Which Squat Technique is Right for You?

The numerous benefits of the back squat will be familiar to any serious trainee, but here are two alternative plateau-busting movements which can be used instead of or alongside the king of resistance exercises.

Front Squats

The front squat is a far less technically demanding exercise than the back squat, and is therefore ideal in any situation where individual coaching of the movement is not practical. It is also a popular alternative for taller lifters whose anthropometry is not conducive to enabling good back squat technique.

A clean grip should always be used – the bar will be held in place across the anterior deltoids by the fingers, with palms facing up and elbows held high at all times. This hand position may initially be uncomfortable and often requires diligent stretching of the triceps and wrists at first. With the barbell positioned on the front of the shoulders, the lifter’s back must be kept almost vertical to ensure that the bar remains directly over the middle third of the foot. This more vertical back angle reduces the contribution of the hamstrings in the movement – instead, the quadriceps do most of the work.

The front squat is an appropriate alternative to the back squat for trainees carrying a lower back injury. Form considerations dictate that lighter loads must be used when performing front squats as opposed to back squats and this, coupled with the more vertical back angle necessitated by good front squat technique, reduces spinal compression.

Box Squats

The box squat is an old exercise that has been repopularised in recent years by Louie Simmons, the powerlifting guru who coaches lifters at Westside Barbell. As the name implies, box squats are a variation of the back squat where the trainee sits back onto a box at the bottom of the movement and pauses before driving back up.

Box squats emphasise the key components of correct back squat technique: pushing the hips back and knees out, squatting to correct depth and then driving up using the muscles of the posterior chain. This makes it an excellent training aid for beginners who cannot easily grasp the nuances of the back squat.

In contrast to the front squat, the quads contribute very little to the box squat. At the bottom of the motion, the shins are behind vertical and so it is the hips, hamstrings and glutes that fire to drive out of the bottom position. Powerlifters, or trainees with a weak posterior chain, will benefit hugely from incorporating box squats into their routine.

Russell Willers