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Exercise

Sumo Squat Floor Touch

The Sumo Squat Floor Touch is a wide-stance squat that builds lower-body strength while improving hip mobility and control.

Strength exercises

Mobility exercises

Bodybuilding exercises

HIIT exercises

Glutes

Legs

Bodyweight exercises

Dumbbell

Fatigue level

Low 2/3 High

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The Sumo Squat Floor Touch is a bodyweight compound exercise that combines a wide squat stance with a controlled reach toward the floor. The wide foot position changes joint angles and encourages deeper hip movement compared to a standard squat, making it useful for both strength and mobility-focused training.

Most of the work is felt in the inner thighs, glutes, and quads, with the hips guiding the depth of the movement. Maintaining balance through the feet and keeping tension through the legs helps control the descent and ascent, while the floor touch reinforces consistent squat depth and awareness.

This exercise fits well into warm-ups, technique work, or lower-body strength sessions where range of motion is a priority. It’s suitable for beginners learning squat mechanics and for advanced trainees as a mobility-focused accessory, with difficulty adjusted by changing depth, stance width, or tempo.

How to Perform the Sumo Squat Floor Touch

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, with toes pointed outward at a 45-degree angle.
Engage your core and maintain a neutral spine as you hinge your hips back, keeping your chest up and shoulders retracted.
Bend your knees to lower your body into a deep squat position, tracking your knees in line with your toes.
As you descend, exhale and reach both hands down toward the floor between your feet, maintaining a flat back.
Touch the floor lightly with both hands while keeping your weight in your heels and midfoot.
Inhale as you drive through your heels and engage your glutes to return to the starting position.
As you rise, bring your arms back to your sides, keeping your chest lifted and spine neutral throughout the movement.
Fully extend your hips and knees at the top position before beginning your next repetition.

Important information

Keep your back flat throughout the movement—avoid rounding your spine when reaching for the floor.
Make sure your knees track in the same direction as your toes to prevent knee strain.
If you can't touch the floor comfortably, only go as low as your mobility allows or touch your shins instead.
Maintain tension in your core throughout the exercise to protect your lower back.

FAQ - Sumo Squat Floor Touch

What muscles does the Sumo Squat Floor Touch primarily target?

The Sumo Squat Floor Touch primarily targets the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes while significantly engaging the inner thighs (adductors) due to the wide stance position. Your core muscles are also heavily activated throughout the movement to maintain stability, especially during the floor touch portion.

What are the most common form mistakes to avoid with this exercise?

The most common mistakes include allowing the knees to collapse inward, rounding the lower back during the floor touch, and not maintaining proper weight distribution through the heels and midfoot. Always keep your chest up, knees tracking over toes, and maintain a neutral spine even at the bottom of the movement.

How can I modify this exercise if I'm a beginner or have limited mobility?

If you're a beginner, start with a regular sumo squat without the floor touch, or only go down as far as your mobility allows. You can also elevate the touch target by using a yoga block or small platform instead of reaching all the way to the floor, gradually working toward greater depth as flexibility improves.

How often should I include Sumo Squat Floor Touches in my workout routine?

Incorporate this exercise 2-3 times weekly with at least one day of recovery between sessions to allow your lower body muscles to recover properly. This exercise works well as part of a leg day routine or as a compound movement in a full-body workout, typically performing 3-4 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

How can I progress this exercise once I've mastered the standard version?

To increase difficulty, add resistance with dumbbells or kettlebells held at your sides, incorporate a pulse at the bottom position, or increase time under tension by slowing the eccentric (lowering) phase to 3-4 seconds. For an advanced challenge, perform the movement on an unstable surface or add a jump as you return to the standing position.

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Primary Muscles

Quads Glutes

Secondary Muscles

Hamstrings Adductors

Muscle Groups

Glutes Legs

Mechanic

Compound

Risk Areas

Glutes Quads Hamstrings

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