The Front Squat builds lower body strength, engages the core (both the abs and the back), and transfers strength gains to Olympic lifts, like the clean. It is executed exactly like an air squat while maintaining a load in the front rack position.
It is one of the most essential movements when it comes to functional fitness.
Start by sending your hips down and back until the crease of your hips breaks the crease of your knees. Once you reach full depth, you squeeze your butt, drive your elbows up, and stand until your shoulders, hips, and knees are in line.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at these steps and how to do a front squat correctly.
How to do a front squat
- Stand with feet outside of hip distance with toes pointed out at approximately 30°. Brace your midline before moving at all!
- Take a deep breath, then think about locking it in like a canister of air in your belly. Don’t exhale!
- Drive your elbows up as high as you can get them. This will challenge your mobility. Sometimes a wider grip can allow a bit more room for the shoulders, which will in turn allow the elbows to go higher. Think about trying to put your elbows on top of a table.
- Keeping midline braced and elbows high, hinge at the hip and send them back slightly. Begin to descend to the bottom of the front squat.
- As you descend, fight to drive the elbows up up up!
- Lower until you are below parallel, or the hip crease is below the knee.
- Once you’ve reached the bottom, immediately drive up. Push knees out and lead with the elbows, driving them up hard.
- Push through the heel and midfoot to return to standing.
Click here to watch a video demo!
“Elbows up”
One of the most often repeated cues in the front squat is “elbows up”. What the coach is trying to get the athlete to do here is to maintain an upright torso and avoid leaning too far forward.
As you can see in the picture above, the athlete has his elbows pointed straight ahead. We want to maintain this position throughout the entire lift.
As I mentioned previously, this keeps our torso upright and avoids any unnecessary strain on our low back. It also takes the pressure off of our wrists by placing the load on the shoulders.
If you struggle to keep your elbows high in the front squat, give these two exercises a try:
PVC front rack stretch
The first is called the PVC Front Rack stretch. This is great to do at the beginning of class while you wait for the coach to call everyone up, or while you are warming up for your workout.
Hold each stretch for 30 seconds and perform 3-4 reps per arm. You can check out a video of the stretch here.
Super front rack
The second exercise involves an empty barbell. Place the barbell on your back like you are setting up for a back squat.
Then rotate each arm, one at a time, around the barbell like you are setting up for a front rack squat. Placing the bar on your back adds resistance for you to rotate around.
Aim for 2 sets of 10 rotations on each arm.
A word on mobility
Front squats demand excellent shoulder and front rack mobility. If you struggle with tight muscles and joints, consider yoga.
It’s not just for yogis – it’s for athletes too. And it can make a bigger difference than you realize.
Not convinced? Here’s more on how yoga and functional fitness go together like peanut butter and jelly, and how yoga can benefit your workout routine.
Foot positioning for front squat
Stance and foot positioning may vary from person to person. Everyone’s hips are different.
Keep toes pointed out at no more than approximately a 30° angle, but adjust stance wider and narrower to find the right position for yourself.
“Weight shift”
A common issue in the front squat is for the weight to pull you forward, resulting in you being “in your toes” rather than in heel to midfoot.
If this happens, shift your weight back into your heels, or work on pushing your hips back slightly to more evenly distribute the weight for a successful rep.
Always be sure to warm up properly before adding any weight to your front squat!
How To Do Front Squats
The Front Squat builds lower body strength, engages the core (both the abs and the back), and transfers strength gains to Olympic lifts, like the clean. It is executed exactly like an air squat while maintaining a load in the front rack position.
Materials
- Approximately 5'x5' open space
Tools
- Barbell, ketllebell, or dumbbell
Instructions
- Stand with feet outside of hip distance with toes pointed out at approximately 30°.
- Brace your midline before moving at all! Take a deep breath, then think about locking it in like a canister of air in your belly. Don't exhale!
- Drive your elbows up as high as you can get them. This will challenge your mobility. Sometimes a wider grip can allow a bit more room for the shoulders, which will in turn allow the elbows to go higher. Think about trying to put your elbows on top of a table.
- Keeping midline braced and elbows high, hinge at the hip and send them back slightly.
- Begin to descend to the bottom of the front squat. As you descend, fight to drive the elbows up up up!
- Lower until you are below parallel, or the hip crease is below the knee.
- Once you've reached the bottom, immediately drive up. Push knees out and lead with the elbows, driving them up hard. Push through the heel and midfoot to return to standing.
Notes
Stance and foot positioning may vary from person to person. Everyone's hips are different. Keep toes pointed out at no more than approximately a 30° angle, but adjust stance wider and narrower to find the right position for yourself.
A common issue is for the weight to pull you forward, resulting in you being "in your toes" rather than in heel to midfoot. If this happens, shift your weight back into your heels, or work on pushing your hips back slightly to more evenly distribute the weight for a successful rep.
Always be sure to warm up properly before adding any weight to your front squat!
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