Squat-to-Kiss
Quick Intro
Squat-to-Kiss starts from the bodyweight squat, a foundational lower body movement that works the thighs (quadriceps) and glutes through the same motion as sitting down into a chair and standing back up, needing no equipment at any fitness level. Both partners work the same muscles here, since the movement itself is identical on each side. Two partners squat together, facing each other, and meet with a kiss at the top of every rep. The squat itself is the same movement either of you would do alone. What changes is the reason to do it together.
For the full step-by-step form, muscles worked and every other way to vary the squat, see Bodyweight Squat.
What You’ll Need
No equipment for the standard version. A chair or a wall is useful if either partner wants extra support at the bottom of the squat, covered in the fitness-level section below.
How to Do It Together
- Face each other. Stand an arm’s length apart, feet shoulder-width, facing your partner, not side by side.
- Squat down together. Lower into the squat at the same pace. Match the slower partner’s speed.
- Rise and meet. Stand back up together, and once you’re both at full extension, lean in for a brief kiss.
- Set the rhythm and repeat. Decide at the start whether the kiss happens on every rep or every third rep, then continue for the full set.
Breathing follows the same pattern as a normal squat: inhale on the way down, exhale on the way up.
The every-rep versus every-third-rep choice isn’t just preference. Every rep keeps the kiss folded directly into the rhythm of a shorter set, so it never feels separate from the exercise. Every third rep works better for a longer set, since kissing on every single rep of a long set starts to feel rushed and less genuine, and spacing it out gives each kiss room to actually register.
Why Shared Rhythm, Not Shared Struggle
A squat at a comfortable pace isn’t a real physical struggle the way a long plank hold is, so the closeness this exercise builds comes from a different place: moving in sync with another person, not pushing through difficulty together. Two bodies lowering and rising at exactly the same tempo is its own small, repeatable form of connection, closer to dancing with someone than suffering alongside them.
That’s why pace matters more here than depth or speed. A partner who rushes ahead to stand up first breaks the synchrony the exercise is actually built on, not just the kiss timing. Watching your partner’s rhythm, not just counting your own reps, is what keeps the squat and the kiss landing together instead of out of step.
The broader reason moving together builds closeness at all, and how that plays out across harder, more effortful exercises, is covered in Working Out Together.
If You’re at Different Fitness Levels
Not every couple is working from the same baseline, and Squat-to-Kiss has a real way to handle that without losing the kiss-at-the-top moment either partner is there for. What gets matched here is timing, not difficulty, so two partners at very different strength levels can still land the kiss together.
Both still building up to a full squat. Use a chair for light support and squat to a shallower depth than the standard version. The Chair Squat is the same idea on its own, minus the kiss. Everything else about the exercise stays the same, including when the kiss happens.
One partner stronger than the other. The stronger partner does the standard squat while the other uses the chair-assisted version, paced so both of you reach standing extension at roughly the same moment. The point isn’t matching difficulty, it’s matching timing, so the kiss still lands together even though the two of you are doing slightly different versions of the same movement.
Safety and Consent
The usual squat cautions apply either way: knees track over the toes, not past them, and the spine stays neutral through the bottom of the squat. Stay upright as you rise. Let whichever partner is closer cover the last bit of the gap evenly, without lunging in.
Every connection moment in these exercises is something either partner can skip or scale back at any point, including this one, no explanation needed. If a kiss isn’t what you’re both in the mood for on a given day, do the squat on its own and come back to the full version whenever it feels right.
FAQ
Does the kiss have to happen on every rep? No. Set the rhythm before you start, every rep or every third rep, depending on how long your set is.
What if one of us needs a break but the other wants to keep going? Either partner can pause or switch to the chair-assisted version mid-set. The exercise is built around arriving together, so slowing down together is part of how it’s meant to work, not a failure of it.
Can we do this without the kiss? Yes. The squat itself is just Bodyweight Squat, done facing each other in the same room as your partner. Add the kiss back in whenever you want the fuller version.
Is this just a squat with extra steps? In terms of muscles worked, yes, it’s the same squat covered in Bodyweight Squat. What’s different is the pacing: you’re both matching each other’s tempo, not running your own separate set.
Built on Bodyweight Squat. For a gentler entry point, Chair Squat is the same supported squat used in this exercise’s easier version. Two other Couples exercises build on the same squat: Crunch and Squat Sync pairs it with a partner doing sit-ups, and Wall Sit Hold & Squat Work pairs it with a partner holding a wall sit. For more on why moving together builds closeness and how to keep pairing exercises fair, see Working Out Together.