Barbell Back Squat (Low-Bar)
Sitting the bar lower on the shelf of the rear delts shifts the torso forward and recruits more hip and posterior chain, which usually lets a lifter move the most weight. It is the go-to squat for strength athletes, though it still trains the quads hard through the bottom half. Choose it when maximal load is the goal.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Body part
- Quads
- Type
- Strength
- Browse by muscle
- Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis
- Browse by movement
- Squat
- Target
- Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis
- Secondary
- Gluteus Maximus, Adductor Magnus, Erector Spinae
- Tertiary
- Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus
How to do it
- 1
Set the bar to mid-chest height and place it across the rear delts, just below the spine of the shoulder blade.
- 2
Grip as narrow as your shoulders allow to lock the bar into a tight muscular shelf.
- 3
Unrack, step back into a slightly wider stance, and point the toes out around thirty degrees.
- 4
Brace hard against a full breath, then sit the hips back and down as the torso leans forward over the bar.
- 5
Squat to at least parallel while keeping the bar over mid-foot and the back flat.
- 6
Push the hips forward and the floor away to stand, exhaling as you lock out.
Tips
- Let the torso incline forward more than a high-bar squat; fighting to stay upright will dump the bar off your back.
- Keep your grip tight and wrists neutral so the bar does not slide down and strain the elbows.
- Lead the ascent with the chest and hips together, not the hips shooting up first.
Variations
Common mistakes
- Set on the traps instead of the shelf below the spine of the shoulder blade, the bar turns this back into a high-bar squat, and the upright torso it forces costs you the load you came for.
- Depth gets called at parallel by feel, and the extra forward lean of a low-bar squat leaves most lifters higher than they think; film a set from the side rather than trusting how it felt.
- The knees slide forward as if this were a high-bar squat, which puts the bar ahead of mid-foot and pitches your weight onto the toes at the bottom.
- Air gets let out on the way out of the hole instead of at lockout, and the brace disappears at the exact moment the back has to hold its flattest position.
- A stance carried over from high-bar squatting is usually too narrow with the toes too straight, so the hips run out of room before you reach depth.
Frequently asked
- How many sets and reps of the low-bar back squat should you do when you are new to the exercise?
- Three to five sets of five, at a weight you could have managed for seven. Spend the first sessions with an empty bar finding a rack position on the rear delts that does not hurt your wrists or elbows, because that is the part that takes longest to settle. Add 2.5 kg a session while every rep still reaches depth, and stop adding the moment the bar starts drifting forward out of the hole.
- What can I do instead of the low-bar back squat without a barbell?
- There is no true substitute, because the point of the position is carrying more weight than you could hold in your hands. The closest options are a heavy goblet squat with a dumbbell or kettlebell, and Bulgarian split squats, which reach a serious training effect at loads you can carry. If you have a sandbag, a front-loaded sandbag squat trains the same pattern at a lower ceiling.
- What is the low-bar back squat good for?
- It is the squat that lets most people move the most weight, so it suits powerlifters and anyone whose main goal is maximum lower-body strength; the forward lean shares the work between hips, hamstrings and quads. It is a poor choice if quad size is the target, since a high-bar or hack squat keeps more work at the knee, and it is unforgiving if your shoulders or wrists cannot reach the rack position. Heavy loading with a leaning torso asks a lot of the lower back, so keep the brace tight on every rep.
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