Instructions

  1. Position a barbell in a squat rack at about the height of your collarbone and grip it with your palms facing the floor about shoulder-width apart.
  2. Squat down, press the tops of your shoulders against the underside of the bar, and push your elbows up and out in front of the bar.
  3. Stand up so the bar is resting on your shoulders and take one step back with each foot, setting your feet about shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed out about 45 degrees.
  4. Sit down by pushing your hips backward and bending your knees at the same time until your thighs are parallel to the floor or slightly lower.
  5. Stand up to return to the starting position, keeping your elbows high throughout each rep.
  6. On the last rep of a set, finish it fully (legs straight, bar motionless), then move the bar back to the hooks—don’t try to squat it directly back into them.

Expert Tips

  • The biggest mistake people make when front squatting is letting their elbows drop and their upper back round forward. A good cue to prevent this is to imagine trying to “touch the ceiling with your elbows.” Instead of thinking about pushing the barbell up, think about pushing your elbows up, and the bar will follow. You also want to keep your elbows the same width apart (avoid flaring them to the side when the reps get hard).
  • Keep your shoulders shrugged forward and up throughout the entire rep. This is the opposite of the back squat, where you want to keep your shoulders pulled back and down.
  • There are many front squat grips you can use, but the two most common methods are wrapping all four fingers of each hand around the bar (full grip) and wrapping one, two, or three fingers around the bar (partial grip). Most people don’t have the wrist mobility to take a full front squat grip, so I recommend you use a partial grip. This may seem unsafe, but when performed correctly, the bar’s weight rests on your shoulders, and your fingers just keep it from sliding forward.
  • If this “clean-style” grip is still uncomfortable for you, you can also try an arms-crossed grip or a modified Cossack grip (shown below).
  • The bar should rest right at the base of the throat and should feel slightly uncomfortable, like a tight-fitting collar. This takes some getting used to.
  • If you’re used to back squatting, you’ll probably find it more comfortable to front squat with your feet a little closer together and your toes flared out a bit more. Experiment with different stances and see what’s most comfortable for you.
  • If your knees have a tendency to cave inward, imagine there’s a crack in the floor running between your feet and think about trying to spread the crack by pushing the floor apart with your feet.
  • Remember to keep everything tight as you squat the bar upward. Don’t relax your upper back, shoulders, or hands.
  • Try to squat down until the crease of your hip (the point where your thigh meets your pelvis) is one-to-two inches below the tops of your knees. If you can’t quite get that low, though, don’t sweat it. If you’re new to squatting, your mobility will improve over time, and if not, you’re still getting most of the benefits of the exercise.

Workout Programming

Program the front squat as your main quad exercise on a leg or lower-body day, or as the first exercise in a full-body workout. Do it while you’re fresh, before exercises like the leg press or leg curl.

A good default is 3 sets of 4–6 reps. Take each set 1–2 reps shy of failure—the point where you can’t move the weight despite giving your maximum effort—and rest 2–3 minutes between sets. You don’t want to take the front squat all the way to failure, as this can be dangerous.

Mike’s Take

The barbell front squat is one of the best exercises for building stronger quads, glutes, adductors, and spinal erectors.

It trains all of these muscles simultaneously and allows you to add weight in small increments and continue adding weight over time, which is the best way to gain muscle and strength. Most gyms have a squat rack and barbells, which also means you can do it nearly anywhere.

The main difference between the front squat and back squat is that the front squat is performed with a more upright posture. Many people find this puts less stress on their lower back and knees, and some research supports this.12

Depending on your anatomy, you may also be able to feel a stronger contraction in your quads while front squatting than you can while back squatting.

The front squat does have a few drawbacks worth noting:

Like back squatting, not everyone’s anatomy is suited to front squatting, especially people with long femurs.

These folks will often struggle to fully engage their quads while front squatting, relying more on their hips and glutes, and the exercise often feels uncomfortable no matter how much they tinker with their technique. Some people will get better quad growth with leg extensions, leg presses, hack squats, and other exercises (listed below) that allow them to better activate the quads.

Your spinal erectors can still fatigue before your quads, forcing you to end the set before your quads are fully trained. This is rarely a problem for beginners, but can become a significant issue once you’ve been training properly for a year or more.

Front squats don’t optimally train every quad muscle. Research shows leg extensions produce more growth in the rectus femoris—the muscle running down the middle of the front of your thigh—than leg presses, and it’s safe to assume this applies to similar exercises like front squats.3

The most common challenge people run into when learning to front squat is finding a comfortable grip that keeps the bar balanced in exactly the right spot across the tops of your shoulders throughout every rep.

