The back squat should be a staple in every strength and conditioning program. The back squat not only develops full-body strength but also great athleticism. Read further to learn everything you need to know about the back squat:
- What Is the Back Squat?
- Back Squat Benefits
- Muscle Groups Worked
- How to Prepare for the Back Squat
- Equipment Needed for the Back Squat
- How to Warm Up for the Back Squat
- How to Perform the Back Squat
- Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Back Squat Modifications
- Back Squat Variations
- Common Back Squat Workouts
- Get Started Today!
What Is the Back Squat?
The back squat is one of the nine foundational movements in CrossFit and also one of the lifts contested in the sport of powerlifting. The back squat requires the athlete to support a barbell on their upper back as they move from a standing position to a squatting position where the crease of the hips goes below the top of the knees and back up to a standing position.
As the quintessential hip extension exercise, the back squat develops superior athleticism by training the powerful, controlled hip extension that is necessary and nearly sufficient for elite athleticism. Without powerful, controlled hip extension, an athlete is not functioning anywhere near their athletic potential.
The back squat is a versatile movement that can be used in many different types of workouts, incorporating every variation from heavy loads and low reps to light loads and high reps.
Back Squat Benefits
The back squat develops superior strength, power, flexibility, and athleticism and is a great tool for building muscle.
Strength
The back squat is a full-body strength exercise, activating and strengthening virtually every muscle in the body. Specifically, the relatively high loads that can be used in the back squat develop strength in the quads, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, abdominals, and upper back.
Power
As athletes strain to move a heavy barbell through the back squat’s range of motion as quickly as they can, a high power output is produced. Because of this, back squats train one’s nervous system to impart strong forces into the ground quickly, creating a powerful athlete.
Flexibility
The back squat requires and develops great flexibility and mobility around the ankles, knees, and hips. Pausing in the bottom position is a great way to train the mobility necessary for back squats and life in general.
Athleticism
The back squat develops the powerful, controlled hip extension necessary for elite athleticism. Running, throwing, jumping, kicking, and punching are athletic movements that all rely on powerful hip extension. The back squat also develops leg and core strength to enable athletes to impart forces into the ground and objects. This means back squats can help an athlete jump higher, run faster, hit a baseball further, and change directions on the field or court faster.
Muscle Mass
The back squat is unparalleled in its ability to build muscle mass in athletes. There’s an old adage that says if you want bigger arms, squat more and heavier. The back squat causes a powerful neuroendocrine response in the body, providing an anabolic stimulus for muscle growth. Athletes looking to add muscle mass to increase strength and performance in power sports such as football or basketball are wise to incorporate back squats in their program.
Muscle Groups Worked
The back squat incorporates every major muscle group in the body and especially the muscles of the legs, core, and upper back.
Legs
As the athlete moves from a standing position to the bottom of a squat and back up again under a heavy load, the muscles of the legs, including the hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, and glutes, receive a tremendous stimulus.
Core and Upper Back
During the back squat, the muscles of the core and upper back — including the spinal erectors, abdominals, rhomboids, and traps — isometrically contract to lock the spine in place as the athlete moves through the required range of motion.
How to Prepare for the Back Squat
Preparing to back squat requires assembling the proper equipment and performing a general and specific warm-up to get the body ready to move through the range of motion required.
Equipment Needed for the Back Squat
To train the back squat, an athlete can use a PVC pipe or barbells of various weights, from 10 to 45 lb, as needed. The weights used can be either rubber bumper plates or metal plates.
How to Warm Up for the Back Squat
To warm up for the back squat, the lifter should perform general movements that work every joint through its full range of motion. Air squats, ring rows, lunges, shoulder circles, and push-ups are good choices for the general warm-up. For the specific warm-up, a great option is goblet squats with a pause in the bottom position. Another one is a 3- to 5-second tempo squat on the way down and a 1-second count on the way up, with a PVC pipe or empty bar. The athlete should then be ready to transition to their warm-up sets in the back squat.
How to Do the Back squat
Performing a back squat involves mastering the setup, the descent, and the return to the start position.
The Set-Up
To set up for the back squat, the athlete first grabs the bar resting in the rack, placing their hands at the desired width. The athlete then ducks under the bar and, with shoulder blades squeezed together, places the bar in the desired location on the traps or upper back. With the bar set on the back, the athlete stands and takes one step back out of the rack, ensuring the feet are even and placed at the desired width, usually shoulder width, with the toes flared slightly. Finally, the athlete takes a deep belly breath and braces their abs. They are now ready to squat.
The Descent
The athlete initiates the descent in the back squat by pushing the hips back slightly as they squat down. This movement is very similar to sitting back in a chair. Throughout the movement, the athlete ensures their weight is shifted back toward their heels, their lumbar curve is maintained with a “chest up” posture, and their knees track in the same direction as their toes, meaning the knees do not cave in. The athlete reaches the bottom of the squat once the crease of the hips is below the top of the knees.
