Bodytribe. Where no-one can hear you scream.

Full squat means ‘ass to grass’, getting down as far as you can go. I’ve written before about squat depth and concluded that squatting as deep as you can safely is best for bringing the benefits of the squat to the greatest number of people.

But is this enough? Is this all we should be striving for? How far does a partial squat get us on my Maslovian squat hierarchy (scroll down, it’s there somewhere)?

On the other hand, why bother training specifically to go as low as you can, since ego, competition rules and your own physical limitations say no? Isn’t it a bit like learning to do the splits – yeah, great party trick if you can do them but surely there are better ways to spend one’s training time…

But a recent discussion with Chip Conrad over at strength forum Straight to the Bar (you just know it’s run by an Aussie with a title like that!) made me think about this again. We were initially discussing how often people full squat, but a bit of poking and prodding elicited a more interesting debate about why full squat at all.

So over to Chip.

The squat issue is a program design puzzle. Match your squat to your goals.

Weightlifting meet? You’d be squatting deep several times a week.

Bodyweight trainer? There might be a lot of deep training in your program, but sans any external load.

Powerlifting meet? There’s no competitive need to squat deep, and many top competitors simply can’t, because they train a limited range of motion squat and/or use squat suits, which don’t let ya squat very deep anyway.

General fitness? There are much better reasons to work deep than not. We can squat deep but we’re de-evolving from that ability. The danger isn’t in the squat itself but actually the lack of it. Since we don’t do it enough, there are risks involved in deep squatting if it isn’t treated like a skill that takes practice and time.

But a squat, deep and proud, is something that our bodies should be able to do. Only due to specialization or simple laziness are we not able to squat deep. This might be a bit of a generalization, but I like to think big.

My jaded view is through the biased filter of more is better: load, technique and, in this case, depth.

So perhaps the answer is similar to the one George Mallory gave when asked why he wanted to climb Everest. “Because it is there” simply refers to all that empty space between my butt and the ground. It seems like a conquerable wasteland which, when defeated, could also be an indicator that I’m not holding onto tension patterns created from too much limited range of motion lifting.

In other words, lack of ability for full range of motion squatting means that there is tension somewhere. And tension somewhere means that something is working harder than it has to, maybe even at rest.

A competitive powerlifter might covet that tension, using it to their advantage in a partial range of motion squat. But in day to day life, that tension can lead to ouches and damn-its really quickly.

I simply enjoy doing too many things to reduce my possibilities through the tension patterns of limited range of motion movements.

So we can turn the question around and say, why not do full range of motion squats?

The answers have some merit, but not enough to convince me of a permanent limited range of motion application.

“I can’t” isn’t acceptable to me.

“Because I can lift heavier” makes some sense, if that added load is beneficial. But why can’t we strive for a greater load at a greater depth? That’s my cup of tea, but I will agree that huge loads through small ranges of motion have benefit for certain training purposes.

“Because it is safer” has been proven wrong too many times to count.

Heck, if I can do it, anyone can. Sure it takes time if you’re not natural at it, but the athleticism and ability I gain from the years (yes, years… I’m still learning) of practice are, like all training, highly empowering.

Well they don’t give points for style at powerlifting competitions. But I too like the idea of conquering that space. If nothing else, it’s a valuable lesson in humility. And the reward could be a greater sense of achievement.

If you dig all of that, you’ll love Chip Conrad’s DVD Strength Rituals, which I reviewed here.

At the time of writing I have not written a ‘how to’ on the squat, although I’ve written one for most of the other major exercises. This is because to me, it is a huge topic and I am not sure how I would approach it and attempt to do it justice. So instead, I thought I would write about how it difficult it is to write about it!

(Actually I have written on the front squat and the overhead squat but not on the back squat or squatting in general.)

One issue with writing a ‘how to’ on the squat for a general website like this (that is, not devoted to any one aspect of strength training) is that the squat comes in many shapes and is used for a variety of purposes. The squat is relevant for beginners, elites, bodybuilders, powerlifters, those who want to get big, or strong, or more powerful or lose weight – but who you are writing for will depend on how you describe the exercise and what you recommend.

There is no one book that I’ve ever come across which covers all the various uses and methods for the squat. That would be an amazing tome if anyone could get their head around it.

I’ve been squatting for years, but I learn something new almost every time I squat. How many people are truly acquainted with the squat in all its forms? Some people must be, but most of us trainees just haven’t had that kind of time!

Back squats, front squats, overhead squats, powerlifting squats, Olympic squats, bodyweight squats, full squats, parallel squats, partial squats, one-legged squats, box squats, band squats, chain squats, hack squats, pylometric squats…I’ve had a go at these, yes, but I couldn’t in all honesty say I was fully acquainted with them. I specialise in powerlifting and I still haven’t got half my head around the powerlifting squat – and there’s no reason to suppose that any of the other variations are less complex.

