Squat Rx #15: The Front Squat

[ManagFTW66]

i cant hold it in the clean position due to wrist pain....

[bintangbomber]

Thank you, very informative. I am going to front squat tomorrow.

[smss5695]

Thanks for this. Greatly improved my form after watching and then putting into practice what you teach.

[Ahasuer]

This video is so money

[glorbstah]

Thanks for this, back squat doesn't do it for me, just getting more and more discomfort from it, probably because of my height, so I guess it's front squats from now on!

[TheKingClem]

awesome shoes



[TsangBokyan]

wow. the 24 i go to has ONE power cage. that is a ridiculous amount there

[vbsasquatch1]

Thanks for posting this. My front squats are much less painful now.

[energypower1]

really appreciated man thanks !

[kagondemon]

great video, thanks alot.

[illegitimate0]

It often helps when doing front squats to point your toes out a bit (30 degrees or so), and keep your knees out so it's easier to keep your hips from going back and your knees from going out too far.

[daluke61]

Thanks for the in-depth tips! Tried working front squats for the first time today (before I saw this), bar kept rolling forward on me when nearing bottom (ass-to-ground), especially using the arms folded over technique. The clean grip allowed for better bar stability however, hurt like hell. Gotta work on it... this video should help.

[loopba]

Awesome gym! These are much harder than back squats, especially w/o a rack

[Jiggleton]

Where is this glorious place with all these squat racks

[fukidomev2]

ouch my knees

[jusgeo89]

hi I tried to front squat however I felt pain in my front deltoids where the bar was pressing. Also, the bar kind of rolled back into my throat and made it more difficult to breathe. What can I do to correct this?

[EpTiCNation]

i find that in order to get correct form, i am sacrificing a lot of weight (almost 50%) Is it typical to not be able to lift as much weight with the front squat as with the back squat? Is it possible I was not doing the back squat properly and am finding weaknesses in my legs?

[AmusingYeti]

@EpTiCNation Its very common. Front squats will always be less than the back squat. Its a much harder movement. If you are finding it hard the problem could be in your quads as with the front squat the emphasis is on the quads.

[honda535]

ALO front squat man from aussie land.... MY problem is my guns they are fully loaded...... 19 inches of sexy meat (my arms) But seriously im having alot of trouble getting the flexibility even in your wider grip example do you have any more stretches for us large gunned inderviduals or will my sexy guns forever destroy my front squat asperations....

[marxistsoldier]

johnny, if u go past parallel is it possible to not round your lower back? even u slightly round your lower back.

[johnnymnemonic2]

@marxistsoldier

A little might be unavoidable, but IMHO, it's something worth the attention.

[marxistsoldier]

so what can u do to prevent that? i know hip flexibility is important...

[goldenkey23]

OH MAN ITS BACHMANN SENSEI!!!

[vijfendertig]

i tried to frontsquat today, but it felt as if my lower back was pushing up all the weight and not my legs, after 2 sets my lower back already felt mauled while i didnt feel anything in my legs. Anyone got any idea what im doing wrong?

[johnnymnemonic2]

@vijfendertig

I'm guessing you are either pushing the hips back too much as you initiate the descent, and/or not keeping the upper body upright.

[aeiou99999]

@johnnymnemonic2 I've watched hundreds, maybe thousands of training vids, and this has to be one of the best.

[collwatt]

@vijfendertig id say weak a core is to be blamed

[liveandletlive1]

Do you find that taller athletes have more difficulty performing the front squat?

[5waterpolo5]

hello. I have a question. I have problems with my lower back area and whenever I do normal squats I have back pain but I dont want stop squatting. do u think front squats dont put so much pressure on my lower back?

[orangethings12]

Great video, I didn't realise technique played such a vital role in weight lifting. I kept my elbows as straight as possible and my shoulders ended up taking most of the weight which made it easier to squat! I'll be sure to check out your other vids

[Labonovaful]

Great video, great explanation... Great performance, great tips... TX

[yichkaan]

thanks for the info!!! i wish you a long life..

[tmusson151186]

an exellent informative video. thanks

[aznmav2]

great video, keep up the great work. thx in advance

[G1B4UC]

thx for the great video.

keep up the good work ;).

greetz from germany

[MonnsterMan]

Finally, someone that actually demonstrates well, answers concerns, and is knowledgeable. A rare find on utube!

[spudnutsncoffee]

It's like this guy is in my head. This is precisely how I conceive of the front squat and how to perform it when I do it.

[martinjanssen1]

exellant video

[asdodge1]

very good video, finally someone who knows what they know about

[ebutuoy88]

omg he has amazing form..

[51674]

i definitely feel alot more stress on knees after front squat, it really worries me.

