Demonstration
Watch the Form Demo
Technique
How to Do the Barbell Squat
- Set the rack so the bar sits at roughly mid chest height and load it evenly.
- Step under the bar and place it across your upper traps, not on your neck, then grip it firmly with your hands just outside your shoulders.
- Stand up to unrack the weight and take two steps back into a stance a little wider than your hips with your toes turned slightly out.
- Take a big breath, brace your core, and sit down and back by bending at the hips and knees together.
- Descend until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, keeping your chest up and your knees tracking over your toes.
- Drive through your midfoot to stand back up, exhaling as you pass the hardest point of the rep.
Anatomy
Muscles Worked
Do This
Form Cues
- Screw your feet into the floor to create tension at the hips before you start the descent.
- Brace before every rep, not just the first one.
- Knees track in line with your toes. Letting them cave inward is the most common breakdown under fatigue.
- Keep the bar stacked directly over your midfoot from start to finish.
Avoid This
Common Mistakes
- Cutting depth short and stopping well above parallel as the weight climbs.
- Letting the chest fall forward so the squat drifts into a good morning.
- Rising onto the toes at the bottom, usually a sign of tight ankles or a stance that is too narrow.
- Resting the bar on the bony part of the neck instead of the shelf of muscle across the upper back.
More to Explore
Variations & Related Exercises
Variations of this lift
Barbell Front Squat
Dumbbell Goblet Squat
Barbell Box Squat
Trains the same muscles
1.5 Rep Barbell Squat
B-Stance Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Barbell Deadlift
Barbell Good Morning
Barbell Hip Thrust
Barbell Lunge
Put It Into Practice
Workouts Featuring This Lift
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