The good news is that there is no reason ever to get bored of this exercise. There’ll never come a point in your training career when you can say, ‘yep, done that, got the t-shirt’.

Revelations

If squatting is a ‘mystery’ in the religious sense, then my ‘revelation’ was watching a grainy, wobbly hour-long video of Dan John teaching a strength seminar. Many of you have probably come across this video at some point.

Ironically I think the main thrust of the workshop was to do with teaching the deadlift (I don’t really know because the video frustratingly cuts out the beginning and the end) but most of the content is actually about how to squat.

This video changed my squat forever. It opened a door for me. When you do what Dan John suggests, suddenly it becomes a whole lot easier. You understand what your body is supposed to be doing.

I don’t want to go into too much detail because learning the squat is quite a personal thing, in terms of what you respond to. In fact, it is a good idea to read or watch as many people as you can on the squat because you never know which one will switch that light bulb on in your mind.

Squat depth

Squat depth is another hoary old chestnut that keeps many a message board stoked with controversy. I’ve written about it here. Again, it is a complicated matter because it is very much dependent on the individual’s flexibility, mobility and technique. It’s not an absolute, like a bicep curl or even like the deadlift, where the range of motion is obvious.

Rounding of the lower back trumps any loftier purpose for wanting a particular depth. Many people will have real trouble getting lower than ‘tops of thighs parallel with the ground’ safely.

Nevertheless, the ambition to squat as low as possible is a useful one in increasing squat flexibility. It’s like speed training for powerlifting: the intention to move the bar quickly makes the lift more explosive and powerful even if the bar itself moves slowly. Likewise the intention to squat as low as possible will only increase flexibility even if you never attain maximum depth.

My flexibility has increased measurably since I’ve been squatting, although it has taken years. My advice is to take it slowly, have patience and try as many drills as you can to find the one that works best for you. For most people the quest for flexibility will never end, particularly as one gets older, but think of it as part of the process.

Improving your squat

Everyone’s squat stalls at some point. And everyone (or at least, everyone who gives a real shit about their strength) goes through the same agonies: what’s gone wrong? How can I make it better? Why is she squatting more than me?

Accept that linear progress will not be yours forever and think rationally about it.

I tend to start by looking at how I was training the last time I made a big squat improvement. But equally you could try something completely different, something you’ve never done before (like 20-rep squats, say) in order to stimulate progress. As long as you approach your chosen tactic with honest energy and commitment, the likelihood is that you will see some results and if you don’t you can always try something else.

Quite often we read about the latest method or rep scheme that is ‘the only method you will ever need’ to improve your squat or whatever. Right now, it’s 5/3/1 that everyone’s talking about. Last year it was 5×5.

Some of the guys in my gym employ an even simpler strategy: if they got one more rep at a particular weight than last time, they got stronger. Simples.

So what’s important is what you consider to be ‘stronger’. If you are a competitive powerlifter, your community judges strength by what you can get for a single at a prescribed depth. But this isn’t the case for everybody.

Technique

The squat police are everywhere. The squat is one of the exercises people are most fond of criticising. I prefer to think about technique as a Maslovian hierarchy:

1. Physiological & safety: squat safely! Don’t squat in a way that will result either in long term damage or short term immobilisation. This satisfies the most basic need in terms of squatting.

2. Love and esteem: squat well! Do something that is recognisably a proper squat – go to a decent depth, have the bar in the right place, not too much forward lean etc. This is what everyone should be aiming for.

3. Self-actualisation: squat exceptionally! This is your own personal elite level. This takes belief and effort and bravery but is incredibly rewarding. For you it might mean big numbers, breaking records, squatting beautifully or just facing your fears and doing something hard.

Of course that’s all a bit tongue in cheek but hopefully you know what I mean!

As a powerlifter (and egomaniac) I care about the numbers. I want a heavier squat, not a prettier squat. But I’ve found that although I’ve had times when the numbers have been going up nicely, at some point they stop going up and then you have to re-evaluate the way you are squatting to see if technique is limiting you.

I am not, however, a great believer in massively deloading to work on technique. One reason is that certain problems go away once you deload and you can get lulled into thinking that there isn’t a problem. But when the weight goes up again, the problem is still there. Working at or around the problem weight is useful for me, or doing more volume at a lower weight, working on a particular element of technique.

My squat experience

For me, lowering into a heavy squat is like slowing down time. Then at the bottom, all time stops for a split second and you feel like you have to move the universe in order to get it started again.

But even here, I am being powerlifting-specific. Some people will never need to or want to perform a max single squat. So they’ll never get to experience quite that same feeling, although that’s not to say that repping squats is easy either.