[boxingsmvp]

Every time I try front squats I have trouble with getting my hands into position, but you answered all of my questions, I'll keep at it and see if the flexibility comes. Thanks for the video!

[maxwushu]

thanks for the tips!

[geminito]

I don't know how other people can get their arms in that position! My forearms, wrists, and shoulders scream in pain the more I bent my arms back. I can get the bar to my adam's apple, but can't get it down to my delts. Baffled.

[heylookatmeok]

Work on shoulder mobility, scapular stability and strength. Just sayin'.

[Wrestlingfanatic922]

just rest the barbelll on your front shoulder and support it with your hands.

[thewiseben]

Thanks for this great vid, I'm about to go try these based on your advice.

[brothadoggsforlife]

gotta love front squats

[Melocizza]

You take a very wide stance. Could you FS with a narrow stance?

[cfrankom]

well spoken, very helpful

[dimebeats]

what kind of sneaker are you wearing. id like to looke like you when im 40.

[1Recaudador]

@dimebeats - it's a weightlifting shoe - hard sole, excellent support for pushing big iron in squats, cleans, snatch - Olympic lifts. He probably is 40!

[akademiks21]

he is wearing the adistar weight lifting shoes

[bdruckus]

Very Very good vid

[seannnn2006]

does it matter which way you hold it? because i do the other where it rests on my delts and my arms are corssed in fornt of the bar, does it matter?

[nickthebossrossi]

good video...his elbow position is not ideal though

[quijybo2]

great video. going to try front squats for the first time today and i think all this advice will be very helpful.

[salman06p0020]

Excellent video. I learned a lot from this, and I hope to improve my Front Squats considerably.

[willbobig]

gonna try these for my first time since I stopped Powerlifting haha

[claviergoren]

Excellent video.

[NoOtherFreeUsername]

where the hell is that? there are so many racks? thats heaven :D

[dannycoulombe]

@NoOtherFreeUsername

was thinking exactly the same thing! there is only one rack at my gym it sucks so much!

[soltdahg]

Thanks a bunch! Great helper for learning this Front Squat!

[fatcat669]

hey can someone check out my front squat form (the vid in my profile) and tell me if my form is alright or not? do i lean too far forward/

[fball456]

thanks for the video, I barely started front squatting after back squatting for years. Keep up the great videos!

[thebasil1]

I LOVE YOUR SHIRT!!

do you have any available for purchase?

[ShadowNINku]

ya, I'd buy one or two, that t-shirt's bad ass

[manfromdelmonte1]

should your hips go below the knee level?

does this not put a lot of stress on the knees??

[Sarge343]

Actually it's a common misconseption that squatting all the way down or "ass to grass" is bad for your knees. The knee joint is strongest when it's fully stretched or flexed. So if you stop at 90 degrees, you actually put your knees under a lot of stress. Also, the full squat is more natural for the human body and less stressful on the knee joint.

[SquatDeadPress]

thx for the great explanation. trying them tonight for the first time.

[emitraxtube]

After watching this video I tried for the very first time the front squat after few years of back squat. I failed miserably. I couldn't grab the bar while you make it look so easy. Please encourage me :-)

[johnnymnemonic2]

Keep at it. It will not be easy, but if you persist it will come around.

[emitraxtube]

Is there any particular streching exercise I can do? I find *very* hard to place my elbow high. I'm just not very flexible. Thanks anyway.

[parklands686]

Try the crossed arms position demonstrated at around 8:30. I use this and it is very effective. Much more comfortable than the clean grip.

[drivelinemechanics]

I agree completely with parklands. Crossed arms position works well for beginners and I use it still.

Front squats are very hard to do, emitrax. Keep at it! They are great.

[venusvelasco]

Well, he's mentioned all the stretching exercises I do.

But try starting at a lower weight and work yourself up to something more challenging. that worked for me.

Learn to do the clean grip. I just got into front squats simply because I wanted to do power cleans.

I do 5x5 for back squats then another 5x5 for front.

The clean grip allows you to carry heavier loads. The crossed-arm grip is just for ease when beginning the front squat.

[emitraxtube]

Amazing explanation! Tomorrow will be my first time with front squat after a few years of back squat. Your video was just what I was looking for! Great stuff! Keep up the good work!

[NosferatuZodd9999]

Thanks for the great tips. I train back squats 3 times per week (Starr 5x5) and just started a new program that incorporates the front squat....I had a tough holding the bar. I will try your suggestions next time!

[southboundtraveler]

great discussion. I prefer the 'choke hold' grip (the arms crossed method) over the method you demonstrated specifically due to the wrist pain issue. Using straps help, but I just have an easier time with the choke hold grip.

[Excder]

dude, where did u get that shirt!!!!! can i buy one from u???

hahaha, thats so great!! i got 505 once yesterday so i have "become a man" lol

[heruilin]

Excellent instruction!

