Barbell Back Squat
- Intermediate
- Gym
- Functional
Resting the bar across your upper back, you squat down until your thighs reach at least parallel before driving back to standing through your whole foot. The lift trains the quads, glutes and hamstrings as a compound movement, loaded and logged for weight and reps. Intermediate lifters use it as a main strength movement in the gym or functional training.
- Muscles
- Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings
- Equipment
- Barbell, Power rack
- Logged as
- Weight and reps
How to
- Rest the bar on your upper back and step out of the rack.
- Set your feet shoulder-width, toes slightly out.
- Squat down until your thighs reach at least parallel, chest up.
- Drive through your whole foot back to standing.
Form cues
- Brace your core before you unrack the bar.
- Keep the bar path directly over your midfoot.
- Inhale at the top, exhale past the sticking point.
Common mistakes
- Lower back rounds at the bottom of the squat. Brace your core and stop before your back rounds.
- Knees cave inward under heavier loads. Actively push your knees out over your toes.
- Bar drifts forward off your upper back. Keep the bar tight against your traps and shoulders.
Wellboy is a wellness and fitness app, not a healthcare service, and it does not provide medical advice. Talk to a doctor or another healthcare professional before starting a new exercise or diet routine if you have a medical condition, an injury, are pregnant, or have symptoms.
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