The squat is a never-ending adventure. The more I squat, the more I think my squat isn’t very good. That doesn’t mean I take criticism well (I rarely take criticism well!) but it means that in my heart of hearts I do want to work at it and change things until they start working better.

I also don’t squat as often as I should or could. There are so many ways to squat – you don’t have to do heavy back squats every day to increase your squatting karma.

Squat heroics

I’ll end this series of observations with a little story of inspiration this week. I was in the gym on Monday night, which is usually squat night at our place. A friend came in at the same time and we decided to work in together.

He was gunning for a PR that session and I could see that, in a quiet way, he was really focussed on this. He did several warm up sets, the last was a 6-rep set. Then after a slightly longer rest, he went for his new max, put everything he had into it and got it. He then warmed down with a 20-rep set at 55% of max. And that was more or less the end of his session.

What’s inspirational about that, you say? Well, how many times do you see that happen in the gym? Guy comes in, quiet and focussed, does his thing, gets his PR (which was over 2 x bodyweight) and finishes with a 20-rep set. If that happens every day in your gym, you must belong to an amazing gym.

Share your thoughts and experiences of the squat below.

More from gubernatrix

• How low should I squat?
• How to front squat
• How to overhead squat

Great squat resources

Squat RX playlist – comprehensive set of videos on the squat
Olympic vs. Powerlifting Squats by Geoff Neupert and Mike Robertson
Squat Training – Westside Style by Dave Tate

The competition was held by the British Drug-Free Powerlifting Association. There are a number of powerlifting federations in the UK. I got involved with this one because the guy who runs my local gym is a divisional rep for the BDFPA and organises many of the competitions for this region. Last weekend’s meet was such an event, a regional qualifier for the south west of England.

On the day there was a powerlifting competition, which consists of the three events of squat, bench press and deadlift, and also a single lift competition for the squat. All events were ‘unequipped’, meaning that no supportive gear can be worn other than belts (of the regulation thickness) and wrist wraps. Knees wraps are not allowed.

My aims

I was not expecting to have any competition in my weight class as there are so few female powerlifters around. So my aim was not so much to win my class – although if there had been another competitor I would certainly have wanted to beat them – but to lift enough to qualify for the BDFPA nationals and get as many PBs (personal bests) in my lifts as I could. I also wanted to have fun and enjoy my first event!

Before the meet

Recovery, rules and regulations, opening lifts, making weight

I stopped lifting just over a week before the competition in order to be fresh for the day. You will not lose any strength in a week but your body will have a chance to rest and recover from the hard training that you have done in the lead up to the event.

In the week before the meet, I re-read the rules for the federation regarding performance of the lifts, clothing and equipment, and decided on my opening lifts. You need to inform the organisers of your opening lifts at the time that you weigh in. I was advised to choose a weight that I could do for at least two reps in the gym. In fact I was a little more conservative than even that. Since it was my first competition and I didn’t know how I would be affected by nerves, competition rules or my wellbeing on the day, I wanted to make sure that I could at least get some lifts on the board. Your second lift cannot be lower than your opening lift, so you need to be sure that you can make it otherwise you will not score for that event (in fact this happened to one competitor on the day).

I was concerned that I wouldn’t make weight for the class I wished to compete in. The last 2-3 days before the event I was very careful what I ate and on the morning of the event I didn’t eat or drink anything until after the weigh in (which fortunately was quite early in the day). I made my weight with 0.2 kg to spare!

Because it was such a close run thing, I was mentally prepared to lift in the next weight class up if necessary and I had also checked the qualifying totals for that class.

The people

I turned up on my own, not really knowing what to expect. But right from the beginning the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. Plenty of people chatted to me and helped me out, answered questions, gave support and encouragement and were generally quite lovely. Throughout a long day in a cold school gym, both lifters and their supporters applauded every single lift and cheered every single lifter.

I think that any aspiring lifter would have felt comfortable in that atmosphere. The fact that you turn up and lift is enough for people to get behind you. It really doesn’t matter how much is on the bar; if you are out there making an effort everyone supports you.

It is interesting how the reality of a meet can dismiss the preconceptions that people may have about powerlifters: big, mean, unapproachable, elitist types who grunt and yell and won’t speak to you unless you can bench 400 lbs.

Well, although there is occasionally some grunting and yelling, they are certainly not mean and unapproachable – quite the opposite. And they are not all that big either. Most of the male lifters at this meet were between 75kg and 90kg. There were quite a few ‘in shape’ guys who weren’t carrying much extra body fat and would not have looked out of place in a bodybuilding contest. I myself, while having no pretensions to bodybuilding or physique contests, am quite happy being a size 10 (that’s UK size 10, ladies!) with no particular desire to bulk up. You really don’t have to be big to enjoy powerlifting.

