Specimen

Front Squat.

The front squat loads the barbell on the front deltoids instead of the upper back, which forces an upright torso and shifts the work squarely onto the quadriceps. It demands more ankle mobility and core bracing than a back squat, and the elbows-high position is unforgiving of any collapse.

Index · 012

Front Squat: standing position, bar on front deltoids

Strength

Step by step.

Set the bar in the rack at upper chest height and rack it across your front deltoids, the shelf where the muscle meets the collarbone. Use a clean grip with the fingers loosely under the bar, or cross your arms over it, whichever keeps the elbows high.
Drive your elbows up so the upper arms are at least parallel to the floor. This high elbow position holds the bar in place and is what you fight to keep the whole rep.
Step back, set your feet about shoulder width with the toes turned out slightly, and take a big breath into your belly to brace hard.
Sit down between your hips by bending the knees and pushing them out over the toes, keeping the torso as upright as you can. The bar should track straight down over your midfoot.
Descend to at least parallel, ideally below it where the upright torso lets you reach naturally. Do not let the elbows drop, or the bar will pull you forward.
Drive through your whole foot to stand back up, keeping the elbows high and the chest tall until your hips and knees are locked out.

/Coach's note

Grip is where most people get stuck. Clean grip (three fingers curled around the bar with the elbows driven high) is the gold standard, but it requires thoracic and wrist mobility that plenty of lifters haven't built yet. The crossed-arm grip works and is not inferior in any mechanical sense. The bar still sits on the front deltoids, the elbows still go up. Use whatever keeps your elbows above parallel to the floor.

Here's what will actually break the lift: letting the elbows drop. Once they drop, the bar tips forward, your torso pitches forward to catch it, and you're no longer front squatting. You're bent-over squatting with the bar in a bad place. The elbow position is structural. If your elbows dive at any point before lockout, the weight is too heavy or your thoracic extension isn't there yet.

Ankle mobility is the other hard wall. If your heels want to rise as you descend, you'll compensate by leaning the torso forward, which defeats the whole point. Heel elevation with small plates under the heels is a legitimate training tool, not a cheat. Plenty of competitive lifters use it while simultaneously working on ankle dorsiflexion. Don't let mobility limitations prevent you from training the pattern.

Depth is real here. The front squat's upright torso means you can often hit below parallel more naturally than on a back squat. Go there. Stopping at parallel on a front squat because it "feels deep" usually means you're at 90 degrees, not below it. Use a side-angle video occasionally to check where your hips actually are relative to your knees. Front squat numbers sit well under your back squat, so set the load as a percentage of your working weight rather than working up blind every session.

/FAQ

Common questions.

Two options: clean grip and cross-arm grip. Clean grip has three or four fingers curled over the bar with a loose wrist, elbows pointed straight ahead and high. It requires wrist and thoracic mobility most people need to work up to. Cross-arm grip has the arms crossed over the bar, each hand grabbing the opposite side. It's more accessible and puts the bar in exactly the same position on the front delts. Neither is strictly better for hypertrophy or strength development. Start with whichever lets you keep the elbows up, and if you want to eventually use a clean grip, add daily wrist circles and doorframe thoracic stretches to your warm-up.

For quad development, yes. The front squat may actually be better because the upright torso eliminates a lot of the hip-dominant contribution that creeps into back squats. For overall lower body mass and general strength, the back squat loads heavier and hits glutes and hamstrings more. If you're choosing one for quad-focused training or athletic performance (especially in Olympic lifting), front squats are the smarter pick. If you're just trying to build legs and the front squat bothers your wrists or shoulder mobility, the back squat is fine. They're not interchangeable but they're not in competition either.

Two reasons, almost always: the weight is more than your thoracic extension and wrist mobility can support under fatigue, or your front deltoids aren't supporting the bar correctly. The bar should sit in the groove between the front delt and the collarbone, not resting on the wrists. If the wrists are doing the work, the elbows will drop the moment the load gets heavy because the wrists can't hold it. Fix: drive the elbows up aggressively before you unrack, not after. It's much easier to maintain elbow height from the start than to fight for it mid-set.

For most people, the front squat is easier on the lower back than the back squat, not harder. The upright torso shortens the moment arm at the lumbar spine, which reduces compressive and shear forces compared to the forward lean typical in back squats. Where lifters get into trouble is when the elbows drop and the torso pitches forward under load. At that point the front squat becomes a heavily loaded good morning and the lower back takes the hit. Keep the torso vertical, don't let the elbows fall, and the front squat is a relatively back-friendly squat variation.

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