Standing Back Up
To stand, the athlete maintains a good squat position — chest up, lumbar curve maintained, and knees tracking over the toes — and drives the heels into the ground. Forces travel from the ground through the stable and engaged midline or core and into the bar, allowing the athlete to rise from the bottom position. The repetition is complete once the athlete has stood up to full extension of the legs and hips.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
There are several common back squat mistakes lifters should be aware of and avoid.
Loss of Lumbar Curve
During the execution of a back squat, it is not uncommon for the athlete to lose their lumbar curve into flexion. This “rounding” of the low back is a vulnerable position for loading the spine and may put the athlete at a greater risk of injury. By losing the proper lumbar position, the athlete is also losing midline stability, and the forces generated as the legs drive into the ground will not be efficiently transferred to the bar, making the lift hard to complete. To avoid losing the lumbar curve, athletes should focus on maintaining a tall, “chest up” posture as they squat down. Adequate stretching and mobility work for the hamstrings will help ensure tight hamstrings are not pulling the athlete into a rounded position. Finally, setting the feet in a wide enough stance (approximately shoulder width) allows the athlete to squat down to proper depth without sacrificing their lumbar position.
Weight in the Toes
When an athlete squats and their weight shifts toward the balls of the feet, they decrease the contribution of the powerful muscles of the posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings) to the lift. To eliminate this inefficiency, athletes should focus on sitting back as they sit down when executing a back squat. In the bottom position, they should focus on driving through the heels to stand.
Not Going Low Enough
The standard for the bottom position of the squat is for the athlete to reach a depth where the crease of the hips is below the top of the knees. Achieving this depth ensures the athlete strengthens the muscles and joints through their full intended range of motion. If an athlete cannot reach the bottom position, they may have to widen their stance, drive their knees out more, sit back more to initiate the squat, work on hip and hamstring mobility, lighten the load, or any combination of these factors.
Knees Caving In
The knees should track with the toes through the full range of motion in the back squat. When the knees cave in, forces are not being efficiently directed into the ground or back up the chain into the bar. Furthermore, as the knees cave in, they are put in an orthopedically compromised position that may lead to knee pain over time. To keep the knees tracking with the toes, the athlete should keep pushing out on the knees throughout the entire rep. Initially, the athlete may have to slow their descent to maintain control of the knees, and/or they may need feedback from a band or trainer’s hand to learn how hard they need to push out on the knees. If the athlete is struggling to prevent the knees from caving in, even with constant cueing, the load should be reduced.
Back Squat Modifications
The back squat requires strength, flexibility, and mobility. In training, modifications can be made to the stance, grip, bar position, and load to accommodate any lifter.
Stance
To achieve the proper depth, lift the heaviest loads, or accommodate current flexibility, athletes can alter their squat stance as needed. Generally, a narrower stance requires greater hip flexibility to achieve full depth than a wider stance, but athletes may find that a narrower stance allows them to lift more weight and prevent their knees from caving in. Athletes should experiment with their stance width to see what allows for the best comfort, performance, and technique. Athletes may also want to experiment with raising their heels with lifting shoes or small plates to see if this improves their line of action or body position in the short term.
Grip
For some, grabbing a bar on the back is difficult due to a lack of shoulder flexibility. A wider grip, even out to the collars, may alleviate this problem. There are also specialty bars that make it easier to grip the bar when shoulder mobility is an issue.
Bar Position
Depending on their goals, athletes may want to experiment with high-bar and low-bar versions of the back squat. While both of these versions of the back squat recruit essentially the same muscles, the leverages are slightly different. Most athletes competing in powerlifting will gravitate toward a low-bar back squat. For those interested in Olympic lifting or general fitness, the high-bar back squat may be their preferred version. Ultimately, it’s not a bad idea to be good at both versions.
Load
When learning back squat technique, a PVC pipe is a great tool to allow the athlete to move properly without concern for the bar’s weight. Using a PVC pipe also allows the athlete to perform a high volume of reps without breaking down due to fatigue.
High Bar vs. Low Bar
In the high-bar back squat, the bar is placed high up on the traps. This generally allows one to squat with a more vertical torso. In the low bar back squat, the bar is placed lower on the back, in the rear delt area, instead of on the traps. The low-bar back squat forces the lifter to lean forward more and elicits more contribution from the back in completing the lift.
Box Squat
The box squat is performed like a standard back squat, except the athlete sits back and down to a box and pauses on the box prior to standing up. This is a great exercise for building the strength to drive out of the bottom position of the back squat.
Common Back Squat Workouts
Back squats can be used on heavy days or as part of a met-con.
Heavy Back Squat: 5-5-3-3-3-1-1-1-1 reps
Jenny (Hero WOD): AMRAP 20: 20 overhead squats (35/45), 20 back squats (35/45), 400-meter run
5 rounds for time: 10 back squats/20 pull-ups
The Back Squat