Front Squat

The front squat is a barbell squat variation where the bar rests across the front of your shoulders. It trains your quadriceps and glutes, with your upper back and core working hard to keep your torso upright.

Set the bar in a rack at about shoulder height. Step under it so the bar sits on the front of your shoulders, just above your collarbones. Hold it with an upper-body position that keeps your elbows high and your chest up. Your hands can grip the bar with a loose full grip or a few fingers. Step back, set your feet about shoulder-width apart or slightly wider, with your toes pointed forward or slightly outward.

Brace your midsection, then bend at your hips and knees together to lower yourself. Keep your chest tall and your elbows up as you descend. Drop until your hip crease passes below the top of your knee, or as low as you can with good posture. Drive through your whole foot to stand back up, finishing with your hips and knees straight.

Take a deep breath into your belly before you start each rep and hold that pressure as you go down and up. To make it easier, try a goblet squat or a front squat with lighter loads while you learn the rack position. To make it harder, slow down the lowering phase or add pauses at the bottom while keeping your posture solid.

Fault: Elbows drop and the bar rolls forward. Fix: Think about driving your elbows up toward the ceiling throughout the entire rep, and reset your grip if the bar starts to slip.

Fault: Heels lift off the floor or weight shifts onto the toes. Fix: Keep pressure through your whole foot, especially the heel and midfoot, and adjust your stance width if needed.

Fault: Torso collapses forward at the bottom. Fix: Slow down the descent, keep your chest tall, and use a lighter load until you can hold an upright position.

Fault: Knees cave inward. Fix: Push your knees out in line with your toes as you stand up, driving through your whole foot.