The front squat is an essential lift for anyone looking to add a more dynamic exercise to their leg routine. Though you won’t move as much weight as you would with the traditional back squat, this front variation places much more emphasis on your quads than your hamstrings, and it’s far more engaging for your core.
While the benefits are clear, it’s an easy exercise to get wrong, especially if you’ve been doing back squats your entire life. Thankfully, a few form adjustments can get you where you need to be. Here are five easy fixes you can do on your own.
“Either use a cross-armed position or wrap straps around the bar and grab on to those,” says Matt Pudvah, head strength coach at the Sports Performance Institute at the MAC in Manchester, MA.
2 of 5
Edgar Artiga
You don’t sit back on your heels
“Because it’s front-loaded a lot of people don’t trust themselves to sit back into the squat,” Pudvah says. Unlike the back squat—in which the weight anchors you into a better position—the front load position is counterintuitive to good form. Pudvah’s solution: “Simply be aware and practice the exercise.”
3 of 5
James Michelfelder
Your bar position is off
The bar should be across your collarbones, up into your neck. Pudvah suggests resting an empty bar across your delts and extending your arms. “If it stays put, you’re golden.”
4 of 5
Beth Bischoff
You overarch your back
“This risks back injury and limits your ability to squat to depth,” Pudvah says. To help, he recommends trying to line up the bottom of your rib cage with your hips to maintain a neutral spine.
5 of 5
Pavel Ythjall
Your elbows fall forward
A lack of lat and shoulder mobility, according to Pudvah, can result in a forward elbow dump. “You risk losing the bar,” he says. The fix: Work on your mobility.
“Either use a cross-armed position or wrap straps around the bar and grab on to those,” says Matt Pudvah, head strength coach at the Sports Performance Institute at the MAC in Manchester, MA.
You don't sit back on your heels
“Because it’s front-loaded a lot of people don’t trust themselves to sit back into the squat,” Pudvah says. Unlike the back squat—in which the weight anchors you into a better position—the front load position is counterintuitive to good form. Pudvah’s solution: “Simply be aware and practice the exercise.”
Your bar position is off
The bar should be across your collarbones, up into your neck. Pudvah suggests resting an empty bar across your delts and extending your arms. “If it stays put, you’re golden.”
You overarch your back
“This risks back injury and limits your ability to squat to depth,” Pudvah says. To help, he recommends trying to line up the bottom of your rib cage with your hips to maintain a neutral spine.
Your elbows fall forward
A lack of lat and shoulder mobility, according to Pudvah, can result in a forward elbow dump. “You risk losing the bar,” he says. The fix: Work on your mobility.
