Intermediate

Front Squat

Carrying the bar on the front of the shoulders keeps the chest vertical, which loads the quadriceps and demands a strong, braced trunk to resist folding forward. It builds the same knee-dominant strength as a back squat with less spinal shear and no room to cheat depth. Great for lifters who want cleaner squat mechanics and bigger quads.

Equipment
Barbell
Body part
Quads
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Squat
Muscles worked
Target
Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis
Secondary
Gluteus Maximus, Adductor Magnus
Tertiary
Erector Spinae, Upper Rectus Abdominals

How to do it

  1. 1

    Set the bar at shoulder height and rack it across the front delts, resting it on the shoulders rather than the wrists.

  2. 2

    Use a clean grip with fingers under the bar and high elbows, or cross your arms to build a stable shelf.

  3. 3

    Unrack by standing tall, step back, and set a shoulder-width stance with toes slightly turned out.

  4. 4

    Brace the core, keep the elbows pointed forward, and squat straight down between the legs.

  5. 5

    Descend as deep as you can keep the torso upright and the elbows high, then drive through the mid-foot to stand.

  6. 6

    Keep exhaling short and controlled at the top so bracing does not collapse the front rack.

Tips

  • Fight to keep the elbows up throughout; dropping them rounds the upper back and dumps the bar.
  • If wrist mobility limits the clean grip, use straps or a cross-arm rack instead of forcing the position.
  • Keep the weight on your heels and mid-foot so the knees can travel forward without the heels lifting.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Squeezing the bar in the palms so the wrists carry the load instead of letting it sit on the front delts. The rack collapses as soon as the weight climbs, and the wrists take a beating for nothing.
  • Setting the wide stance you use for back squats. A front-loaded squat wants you to travel straight down between the legs, and a wide stance pushes the knees out of that path and costs you depth.
  • Starting the ascent by lifting the hips first. The chest pitches down, the elbows follow, and the bar rolls off the shoulders; drive the elbows up as the hips rise so the torso stays vertical.
  • Sipping a shallow breath into the chest before each rep. A front load compresses the ribcage, so brace into the belly and the sides of the trunk or the whole trunk folds under the bar.
  • Never practicing the bail. If a rep stalls you push the bar forward off the shoulders and let it drop; find that out with an empty bar, not under a heavy set.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the front squat should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Three sets of five is a good starting point, at a weight you can hold in a clean rack position for every rep of every set. The front rack, not the legs, usually decides the load early on, so pick something that feels light for the first set. Add reps before you add plates: work from 3x5 to 3x8 at the same weight, then go back to five reps with a small jump. Two sessions a week is plenty while you are learning the rack.
What can I do instead of the front squat if I do not have a barbell?
A goblet squat with a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell held at the chest gives you the same upright torso and quad bias, and it is the movement most people should learn first anyway. If you have a barbell but no rack, a landmine squat with the bar end held at the chest loads the same pattern and is easy to bail out of. Neither will let you load as heavily as a bar on the shoulders, so make up the difference with reps.
What is the front squat good for and who should be doing it?
It builds the quads and the bracing strength to hold a tall torso under load, which is why weightlifters use it as the direct partner to the clean. It also caps how much you can cheat depth: lose position and the bar leaves you. It is a poor first choice if wrist, elbow or upper-back mobility means you spend the set fighting the rack rather than the legs, and it is not the lift for moving your heaviest possible weight. In both cases a back squat or a machine variation will do more.

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