In part 1, I explained why I think the front squat is such a useful exercise. There’s just something impressive about the leg and back strength required to squat deep whilst refusing to be buried by the weight that’s resting on your chest. I also discussed the step-by-step approach to performing the front squat, and highlighted the importance of good front squat form.
I also mentioned that there are many aspects of the front squat that require your attention in order to master the exercise. There are many potential weak links that can limit the front squat, including the wrists, upper back, and general squat mobility issues. This guide will cover how to adequately prepare each aspect of front squat form for the best squat workout possible.
Warming Up
As a lot of joints require mobility and strength to ensure good front squat technique, there are a number of areas we may need to prepare before a front squat. I don’t always go through every part of this with each client’s warmup – it depends on what they specifically need work on, plus whatever else they’re doing in the session. Still, these movements can improve the majority of front squat restrictions and are worth working through when you first start front squatting.
Wrists
The elbows need to be lifted during a front squat in order to keep the barbell on the shoulders. In the Olympic-style front squat, raising the elbows requires the wrists to move through a large range of extension (bending back). In addition to this mobility requirement, the wrists may encounter some pressure which can feel uncomfortable regardless of your mobility. So, warming up the wrists has two aims – to improve wrist extension mobility, and to prepare the wrists for loading.
Note – it’s important to distinguish between “normal” wrist pressure, and discomfort coming from the bar rolling onto the wrists if the elbows are too low. A simple solution is to record your lifts. If your elbows are below shoulder height, or your chest is tipping over, the bar could be coming forward onto the wrists too much.
Shoulders
Sometimes, the inability to lift the elbows can be caused by restrictions around the shoulder itself. Some people struggle to raise their arms into the rack position, possibly due to tightness in muscles such as the latissimus dorsi.
Some people also struggle to externally rotate the shoulder enough to place the hands outside shoulder width. These restrictions can go hand in hand as they are influenced by tightness in similar muscles.
Thoracic Spine
Your upper back is also referred to as the thoracic spine, or T-spine. This term describes the part of the spine that aligns with the ribcage. This is the part of your back we should extend to make a shelf for the barbell to sit on. This thoracic extension typically looks like trying to stick your chest out, or exaggerating the natural arch of the back whilst keeping the hips and lower back still. All front squat mobility aside, this is generally an important capacity to keep as you get older! Rather than stretching muscle tissue here, we’re looking to improve the movement between the joints of the thoracic spine.
Hips and Ankles
As with any squat, hip mobility is very important for us to sit into a low front squat. Any lower body limitations that force you to flex at the lower back will cause problems during your front squat, as the front squat depends on a strong, supportive back position to maintain the rack position.
Ankle mobility can similarly alter the way that you descent in the squat, causing you to tip forward or round over from the back.
Specific Drills to Improve Your Front Squat Form
Although I’ve talked through most points of performing a front squat across this series, most of us learn best by doing. This series of exercises will help you build the squat one step at a time.
Air Squat/Mock Front Squat
Put arms in front as a counter-balance, keep chest as upright as possible without falling over backwards.
To progress this, bend the elbows and raise them as high as possible.
If you are struggling to keep your chest and elbows lifted to face straight ahead, this might be a good time to introduce weightlifting shoes, or weights/wedges under the heel.
Zombie Squat
Place an empty bar into the groove between the shoulders and neck. Keep the bar secure while you unrack and walk out.
Once you are ready to start, take your hands off the bar and raise your arms in front like a zombie. Squat without the bar rolling off the shoulders.
This takes away your ability to stabilise the bar with your hands and arms, and forces you to keep the bar centered. If you tip forward, round your back, or drop your arms, there will be nothing stopping the bar from falling off. This requires your front squat form and mobility to be on point.
Note – This is a fairly unstable exercise with some risk of dropping the bar, so make sure you’re nailing your bodyweight squats and dealing with any mobility restrictions before you try this. It’s also not a lift I would recommend loading very heavily, so once you’re happy with the technique, it’s time to progress.
Olympic vs Cross-Grip
To get to this point, you will have most likely assessed the mobility and technique required at all of the joints mentioned so far. The exception here is the wrist joint, because we have not attempted to put our hands on the straight bar as in the picture below.
I always recommend trying the Olympic squat first, as this is typically the most stable front squat variation. However, it does demand a lot more wrist mobility to make it work. Don’t give up instantly if it feels like this isn’t working.
However, if you try it for a few weeks and don’t feel any progress, or if you feel like you’re a million miles away from hitting the position in the picture above, it may be time to try the cross grip.
Once you’ve decided which of these positions works best for you, it’s time to get squatting! Want to learn more about squatting? Check out my more general squat guide here.
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