There were only two of us female lifters in the competition and the other lady was in a different weight class from me so we weren’t really competing against each other. It’s a pity there wasn’t more competition but at national level there are some really strong girls in my weight class so I am looking forward to pitting myself against them.

The process

It’s a long day and even though the organisers moved things on at a decent pace, it still takes a while to get through everybody’s lifts. One of the hardest things to manage is the length of the session and the time between events. I did my first lift around 11am and my final lift around 5pm. Plenty of food, hot coffee and staying warm helps. The nervous energy and excitement surrounding a competition also keeps you going.

It is advisable to make sure you are absolutely certain of the rules for each lift and if not, to ask a referee. I was relieved not to make any technical errors in my lifts but I saw plenty of other people get the rules wrong and therefore get a ‘no lift’. Common errors were: lifting or moving the feet during the bench press, ‘hitching’ the bar during the deadlift and not going low enough in the squat.

The lifts

I was privately very curious as to how I would perform in a competition setting. Different people have different experiences; some say that they always do their best lifts in competition, others find that they under-perform and don’t quite get as much as they do in the gym. I have heard people say that a competition can sometimes be worth an extra 10-20kg on the bar due to the adrenalin and the support of the crowd.

I was largely pleased with my performance and it is true that audience support really makes a difference. I got PBs in the squat (by 7.5kg) and the deadlift (by 5kg). The increases were not enormous but several people commented that they thought I had more in me and perhaps they were right. I find it hard to judge just how far I can push it. For example, my third deadlift attempt was a PB and immediately afterwards I felt completely drained. I put myself down for a fourth lift without really thinking that I would get it (legs were like jelly) but I managed to get a PB again. The crowd really helped with this one!

One consequence of having a modest opening lift is that it is harder to really push the poundage on your second and third attempts. Too big a jump in weight between attempts can backfire. I had this dilemma with my deadlift. I decided to reduce my opening lift from 110kg to 95kg just before the deadlift event started because I only needed 90kg to get my qualifying total. I was carrying an injury and feeling a bit fatigued so it seemed like a sensible option. However with a much lower opener, I needed to take big jumps in weight to get into the PB zone. I ended up with a fourth lift of 125kg, which was a PB by 5kg. But if I had started at 110kg, my third attempt would probably have been at 130kg. Who knows, I might have got it…

Being able to judge these issues of course comes with experience. Generally speaking I am happy to be slightly conservative but come away with a respectable result. If my overriding aim had been to get the highest deadlift possible I would have pushed it, but as my aim was to qualify for the next competition, I chose to make sure of that first.

My bench press was somewhat disappointing but since I was carrying an injury (from rock climbing, as it happens, not powerlifting) this was not entirely unexpected. I managed to get my opening lift so at least I had a score for that event. Ironically the impact of my injury was less physical than psychological: knowing that I was carrying an injury, I did not feel confident about the lift and was not as aggressive as I could have been in its execution. There is a great psychological element to powerlifting. You’ve only got one chance to get it right and that weight can seem very intimidating.

I was chuffed, though, that several people commented on how good my technique was, especially in the squat. I am sure that some of the compliments were generous as it was my first competition, but enough people mentioned it to convince me that there’s an element of truth in it! Although I have been lifting for around three years, I have only been lifting in a powerlifting style for a few months. Some techniques, such as my bench press technique I have only adopted in the last few weeks. So it is encouraging to get good feedback.

Statistics

I am sure you are all curious to know what I lifted. You want to see if you are stronger than me, don’t you! Well, the following table shows all the lifts I attempted on the platform.

63kg female open unequipped

My powerlifting total was: 267.5 kg (4th attempts don’t count, if anyone’s doing the maths).

Adding together all my attempts in each event, I lifted a total of 980kg on the platform that day (not including warm up lifts). That is 2,156 lbs or 154 stone.

My warm ups totalled a further 1,530kg. So altogether I lifted 2,510kg which is 5,522 lbs or 395 stone.

Although he didn’t have the figures to hand, the presiding official reckons I broke the south west divisional records in squat and deadlift for my weight class.

Not bad for a Sunday afternoon.

Conclusion

The meet lived up to my expectations and I met all my aims so it was a successful day. It has fired me up to continue lifting and competing. It was also great to see so many powerlifters in one place.

I have written before about the difficulties of finding other people who train in the same way and of having the support of a peer group when lifting. I often feel like the weird one in the gym so it was great to be one of the gang for a change.

I found this one of the most sociable sporting events I have taken part in. There is a lot of hanging around, which perhaps makes people more disposed to fall into conversation in order to pass the time. You also get to know the other lifters in your flight as you all warm up together. Your fellow lifters will support you so there’s no need to bring your own cheerleaders. All in all, it’s a great way to put all that training to good use!

