Counterbalance Deep Squat Hold
Quick Intro
Counterbalance Deep Squat Hold has partners stand facing each other, gripping each other’s forearms firmly. Both lean back and lower together into a deep squat, using the counterbalance to reach and hold a position deeper than either could sustain alone, for the full target duration rather than moving through reps.
Bodyweight Squat is the base movement this hold is built on.
What You’ll Need
No equipment.
How to Do It Together
- Set up the grip. Face each other and grip each other’s forearms firmly.
- Lean and lower. Lean back and lower together into a deep squat, using the counterbalance to go deeper than either could alone.
- Hold. Hold for the target duration, weight continuously shared through the grip.
- Rise together. Stand back up slowly, together.
Steady breathing through the hold, avoid holding the breath.
Why Building Hold Time Matters More Than Chasing Depth
Counterbalance Squat Lean moves through reps at a shallower, more controlled pace, the grip helping each descent and rise rather than being asked to sustain anything for very long. This exercise asks for the opposite. The counterbalance has to hold steady for the whole duration, which turns a brief moment of shared weight into something each partner’s grip and legs have to maintain continuously.
That continuous demand means building the hold gradually works better than aiming for a long duration on the first attempt. A grip that holds fine at first can start slipping as the hold goes on, and legs that manage a deep squat briefly can shake under the same depth sustained longer. Treating the first few attempts as calibration keeps the exercise from turning into an unplanned, sudden collapse out of the hold.
Depth and duration end up trading off against each other here in a way the rep-based version doesn’t really face. A shallower hold is easier to sustain for longer, while a very deep squat may only last briefly before the grip or the legs give out. Picking one or the other to prioritize on a given attempt gives a steadier result than trying to maximize both at once.
Checking in partway through a long hold is worth doing out loud, even just a quiet “still good” now and then. That small habit costs almost nothing and gives either partner an easy opening to call it before a shaky grip turns into an uncontrolled drop.
A few words along the way can catch a grip that is failing, and Working Out Together sets out simple ways to speak up mid-hold.
If You’re at Different Fitness Levels
A shallower squat with a shorter hold works for a couple still building trust and leg endurance, forearm contact unchanged. For a real strength gap, weight distribution can shift toward the stronger partner bearing more of the sustained load.
Safety and Consent
Grip at the forearm, not the wrist or hands. Build hold duration up gradually, starting well short of either partner’s longest attempt. If a grip starts to slip or the legs begin to shake, call it and rise together before either gives out, and keep the floor behind you clear.
Every connection moment in these exercises is something either partner can skip or scale back at any point, including this one, no explanation needed. A regular squat with no held counterbalance is always available.
FAQ
Where exactly do we grip? At the forearm, not the wrist or the hands, and firmly, so the weight stays shared through the grip.
How do we come out of the hold? Stand back up slowly and together, with the weight still shared through the grip until you are upright.
What is the easier version? A shallower squat with a shorter hold, with the forearm grip unchanged.
How does this compare with the rep-based counterbalance squat? Counterbalance Squat Lean moves through reps at a shallower pace. This one holds one deep position for a sustained duration instead.
How long should the hold actually last? Start well short of what either of you could manage, and build up gradually from there.
What if the grip starts slipping partway through? A slipping grip is a cue to shorten the next attempt and try again with less depth.
Should we prioritize depth or hold time? Pick one to focus on for a given attempt. Trying to maximize both the depth and the duration at once tends to make the hold less stable overall.
What if one of us is noticeably stronger? Weight distribution can shift toward the stronger partner by feel, adjusted gradually as you both calibrate what feels sustainable.
Can we build the hold up over time? Yes. Add a little duration at a time, and stop adding as soon as the grip or the legs start to wobble.
Can we just hold a squat without the counterbalance? Yes. Bodyweight Squat on its own works fine with no shared lean attached.
Built on Bodyweight Squat. Counterbalance Squat Lean moves through reps at a shallower pace instead of holding one deep position for a sustained duration.