Exercise guide · Intermediate · Compound

Barbell Front Squat: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The front squat holds the bar on the front of your shoulders, which keeps your torso upright and shifts more of the work onto the quads. It is also a strong upper-back and core exercise because you have to stop the bar pulling you forward.

Primary muscles
Glutes
Equipment
Barbell
Level · type
Intermediate · Compound

Written by the FitStack training team. Last reviewed .

Demonstration of the barbell front squat
Front view: muscles worked by the barbell front squat. Primary: glutes. Secondary: calves, quads, abs, hamstrings and obliques.
Back view: muscles worked by the barbell front squat. Primary: glutes. Secondary: calves, quads, abs, hamstrings and obliques.
Primary Secondary

How to do the barbell front squat

  1. Step 1: Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out.
  2. Step 2: Hold the barbell in front of your shoulders, resting it on your collarbone and shoulders.
  3. Step 3: Engage your core and keep your chest up as you lower your body down into a squat position, pushing your hips back and bending your knees.
  4. Step 4: Lower until your thighs are parallel to the ground, or as low as you can comfortably go.
  5. Step 5: Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push through your heels to return to the starting position.
  6. Step 6: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Form cues

  • Rest the bar on the front delts against your throat, fingertips under the bar and elbows pointing forward.
  • Keep the elbows high for the whole rep; if they drop the bar rolls forward.
  • Brace hard, sit straight down and let the knees travel forward over the toes.
  • Stand up by driving the elbows up first.

Common barbell front squat mistakes

  • Elbows dropping out of the bottom.

    Fix: Use lighter weight and a cross-arm or strap grip until your wrist and lat mobility allow the clean grip.

  • Holding the bar in the hands instead of on the shoulders.

    Fix: Push your shoulders forward to make a shelf; the hands only keep the bar in place.

  • Rounding the upper back as the set gets hard.

    Fix: End the set a rep earlier and add upper-back work such as rows.

Sets, reps and programming

Use it as the main squat in a quad-focused day or as a second squat after back squats. Sets of 3 to 8 reps suit it best because the upper back usually fails before the legs on long sets.

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the barbell front squat by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Variations and progressions

Barbell Front Squat alternatives

More exercises that train the glutes as their main target:

Barbell Front Squat FAQs

Is the front squat better than the back squat?

Neither is better overall. The front squat puts more emphasis on the quads and less load on the lower back; the back squat lets you use more weight. Pick the one that suits your goal and your mobility, or use both.

Why do my wrists hurt in the front squat?

Usually tight lats, triceps or wrists. Hold the bar with only two or three fingertips, try a cross-arm grip or lifting straps, and stretch the lats and triceps between sets.

More glutes exercises

See the best glute exercises, ranked →

Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset; cues, mistakes, programming and FAQs are written by FitStack.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.