Barbell Squat 8s · no sound

Barbell Squat

The back-loaded barbell squat — the king of lower-body strength training and the standard for measuring leg power.

Primary muscle
Quads
Equipment
Barbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Movement
Squat
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How to do it

  1. Set the bar in a rack at about chest height and step under it to rack it across your upper back.
  2. Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width, brace your core, and step back from the rack.
  3. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly out, and chest tall.
  4. Push your hips back and down, bending the knees to squat down until your hips reach below the knees.
  5. Drive through the full foot to stand back up, keeping the chest tall and bar path straight.
  6. Lock out the hips and knees at the top, reset your breath and brace, and repeat for clean reps.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the knees cave inward on the way up, which strains the knees and weakens the drive.
  • Cutting the depth short and not reaching at least parallel, missing the full quad and glute work.
  • Rounding the lower back at the bottom, which puts the spine at risk under heavy load.
  • Shifting the bar weight onto the toes, which throws off the balance and strains the lower back.

Muscles worked

Primary
Quads
Secondary
Glutes

Good to know

What muscles does the Barbell Squat work?
Mainly the quads. It also works the glutes.
What equipment do you need for the Barbell Squat?
It uses a barbell. Without it, the Dumbbell Squat and the Machine Goblet Sissy Squat train the same muscles the same way.
Is the Barbell Squat good for beginners?
GymVim rates it intermediate. For a beginner-rated exercise on the same muscle and movement, see the Band Squat.

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