Barbell Back Squat

How to perform it

1. Set the bar in the rack at upper-chest height and load it. Step under and rest the bar across your upper traps, not your neck.
2. Unrack by standing tall, take two steps back, and set feet shoulder-width with toes slightly out.
3. Brace your core, push your hips back, and bend the knees until your hip crease passes below the top of the knee.
4. Drive through mid-foot to stand, keeping the bar stacked over mid-foot the whole time.

Common mistakes

• Knees caving inward on the way up — cue "spread the floor" with your feet.
• Heels lifting off the ground, a sign of limited ankle mobility or a too-narrow stance.
• Rounding the lower back at the bottom from descending past your current mobility.

Sets & reps

3–5 sets of 4–8 reps for strength; 3–4 sets of 8–12 for hypertrophy.

Variations

• Front Squat
• Box Squat
• Tempo Squat
• Pause Squat