Front Squat: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
The front squat is a quadriceps dominant movement, with your glutes and hamstrings extending your hips and your calves stabilizing your balance. Carrying the bar across your front shoulders forces a more upright torso than a back squat, so your thighs handle even more of the load.
- Primary muscle:
- Quadriceps
- Secondary muscles:
- Calves, Glutes, Hamstrings
Muscles worked
Your quadriceps are the main mover in the front squat. Racking the bar on your front shoulders forces you to keep your torso upright, which shifts even more of the work onto your thighs than a back squat does, especially as you drive up out of the bottom.
Your glutes and hamstrings extend your hips to help you stand up out of the deep position the front squat encourages. Your calves work through your ankles to keep you balanced as your weight shifts over your midfoot on the way down and back up.
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How to do it
- This exercise is best performed inside a squat rack for safety purposes. To begin, first set the bar on a rack that best matches your height. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, bring your arms up under the bar while keeping the elbows high and the upper arm slightly above parallel to the floor. Rest the bar on top of the deltoids and cross your arms while grasping the bar for total control.
- Lift the bar off the rack by first pushing with your legs and at the same time straightening your torso.
- Step away from the rack and position your legs using a shoulder width medium stance with the toes slightly pointed out. Keep your head up at all times as looking down will get you off balance and also maintain a straight back. This will be your starting position. (Note: For the purposes of this discussion we will use the medium stance described above which targets overall development; however you can choose any of the three stances described in the foot positioning section).
- Begin to slowly lower the bar by bending the knees as you maintain a straight posture with the head up. Continue down until the angle between the upper leg and the calves becomes slightly less than 90-degrees (which is the point in which the upper legs are below parallel to the floor). Inhale as you perform this portion of the movement. Tip: If you performed the exercise correctly, the front of the knees should make an imaginary straight line with the toes that is perpendicular to the front. If your knees are past that imaginary line (if they are past your toes) then you are placing undue stress on the knee and the exercise has been performed incorrectly.
- Begin to raise the bar as you exhale by pushing the floor mainly with the middle of your foot as you straighten the legs again and go back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Form tips
- Keep your elbows up and your upper arms close to parallel with the floor so the bar stays racked.
- Sit straight down between your hips rather than pushing your hips back.
- Keep your torso upright throughout, since front squats punish any forward lean.
- Squat inside a rack with the pins set at a safe catch height.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Barbell |
|---|---|
| Level | Expert |
| Mechanic | Compound |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the front squat harder on the quads than a back squat?
Yes. The upright torso the front squat demands shifts more work onto your quadriceps and less onto your lower back than a back squat. Your glutes, hamstrings, and calves still assist, but your thighs carry most of the load.
What reps work best for front squats?
Front squats respond well to 6-12 reps at a demanding weight for building muscle, or 6 reps or fewer at 85% of your 1RM or more once your technique is solid and you're training for strength. Check your numbers with the 1RM calculator before a heavy session.
More quadriceps exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