If the bar slides forward even a little, it makes the exercise much more difficult and awkward. And if your grip makes your wrists hurt, you’ll probably be forced to cut your sets short due to the discomfort.

What grip you choose largely depends on your arm proportions and wrist, shoulder, and upper back mobility, so there isn’t one “right” way to grip the bar in the front squat. You have to experiment and see what works best for you.

Here are my preferred options:

Clean grip:

This is called a “clean” grip, because it’s the same kind of grip you use when doing power cleans (an Olympic weightlifting exercise). As I mentioned, most people don’t have the wrist mobility to make this work, so they can use a partial clean grip instead. I generally front squat with just two fingers on the bar.

Partial clean grip (my favorite):

This is the same as a clean grip, but you only use two or three fingers instead of four. If you can only use one finger, then you’re better off using one of the other options below.

Arms-crossed grip:

Position your shoulders just as you would when using a clean grip, but cross your arms so each hand is resting on the opposite shoulder. This is usually more comfortable, but can also be less stable.

Modified Cossack grip:

Hold the middle of the bar with an underhand (supinated) grip with both hands about 1–2 inches apart. Squat under the bar, bending your elbows and pushing them out in front of the bar, and rest the bar on your shoulders.

If this suits your anatomy, it can be just as stable as the clean grip but much more comfortable, though it doesn’t work well for everyone.

If you can’t find a comfortable position with any of these grips, you’re better off just doing a different exercise like the safety bar squat, leg press, or hack squat. It’s not worth fighting your own anatomy just to front squat.

If you like both front and back squatting, you can also do both. If you’re squatting once per week, like most people, I recommend you alternate between front squatting and back squatting every 8–12 weeks of training. Or, if you’re squatting twice per week, you can do the back squat one day and the front squat another.

Or, you can just pick whichever you prefer and stick with that until you get bored and want to try something new. Both exercises train all of the involved muscles to a similar degree, so you aren’t really “missing out” on any potential gains by focusing on one over the other.

Front Squat Alternatives

  • Safety Bar Squat. This exercise trains your muscles in almost the exact same way, but doesn’t require you to balance the bar across your shoulders or contort your wrists. I prefer it over the front squat, but not every gym has one.
  • Barbell Back Squat. Holds the bar across your upper back instead of the front of your shoulders. It’s a useful alternative if you prefer that position. The high-bar back squat is also closer biomechanically to a front squat than a low-bar squat.
  • Dumbbell Front Squat. The dumbbell front squat works well if you don’t have a barbell (as during home workouts), but it becomes very awkward and hard to progress with heavy weights.
  • Hack Squat. This is a great quad exercise that isn’t limited by your lower-back strength and that also trains your glutes. You can program this interchangeably with the front squat.
  • Leg Press. Lets you train your quads and glutes while seated, without supporting a bar on your shoulders. It’s useful when your back is tired but your legs can handle more work or when you don’t want to stress your lower back.
  • Smith Machine Front Squat. Performed just like a regular front squat, but with a Smith machine instead of a barbell.
  • Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat. Trains one leg at a time with a dumbbell in each hand. It’s handy when you don’t have a barbell, but balance, grip, and cardiovascular fitness often force you to end your sets before your quads are fully trained.

3 Front Squat Workouts

Here are three sample workouts that show how to program the front squat in a leg workout, a quad workout, or a full-body workout.

Leg/Lower-Body Workout with the Front Squat

Barbell Front Squat: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Barbell Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Leg Extension: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 1–2 min rest
Lying Leg Curl: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 1–2 min rest
Leg Press Calf Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest
Seated Calf Raise Machine: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest

Quad Workout with the Front Squat

Barbell Front Squat: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Leg Extension: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 1–2 min rest
Leg Press: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Leg Press Calf Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest

Full-Body Workout with the Front Squat

Barbell Front Squat: 4 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Seated Machine Row: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Cable Overhead Triceps Extension: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest
Cable Side Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest

To progress these workouts, use double progression: use a weight that allows you to work within the given rep range, take each set 1–2 reps shy of failure, and once you hit the top of the range for your first set, add weight.

Muscles Worked by the Front Squat

Quadriceps anatomy showing the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius beneath the rectus femoris.

The front squat primarily trains your quads, glutes, and adductors (inner thigh muscles). Your spinal erectors—the muscles running alongside your spine—help keep your torso stable.

Your hamstrings assist slightly, but not enough for front squats to be considered a hamstring exercise.

More Leg Exercises

Scientific References +