Photo credit: weightlifting365.com

This is a very common question on strength training forums and it is not surprising. Across all the sports and activities that involve squatting, each seems to have a different rule or convention:

• Olympic weightlifters squat very deep but their load is in a different position (not on the back) and the squat itself takes place at speed at a point where the bar is moving under momentum.
• Powerlifters must squat below parallel for their lift to count in a competition; the depth is prescribed as being when the crease of the hip is just below the knee.
• Bodybuilders treat the squat as a quad exercise and often don’t squat below parallel.
• Ordinary gym goers are frequently told by gym instructors not to squat below parallel for ‘safety’ reasons.
• Functional fitness afficionados are often keen on the ‘ass to grass’ school of squatting, that is, squat down until your hamstrings are practically touching your calves!

Many people are fond of pronouncing on ideal squat depth. Those with the loudest voices are often those at opposite ends of the spectrum: from the ass-to-grass faction to the squatting-below-parallel-is-bad-for-your-knees contingent. In reality, most people will be able to reach a squat depth somewhere between the two extremes.

The truth about squatting below parallel

It’s important to realise that squatting below parallel is not bad for your knees. I am sure most of you know that already but it is good to remind ourselves why. The problem with partial squats that stop when the thighs are parallel with the floor is that they mainly engage the quads, the large muscles at the front of the thigh. This puts more pressure on the knee. Only when you squat below parallel can you properly engage the hamstrings and glutes on the back of the thigh, balancing the engagement of muscles on either side of the knee and thereby the forward/backward forces acting on the knee.

Squatting ‘ass to grass’

A truly deep squat is difficult and demanding. As with any other exercise, the better the range of motion, the more you will get out of the exercise. Squatting deep is also humbling as less weight can be moved than in a shallower squat – often significantly less weight. The forces that need to be exerted ‘in the hole’ (at the bottom of the squat) are immense and a good deal of mental fortitude is required to get you back up again. There is a good argument that if you are squatting purely for functional strength (and not, say, as a competitive powerlifter) you should aim for ass to grass (ATG) every time.

But the reality is that many of us will find true ass to grass squatting well nigh impossible to achieve due to the limitations of our flexibility and biomechanics. The lower you squat, the harder it is to maintain the lumbar curve (the arch in the lower back) and you should not be squatting with load to a depth where you cannot maintain your back arch. Forget knees - this is the danger zone. Although flexibility can be improved to a certain extent, there comes a point where the effort involved in developing that flexibility is not worth the return.

Mark Rippetoe, whom many people assume advocates ass to grass squatting, actually has this to say on the issue:

Squat depth is critically important, but so is correct form. ATG-level depth most usually requires that the lumbar muscles relax the lordosis and that the hamstrings relax before extreme depth can be reached. It doesn’t sound like a good idea to me that anything be relaxed in a deep squat, since doing this kills your good controlled rebound out of the bottom and risks your intervertebral discs. Those rare individuals that can obtain ass-to-ankles depth without relaxing anything might be able to get away with it, but as a general rule you should squat as deep as you can with a hard-arched lower back and tight hamstings and adductors. This depth will be below parallel, but it will not usually be “ATG”.

Squatting with good form

A simple instruction to remember is that you should squat as low as you can with good form, meaning that your back is flat or slightly arched, heels are on the floor, knees are above toes and not collapsing inwards, chest is up and not tipping too far forwards.

Photo credit: stevenellis.com

Even though people will differ in the depth they can achieve, everyone should aim to squat below parallel even if they cannot do so currently. Over time balance, flexibility and technique will improve. Many people mistake flexibility issues for balance issues but balance issues are much easier to fix. If you have a tendency to fall forward when you squat below parallel, you might just need to improve your balance. A great exercise to help in this is Dan John’s goblet squat.

Goblet squat

The goblet squat trains your body to remain more upright as you squat down, allowing you to avoid tipping forwards.

Photo credit: Mia’s FarmFit blog

As in the picture above, use a weight such as a dumbbell and hold it in front of you like a goblet. This will force you to keep your chest raised as you squat down. Notice how the squatter in the picture has lowered her body between her legs, with a relatively wide stance. Most people in gyms are taught a narrower stance for the squat, which makes it more difficult to squat below parallel. Embrace the wider stance!

It is also not necessary to do a huge amount of extra stretching work as the squat itself stretches the muscles and increases flexibility over time. In order to increase your range of motion you will need a weight that is heavy but not too heavy – say, a weight that you can squat 5-8 times without technical failure. If the weight is too light it won’t push your body that little bit further into the stretch.

Powerlifting squat

Powerlifters are interested in squatting as low as they need to for competition. This is below parallel but not particularly deep. It is generally defined as when the crease of the hip is below the level of the knee – in other words, the hips are slightly lower than the knee.

