Front Squat
Bodyweight Strength - The Front Squat is another amazingly effective bodyweight strength based exercise that adds a weight to the front of the shoulders to increase the strength of your squatting ability. It is highly functional and the fact that the weight is loaded on the front of the shoulders on this exercise vs. being loaded on the back of the shoulders (as in the Back Squat) makes the strength that it develops be very useful for picking up heavy objects from a deep squatted position.
The Front Squat actually brings the abdominal muscles into play in a very significant way due to their crucial role of stabilizing the weight on the front of your shoulders as the strength of your hips transfers through the abdomen to support the bar and move it upward through the lift.
Many untrained individuals will not be able to perform a Front squat at first due to a lack of flexibility in the lats, rotator cuff, thoracic spine, hips, and wrists. This exercise requires you to posses a high degree of flexibility before you will even be able to perform it.
However, I have found that just about everyone can eventually master the Front Squat if they are simply willing to put in the time and effort necessary to develop the required flexibility.
When first attempting the traditional Front Squat, many people will experience alot of pain and discomfort in their wrists due to the inflexibility of their wrists, shoulders, lats, and thoracic spine. For this reason, it is often necessary to do a modified Front Squat some of the time when you are first getting used to the exercise. The modified version essentially crosses the arms over each other instead of keeping the fingers under the bar (as seen below in the videos).
Often the best way to begin to get used to the Front Squat is to perform a Dumbbell Front Squat which is much easier to learn and to master. This is will help develop a general feel for the exercise as well as increase hip flexibility and core stability without adding the challenges regarding wrist inflexibility on top of that. Once the Dumbbell Front Squat is mastered it will then be much easier to transition on to the barbell version of the Front Squat.
To perform the Front Squat, load a barbell at about shoulder height on a squat rack to the desired weight and step up to the bar placing your hands at a grip that is the same width as your Clean grip. Push your elbows up high in front of the bar and let your hands release their grip from the bar to the point that only your fingers are under the bar. Stand up under the bar with the bar resting on your front shoulders and step back from the squat rack to give yourself sufficient room to perform the exercise.
At this point, the bar should be resting on your shoulders and your hands should merely be stabilizing the bar to keep it from rolling off of your shoulders. In order to do this it will be necessary to keep your elbows high throughout the entire exercise. If your elbows begin to drop the bar will begin to roll off of your shoulders and you will be pulled forward and lose your leverage on the bar.
Place your feet at about a shoulder width stance and point your toes outward slightly, then when you are ready, squat down as low as you possibly can while maintaining a straight back. As with the Back Squat, the depth of your squat will be limited by yourself current flexibility. Do not squat down to some arbitrary predetermined depth. Squat only as you as you are able to with a straight back. As you gain flexibility, this will get lower and lower, but do not rush it. If you try to force your body to squat lower than it is capable of with its current flexibility then you will be seriously risking getting a back injury.
Deliberately keep your elbows high throughout the entire exercise, keep your chest up (to keep your torso upright), and let your knees stay in alignment with the direction of your feet (angled slightly outward - this allows your torso to fit between your thighs as you squat down deeply...if your knees go directly to the front then your torso will bump into your thighs on the way down and this will force you to round your back unnecessarily). Once you have reached your squat depth limit with a straight back (based on your current flexibility), push your feet firmly into the floor and flex your glutes, quads, hamstrings, upper back, and tightly brace your abdomen as hard as you possibly can as you begin to stand back up from the squat. It will be at this point that your elbows will really want to drop down and thereby allow the weight to pull you over. Do not let this happen. Keep your elbows high, keep your abdomen tight, keep your chest up, and push upward with everything you've got. Once you've reached the full upright standing position, begin to squat back down again for the next rep.
Disclaimer - We do not recommend performing any exercise without the supervision of a highly qualified bodyweight strength professional present with you. This detailed exercise description is for informational purposes only. Consult your physician before attempting any strength training program or attempting this exercise or any of the other exercises on www.bodyweight-strength.com
The Front Squat actually brings the abdominal muscles into play in a very significant way due to their crucial role of stabilizing the weight on the front of your shoulders as the strength of your hips transfers through the abdomen to support the bar and move it upward through the lift.
Many untrained individuals will not be able to perform a Front squat at first due to a lack of flexibility in the lats, rotator cuff, thoracic spine, hips, and wrists. This exercise requires you to posses a high degree of flexibility before you will even be able to perform it.
However, I have found that just about everyone can eventually master the Front Squat if they are simply willing to put in the time and effort necessary to develop the required flexibility.
When first attempting the traditional Front Squat, many people will experience alot of pain and discomfort in their wrists due to the inflexibility of their wrists, shoulders, lats, and thoracic spine. For this reason, it is often necessary to do a modified Front Squat some of the time when you are first getting used to the exercise. The modified version essentially crosses the arms over each other instead of keeping the fingers under the bar (as seen below in the videos).
Often the best way to begin to get used to the Front Squat is to perform a Dumbbell Front Squat which is much easier to learn and to master. This is will help develop a general feel for the exercise as well as increase hip flexibility and core stability without adding the challenges regarding wrist inflexibility on top of that. Once the Dumbbell Front Squat is mastered it will then be much easier to transition on to the barbell version of the Front Squat.
To perform the Front Squat, load a barbell at about shoulder height on a squat rack to the desired weight and step up to the bar placing your hands at a grip that is the same width as your Clean grip. Push your elbows up high in front of the bar and let your hands release their grip from the bar to the point that only your fingers are under the bar. Stand up under the bar with the bar resting on your front shoulders and step back from the squat rack to give yourself sufficient room to perform the exercise.
At this point, the bar should be resting on your shoulders and your hands should merely be stabilizing the bar to keep it from rolling off of your shoulders. In order to do this it will be necessary to keep your elbows high throughout the entire exercise. If your elbows begin to drop the bar will begin to roll off of your shoulders and you will be pulled forward and lose your leverage on the bar.
Place your feet at about a shoulder width stance and point your toes outward slightly, then when you are ready, squat down as low as you possibly can while maintaining a straight back. As with the Back Squat, the depth of your squat will be limited by yourself current flexibility. Do not squat down to some arbitrary predetermined depth. Squat only as you as you are able to with a straight back. As you gain flexibility, this will get lower and lower, but do not rush it. If you try to force your body to squat lower than it is capable of with its current flexibility then you will be seriously risking getting a back injury.
Deliberately keep your elbows high throughout the entire exercise, keep your chest up (to keep your torso upright), and let your knees stay in alignment with the direction of your feet (angled slightly outward - this allows your torso to fit between your thighs as you squat down deeply...if your knees go directly to the front then your torso will bump into your thighs on the way down and this will force you to round your back unnecessarily). Once you have reached your squat depth limit with a straight back (based on your current flexibility), push your feet firmly into the floor and flex your glutes, quads, hamstrings, upper back, and tightly brace your abdomen as hard as you possibly can as you begin to stand back up from the squat. It will be at this point that your elbows will really want to drop down and thereby allow the weight to pull you over. Do not let this happen. Keep your elbows high, keep your abdomen tight, keep your chest up, and push upward with everything you've got. Once you've reached the full upright standing position, begin to squat back down again for the next rep.
Disclaimer - We do not recommend performing any exercise without the supervision of a highly qualified bodyweight strength professional present with you. This detailed exercise description is for informational purposes only. Consult your physician before attempting any strength training program or attempting this exercise or any of the other exercises on www.bodyweight-strength.com