The Front Squat

The front squat should be a staple in every strength and conditioning program. The front squat not only develops full-body strength but also great athleticism. Read further to learn everything you need to know about the front  squat:

• What Is the Front Squat?
• Front  Squat Benefits
• Muscle Groups Worked
• How to Prepare for the Front Squat
• Equipment Needed for the Front  Squat
• How to Warm Up for the Front Squat
• How to Perform the Front  Squat
• Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
• Front  Squat Modifications
• Front  Squat Variations
• Common Front Squat Workouts
• Get Started Today!

What Is the Front Squat?

The front squat is one of the nine foundational movements in CrossFit. The front squat requires the athlete to support a barbell in the front rack position across the shoulders 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. 

Like the back squat, the front 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 front 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.

Front Squat Benefits

The front squat develops superior strength, power, flexibility, and athleticism, and is a great tool for building muscle. The front squat is also an essential component of the clean.

Strength

The front 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 front squat’s range of motion as quickly as they can, a high power output is produced. Because of this, front squats train one’s nervous system to impart strong forces into the ground quickly, creating a powerful athlete. 

Flexibility

The front squat requires and develops great flexibility and mobility around the ankles, knees, hips, upper back, and shoulder girdle. Pausing in the bottom position, with the elbows high and torso upright, is a great way to train the mobility necessary for front squats and the demands of life in general.

Athleticism

The front 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 front squat also develops leg and core strength to enable athletes to impart forces into the ground and objects. This means front 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 front squat builds muscle mass in athletes. The front 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 front squats in their program.

Clean Receiving Position

Learning to front squat is an essential prerequisite for performing the clean. The front squat is the receiving position for the clean.

Muscle Groups Worked

The front squat incorporates every major muscle group in the body, especially the muscles of the legs, core, and upper back.

Legs

As the athlete moves from a standing position to the bottom of a front 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 front 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. With the bar racked on the shoulders in front of the body, the athlete must use the muscles of the core and upper back to resist the forces pulling them forward and pulling the elbows down. These muscles also help prevent the upper back from rounding.

How to Prepare for the Front Squat

Preparing to front 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

To train the front 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 Front Squat

To warm up for the front 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, especially useful for warming up the front rack position, is a 3- to 5-second tempo front 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 front squat. 

How to do the Front Squat

Performing a front squat involves mastering the setup, the descent, and the return to the start position. 

The Set-Up

To set up for the front squat, the athlete first grabs the bar resting in the rack, placing their hands at the desired width. The athlete then drives the elbows forward of the bar and sets the bar across the shoulders at the throat, above the clavicles. With the bar set on the shoulders and elbows pointing forward, the athlete stands the bar out of the rack and takes one step back, 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 front 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 pushes their elbows up to prevent them from dropping, ensures their weight is shifted back toward their heels, maintains their lumbar curve 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 — elbows pointing forward, chest up and torso upright, 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 front squat mistakes lifters should be aware of and avoid. 

Loss of Lumbar Curve

During the execution of a front squat, it is not uncommon for the athlete to lose their lumbar curve into flexion. This rounding of the lower 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 driving the elbows up to maintain a tall, upright torso position 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 front 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 front 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 a 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.

Improper Rack Position

In the front squat, the bar should be racked across the shoulders, in contact with the torso. Athletes who lack the upper back or wrist flexibility to get their elbows high enough and open up their hands to let the bar rest on the shoulders end up holding the bar in their hands and off the torso. This is not only an inefficient position, as the arms act like shock absorbers and dampen the forces driven into the bar from the leg drive, but it is also stressful on the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Athletes who are unable to properly rack the bar across the shoulders should work on their upper back strength and shoulder girdle mobility. Stretching the lats and pecs is often helpful to help with this issue.

Elbows Dropping

Ideally, the elbows should remain pointing forward throughout the entire rep of a front squat. When the elbows drop, the bar moves away from the frontal plane, making for an inefficient bar path. In addition, when the elbows drop, the upper back often rounds, putting the athlete in a compromised position. Athletes should push up on their elbows throughout the entire rep. 

Front Squat Modifications

The front 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, having all their fingers in contact with the bar in the front rack is challenging due to mobility issues. A wider grip or elbows pointing out from the body at a 45-degree angle may alleviate this problem. As long as the athlete can have one finger in contact with the bar, they should be able to establish a proper rack position.

Load

When learning front 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.

Front Squat Variations

There are several variations of the front squat athletes can use in their training.

Crossed Arms

If an athlete simply cannot achieve a proper rack position due to mobility issues or if they have an injured wrist, they can establish the front-rack position with one arm crossed over the other and the elbows high. The disadvantage of this position is that it does not transfer to the clean receiving position.

Dumbbell, Kettlebell, or Sandbag

Dumbbell, kettlebell, or sandbag front squats provide most of the benefits of regular front squats without the mobility issues common with the front-rack position. 

Common Front Squat workouts

Gator: 8 rounds for time of: 5 front squats (135/185 lb) / 26 ring push-ups 

1-rep-max front squat

Bear Complex:
5 rounds for load of:
Complete 7 unbroken sets of the following barbell complex:
1 power clean

1 front squat

1 push press

1 back squat 

1 push press