Powerlifters often adopt a wide stance because it means that the weight is moved a shorter distance and they tend to have the bar lower on their backs. This makes it easier to shift more weight (as the emphasis is moved to the hip) but harder to go very deep. The low bar position also causes the upper body to lean further forward. If you decide to adopt a powerlifting style squat, it is good to be aware of these differences and ensure that they don’t compromise your squatting form overall.

Summary

In summary, aim to squat as low as you can while maintaining your lower back arch and don’t be satisfied until you are getting below parallel. Be prepared to work on your balance and flexibility over time. Neither be tempted to defer to your ego and compromise squat depth in favour of heavier weights, nor be distressed if you can’t squat as deep as the 20-year-old weightlifter in the Olympics.

Happy squatting!

More from gubernatrix

• Why you should full squat
• How-to: Overhead squat
• How-to: Front squat

Further reading

• I can’t squat ATF!…(and other tales of woe) from SquatRX
• Page from Mark Rippetoe’s Basic Barbell Training showing forces acting on the knee in the squat
• High bar vs low bar placement on squats from Stronglifts.com
• Where do I squat? – useful explanation of the difference between torque and shearing forces on the knee in the squat

What is a front squat?

Holding the bar across the front of your shoulders, squat down until your hips are below parallel and up again. This exercise is known as a front squat to distinguish it from the more common back squat, where the bar is across the back of the shoulders.

Why is it such a great exercise?

The front squat is considered safer than the back squat because there is less load on the spine and it is also easier to dump the bar forwards if things go wrong.

Less weight can be moved in the front squat than the back squat, so there is less likelihood of someone trying to squat a weight that is too heavy for them.

The squat is probably the most important and effective move in weight training. Front squatting gives you many of the beneficial effects of the back squat, with some differences: less weight can be moved in the exercise, the quads tend to be worked more than the hamstrings and glutes and the torso is more upright.

The front squat is also a component of the Olympic lift, the clean. A good front squat will help to develop a good clean.

How to perform the front squat

The key to the front squat is to keep your elbows up and chest lifted. This holds the bar in position while you squat.

Step 1: Starting position

Position the bar in a rack at shoulder height, or clean it from the floor. The bar should be resting across the front of the shoulders or top of the chest. To keep it in this position, raise your elbows as high as you can – think about pointing the tip of your elbows forward.

Don’t be tempted to hold the bar too close to your throat; this is uncomfortable and you might choke yourself! If your elbows are high enough, you won’t need to do this.

Your hands will be just outside your shoulders, bent back at the wrists with the bar resting on your fingers. There is no need to grip the bar, your hands are simply there to stabilise the position of the bar.

Some people cross their hands over the bar in front of their neck, because they don’t want to (or feel they can’t) bend their wrists sufficiently to hold the bar like this. However, if you ever want to attempt the clean – which you should as it is an excellent exercise! – you will need to adopt this position, so it is worth developing the necessary flexibility.

Legs will be slightly wider than shoulder width apart, with toes slightly flared. As with the back squat, you can experiment with leg and toe position depending upon your own build. You will often see back squats performed with a very wide stance, powerlifting style; the front squat stance tends to be narrower than this. Olympic weightlifters are able to perform front squats with a fairly narrow stance as their flexibility is so good. The narrower the stance, the more the quads come into play (olympic weightlifters have massive quads!). Ordinary trainees, myself included, can adopt a wider stance in order to reach the required depth without rounding the back.

Step 2: Squat down until your hips are below parallel

Keeping your elbows pointing forward and chest raised, start to squat down by sitting back as if you were sitting on a chair. Try to lead with the hips, rather than just bending at the knees. Keep the back either flat or slightly hyper-extended to ensure that it doesn’t round as you descend.

Because the weight is in front of you, your torso will naturally have to stay much more upright than it would in a back squat. Some people may find this tricky at first; if you find that your torso is tilting too far forward, try putting a wedge or a weight plate under your heels or wear weightlifting shoes which have a block under the heel.

I wouldn’t train this way all the time, as ideally you want to correct the problem rather than eliminate it with a prop. But using a wedge is useful to know what you should be aiming for.

Step 3: Bottom position

In the bottom position your hips should be below parallel, back is flat, chest is lifted and elbows are still pointing forwards, keeping the bar balanced on the front of your shoulders.

Don’t worry too much if your knees are forward of your toes – this will tend to happen in a front squat. However, make sure that your knees do not come inwards; they should remain in line with the feet. Actively push your knees out if you need to by engaging your adductor muscles (inner thighs).

Step 4: Squat upwards and return to start position

As with the back squat, the bottom of the front squat can be a sticking point. In order to get upward momentum, activate your glutes and press through your feet as if you were trying to part the floor beneath you. At the same time, lead upwards with your chest and your elbows.

