Front Squat

A squat with the barbell racked across the front of the shoulders. The front-loaded position demands an upright torso and directly carries over to receiving the clean.

Standard: A valid rep begins at full standing extension with the bar on the shoulders, descends until the hip crease is below the top of the knee, and returns to a fully upright, locked-out finish.

How to do the Front Squat

1. Rack the bar across the front of your shoulders with a loose fingertip grip and elbows driven high.
2. Set your feet about shoulder-width with toes slightly out and brace your midline hard.
3. Keep the elbows up and torso tall as you send the hips down and back.
4. Descend with knees tracking over the toes until the hip crease drops below the top of the knee.
5. Drive through the heels and mid-foot to stand, keeping the elbows high the whole way up.
6. Finish standing tall with hips and knees fully extended.

Common faults

• Elbows dropping, which pulls the chest down and can dump the bar forward.
• Torso pitching forward and shifting the load off the shoulders.
• Knees caving inward under load.
• Losing midline bracing and rounding the lower back out of the bottom.

Scaling & progressions

• Reduce load to master an upright, elbows-high rack position.
• Use a cross-arm rack if wrist or shoulder mobility limits the fingertip grip.
• Perform tempo or pause front squats to build strength in the bottom position.
• Front squat to a box to reinforce consistent depth.