting table above to choose one regression, then retest. Keep two-hand support when balance is the main problem, reduce depth when the hips or knees feel irritated, and use an equal heel support only as a temporary change to the task. Readers who want a separate hip routine can use our guided hip mobility reset.
What Can Practice Change?
Supported practice may help you become more familiar with the position and explore a controlled range. The cited studies do not show that it improves balance confidence, tolerance, or available motion. Research has not established a fixed timeline or shown that passive resting-squat holds produce the strength and muscle gains associated with loaded training.
Judge progress by control rather than depth alone. Useful signs include less gripping with the hands, steadier foot pressure, calmer breathing, or an easier exit from the same depth. A deeper squat has little value if it adds pain or removes control.
Deep squatting is also used in some daily-life contexts. That observation does not establish a digestive benefit, and the cited squat studies did not test digestion.
Evidence also does not support promises about posture correction, circulation, childbirth, injury prevention, or lifespan from this practice. Treat the position as a movement option. Use loaded exercises for strength goals and clinical care for health conditions.
When Should You Stop?
End the attempt if you feel sharp or increasing pain, joint catching, locking, swelling, instability, numbness, tingling, or dizziness. Recent injury also changes the decision. A supported squat cannot identify the cause of those symptoms.
Mild muscular effort and a sense of stretch can occur, but pain is not a progression target. If symptoms persist after you leave the position or return with each attempt, seek an assessment from a qualified clinician who can examine you.
Do not use long holds as a test of toughness. Stand before your feet go numb or your balance fades. Rise with hand support if you feel lightheaded, and sit in a stable chair if the sensation continues.
Common Questions
Do your heels have to stay flat?
Flat heels define the position discussed in this guide, but heel lift is feedback rather than failure. Reduce the depth, add hand support, or test an equal heel wedge. A heel wedge changes squat mechanics and does not prove that you corrected ankle mobility.
Is a resting squat the same as a deep gym squat?
No. A resting squat uses body weight and comfort at the bottom. A gym squat may use external load, a braced trunk, and a planned ascent. Loaded-squat research cannot establish the benefits of a passive resting hold.
Why do I fall backward?
Your body may not keep its center of mass over the feet at that stance and depth. Hand support, a small heel lift, a stance change, or less depth may improve balance. One attempt cannot identify a single cause.
Can anyone learn the position?
No study can promise that outcome. Practice may improve familiarity and control, while joint structure, soft-tissue contact, symptoms, and other factors can limit depth. A supported or partial version may remain the best fit.
How long should I hold the position?
No research-backed hold time exists for this practice. Start with a brief supported exposure, such as five comfortable breaths, and stop sooner if balance, breathing, or comfort changes. Increase one variable at a time rather than chasing a fixed time target.
Sources
- Kim, S. H., Kwon, O. Y., Park, K. N., Jeon, I. C., and Weon, J. H. (2015). Lower Extremity Strength and the Range of Motion in Relation to Squat Depth. Journal of Human Kinetics. DOI: 10.1515/hukin-2015-0007. PMID: 25964810.
- Okayama, Y., and Otsuki, S. (2024). Effect of Soft Tissue, Range of Motion and Muscle Strength on Deep Squatting. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2024.05.012. PMID: 39593658.
- Endo, Y., Miura, M., and Sakamoto, M. (2020). The Relationship Between the Deep Squat Movement and the Hip, Knee and Ankle Range of Motion and Muscle Strength. Journal of Physical Therapy Science. DOI: 10.1589/jpts.32.391. PMID: 32581431.
- Aleixo, P., Atalaia, T., Bhudarally, M., et al. (2024). Deep Squat Test: Functional Movement Screen, Convergent Validity and Ability to Discriminate Subjects With Different Levels of Joint Mobility. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2023.12.010. PMID: 38763563.
- Ghasemi, M., Emami, M., and Mohammadi Yaghoubi, U. (2026). Heel Elevation Increases Ankle and Knee Range of Motion During Squatting in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Sports Biomechanics. DOI: 10.1080/14763141.2026.2619893. PMID: 41612762.
- Ishida, T., Samukawa, M., Kasahara, S., and Tohyama, H. (2022). The Center of Pressure Position in Combination With Ankle Dorsiflexion and Trunk Flexion Is Useful in Predicting the Contribution of the Knee Extensor Moment During Double-Leg Squatting. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation. DOI: 10.1186/s13102-022-00523-0. PMID: 35836275.
Interested in measuring your progress? Check out our strength standards for Split Squat, Sled Press Calf Raise, Vertical Leg Press, and more exercises.
I find that doing theses squats in the pool or hot tub produce amazing relief for my low back pain!
I’m 77 and have had a hip re-surfacing procedure about 5 years ago. I did a few Asian squats and the hip became sore..Knees popped once or twice..I plan to ask my surgeon if this is ok and next time I try this I will do only one or two and do everything more gradually..Any thoughts?
Thanks for sharing your experience. Consulting your surgeon is the right step, as they can best advise on your specific situation. Taking a gradual approach to new exercises is important for preventing injury. Consider consulting a physical therapist or personal trainer to develop a safe exercise routine tailored to your needs. Best of luck!