Try to avoid what many people do in the squat and lead upwards with your chin. This causes people to tip their head back and point their chin in the air, which is not a great position for your head to be in.

Instead, lift the chest but keep the angle between your chin and chest the same.

Return to your starting position, standing up straight and bar still across the front of the shoulders. Rack the bar.

How to use the front squat in your training

The front squat is a very useful exercise and has its place either alongside back squats or as an alternative.

Alternative to back squat: some people do not want to or cannot back squat. The front squat is an excellent alternative. As strength coach Mike Boyle explains:

“Back pain has three root causes as it relates to lifting. Torque (forward lean), compression (high spinal loads), and flexion are what cause back injuries. Front squats lessen torque, compression, and flexion, and are therefore inherently safer.”

Addition to back squat: if you are looking for a similar exercise to the back squat, say, to do on a medium weight day rather than a heavy day, the front squat is a great addition. It is much more functional than a leg press and takes a bit of pressure off the back while giving the legs an excellent workout.

Training for the clean: the front squat position is the same as the rack position of the clean. Training the front squat will develop the necessary flexibility and confidence to handle heavy weights in that position.

Warm up for Olympic weightlifting: the front squat is a useful inclusion in the warm up for a weightlifting workout.

Further information and related posts

• Front squat instructional video
• The clean: common problems
• For a host of different methods of holding the bar in the front squat, check out this article from Straight to the Bar
• Strong Athlete, Zero Injuries by Mike Boyle – reasons why he uses the front squat with his athletes instead of the back squat

What is the overhead squat?

The overhead squat is a deep squat performed while holding a barbell over your head with straight arms. It actually feels more like a snatch (one of the Olympic lifts) than a back squat. The fact that the bar is overhead rather than across your back changes the nature of the move significantly. For this reason, I prefer the term ‘snatch squat’ as I feel it is more descriptive, but ‘overhead squat’ is the more commonly-used name.

Why is it such a great exercise?

The overhead squat is a great assistance exercise for the Olympic lifts. In particular it teaches the correct position of the lower back for Olympic weightlifting. The move also works legs, hips and core very intensely so is effective both as an assistance exercise for the powerlifting squat and as a whole body exercise in its own right. It is quite a challenging exercise for someone who is used to more conventional, bodybuilding-style training, and so acts as a good introduction to the rigours of Olympic weightlifting.

How to perform the overhead squat

Whatever your strength level, it is advisable to practise this exercise without weight first, or with a very light weight – trust me! If you don’t know what to expect it is possible to overbalance when doing this exercise for the first time. However, if you take it slow and practice with a wooden stick or light bar, you will be fine.

Step 1: Starting position – bar overhead with arms locked out in snatch grip

The overhead squat is performed using a snatch grip. This is a wide grip on the bar. Finding the ideal width grip is a process of trial and error. Those with long arms will have their hands right up against the ends of the bar. I am a not-particularly-tall female and I grip the bar just outside the smooth rings.

There is more than one way to get into the start position. The easiest way is to get the bar across your shoulders (i.e. in the position you would use for a back squat) using a rack and then perform a push press to get the bar up into position. Don’t forget to adopt the snatch grip before you press up! You can also snatch the bar into position – although of course you need to be competent at snatching in order to do this.

You should be standing with feet shoulder width – or even slightly wider – apart, toes turned out slightly. In other words, in your normal position for squatting. With the bar locked out overhead, you are ready to begin the squat.

Step 2: Squat down as far as you can, holding the bar steady overhead

Push back from the hips, keeping your back slightly arched. Look straight ahead with chest up and out – this helps to keep the arch in the lower back. Keep your weight on your heels and descend as far as your flexibility will allow. If your back starts to round, this is as low as you can go. Keep your knees directly over your feet, not collapsing inward or bending outward.

As you descend, keep your arms locked out overhead. The bar should be held so that the weight is above your hips, either just behind your ears or even just behind your head. You should be able to feel when the bar is in the right position as it will feel balanced. It is important never to let the bar come forwards as it will pull you forwards and you will have to drop it! Also, if you have very flexible shoulders, you might need to watch that you don’t over-extend backwards and have the bar too far behind you.

To keep the bar in place, think about pulling your hands outwards. Imagine you are trying to stretch the bar or pull it in half.

Step 3: Reach squat depth

The aim is to go as low as possible but your squat depth will be limited by your back flexibility. This will improve as you practise the overhead squat.

As with any kind of squat, your knees should remain over your feet. Ideally, your knees should not push out beyond your toes, but this is dependent on your flexibility. The more flexibility your have in your back, the more vertical your knees can be in the bottom position. You can see from the picture that my flexibility is a bit lacking here as my knees are slightly past my toes! But I know from my own experience that this improves with practise, so if your knees do come out past your toes, don’t let this stop you from practising the exercise as your flexibility will improve.

If you are not used to squatting to this depth, think about letting your body hang between your legs, not behind them. Often the squat is taught with a narrow stance and only to a parallel position, but it is difficult to hit a deep position with a narrow stance so if you have been taught this way, experiment with a wider position. Also if you need to turn your toes out a bit more in order to sink your hips lower, this is not a problem.

Step 4: Push out of the bottom and return to a standing position, maintaining the bar overhead

Press your heels into the floor and use your hips and glutes to push up out of the deep squat position and back to a standing position. Keep your core strong, holding your upper body in position. Continue trying to pull the bar apart to maintain its position securely above your head.

How to use the overhead squat in your training

There are a number of ways you can use the overhead squat in your training:

• As a warm up for Olympic lifts
• As an assistance exercise for the Olympic lifts and the squat
• As a core strengthening exercise
• As a tough workout in its own right (e.g. 15 bodyweight overhead squats) or combining it with other exercises in a circuit

The overhead squat has been growing in popularity, due in particular to its adoption by Crossfit as a key exercise. It is a very versatile move to master.

Related posts/further reading

Crossfit OHS Basics – explaining grip and position

The Overhead Squat by Dan John – more information on using the overhead squat in training

Mark Rippetoe teaches the overhead squat (mov video clip)
Crossfit workout incorporating overhead squat – snatch, overhead squat and pull-up

To start with, here are five sites you’ll love if you have any interest in strength training.

In need of new ideas? Check out All Round Strength and Conditioning. Jason is always on the lookout for innovative, interesting and sometimes slightly wacky ways to get strong and flexible! He’s also got plenty of his own ideas. This is quite possibly the only website where I can guarantee you’ll see something you’ve never seen before!

• See some of Jason’s inventive training ideas.

Want to know everything about training with weights from the ground up? Need a friendly female perspective? You need Stumptuous.com: Women’s Weight Training in your life. You don’t have to be a woman to appreciate this site, it’s read by a lot of men too. Krista includes articles on everything about weight training and nutrition. Her wry style will likely have you laughing out loud too.

• Check out her series on exercise form: From Dork to Diva

Scott Bird of Straight to the Bar trawls the web every day for the best in strength articles and video clips. There’s always something new and interesting to see here. He covers everything from parkour to strongman, with plenty of powerlifting and bodybuilding in between.

• Read this useful article on holding the bar in the front squat

Ross Training is the website of strength and conditioning coach Ross Enamait. His no-nonsense, low-tech, train-at-home philosophy has won a dedicated following, particularly among boxers and martial artists. Ross also stands out among ‘internet gurus’ for his down to earth approach. He is actively involved in his lively internet forum and resolutely refuses to believe his own hype.

• Check out his video clips and you’ll see why we all want to be like him!

If you are in the UK, Warrior Training is the home of those of us who follow Ross training and similar methods. Schwinners has recently added a lot more video and article content, although for me the mainstay of the site is the training logs. Some great ideas to be found here!

Below are some useful assistance exercises to prepare you for the demands of olympic weightlifting.

Front squats

Front squats are a useful precursor to the clean as they involve squatting with the barbell balanced across the front of the shoulders – which is the top position of the clean.

Front squats are a great exercise in themselves, even if you never intend to clean and jerk at all. Mike Boyle, for example, recommends front squats over back squats as you get a similar result much more safely. Read more about Mike’s position on front squats and injury-free training in general.

Hang power clean

I’ll be honest with you, I’m partly into this exercise because I think it looks good! Fortunately, it’s also a good strength exercise. The hang part means that it starts from a hanging position not from the floor; the power part means that it is performed only with a partial squat not a full squat.

Some people argue that unless you are training to be an olympic lifter, there’s no need to do full squat cleans; you will get good results with the hang power clean, which is easier to perform than the full clean. You can see where front squats come in, as practice for catching the bar in the clean.

Push press

This exercise is good training for both of the olympic events, as it involves pressing the bar overhead. It’s also a great shoulder exercise.

The push press is actually the second of three exercises that form the progression to the ‘jerk’ part of the olympic lift. The first exercise is the military press, which is the same as the push press except you don’t bend your legs as you press – all the effort comes from the arms and shoulders. The push press is the second exercise, using the legs to initiate the move and get the bar off the shoulders. The push jerk takes it one step further by incorporating not just the bend in the legs but the actual jump as well.

Overhead squat

I have heard about the merits of this exercise from a number of sources and it is an important precursor to the snatch. But mainly I was inspired to do it by seeing the Crossfit women training this move so much. It takes incredible strength and hip power to perform this exercise, especially for high reps and with a lot of weight. My hips were aching after this session as they weren’t used to being worked so hard!