I was very pleased to hear the encouragement to spend 4 to 6 weeks to master the proper rack position. I was having difficulty myself but now know its common and that I must keep at it.

[jacer82]

super stuff

[HeadDominion]

u should see ronnie do his front squats thats crazy

[Hawkson101]

You seem very trustworthy and very easy to work with.

Thanks

[mangetout]

Should the bar rest behind the deltoid on the clavicle or on top of the deltoids?

[MrPS2k8]

awsome video - truly awsome. The entire Squat RX video collection is a masterpiece. Thanks for taking the time to offer such advice for free!

I have a question, what works the quads more. Back or front squats? I'm guessing front, but I'm not sure. I usually feel the glutes mores with back then front.

[johnnymnemonic2]

Thank you. Yes, the front squat is generally going to stress your quads more, but you can vary the back squat bar position to stress the quads more if you want to.

[MrPS2k8]

I did my 3 sets of front squats yesterday taking it really easy and going very slowly to see how my form was. I think I did well for my first time. I favor front squats more due to the decent naturally keeping the back straight.

One thing I could not quite figure out is where to rest the bar. I tried to rest it on my shoulders, but it rolls down in between my shoulder and bicep. If I keep it up too high it starts to rub my collar bones. Any suggestions?

[Artforartsake2222]

Made a difference in my workouts so many guys have told me the wrong way this was pretty clear cut

[opeth2009]

is there a way to help my back squat because they are much more difficult for me than front ones.

[worstladlads]

there is literally too many videos on youtube about this, not to mention the rest of the squat rx series. do a search and stop being so lazy

[Mofo3210]

Very informative videos! And very nice gym as well. What's the name of the gym?

[Fen3rbahce]

wow this video has helped me so much..i always positioned my hands wrong no wonder why it put so much pressure on my shoulders..thanks alot!

[japp111]

that was just a great video, answered all of my questions about the front squat! thank you

five stars!

[lzen5]

a very nice gym...

[jahoo2k]

Very informative thanks!

[SabaZs]

another position i found to be extremely comfortable is holding the bar on you shoulders with the pinkly fingers touching. though this allows you to cheat a little bit and the elbow go slightly side ways i find it to be very comfortable. how much forward lean is "allowed" and how much knee movement forward is allowed? how dangerous is it for the knees? a suck at those and i'm going to spend the next few months practicing them so i want to know the right way to do it

[johnnymnemonic2]

I'm not really understanding what you mean by "on the shoulders with the pinky fingers touching".

Not much forward lean. More forward tracking (and more flexion) of the knees than low bar back squatting. I can't give you any solid answer about "how dangerous" it is, but if you have otherwise healthy knees and aren't doing anything stupid it should strengthen the joint.

[SabaZs]

oh ok, the regular gym mentality is still bugging me...

as for the grip - i meant holding the bar like in a very close grip biceps curl, fists on the chest, knuckles touching the throat, bar on the shoulders, the small fingers touching each other. the grip is solid.

this allows to hold the bar with your biceps and shoulders instead of just making it sit there on top of the "shelf". less attention to the balance, more attention can be placed on the form, right?

[johnnymnemonic2]

Hand supinated then? I suppose that would be ok and you would have a grip on the bar, but I don't think you'd have as much control of the bar. Try doing bench press with a supinated grip and you'll know, more or less, what I mean - a lot of amazing BPers can do great things with a reverse grip, but, IMO, it has risks.

Also, if you ever have any intentions of doing cleans, presses, and jerks from the rack position, you will have to learn the front squat proper. JMO.

[SabaZs]

three fingers holding the bar on delts is all good, wrists get used to it in a month. some times i like to hold the bar in place using the "narrow curl grip". i have seen some old school bodybuilder doing it that way. perhaps i'll throw in a video response a week later showing exactly what i mean, perhaps you can give me some hints on technique too :)

[johnnymnemonic2]

I think I know what you mean and I've experimented with it a little - like I said, I just don't think it's as secure, but if you're fine with it, then that's all that matters.

A video'd be great.

[SabaZs]

here's the video response - second lift being "the" grip :) how does the squat look? please don't be too harsh on the snatch... i was tired and bored and i did heavy shoulder work the day before :D

[johnnymnemonic2]

Looks pretty good to me. I would really focus on the "squeeze" (a Dan John cue) and try to keep that chest up throughout - it looks like it might be coming forward a little to me.

The clean needs some work. Your legs completely extend almost immediately and there is no second pull. OLs aren't my forte, but I may have to talk about them sometime. There are some great videos at crossfit and on youtube. Send me a PM and I'll reply w. some links.

[SabaZs]

i think i should concentrate on OLs because i'm useless in those :D thanks.

[madaozeki]

Good stuff :)

[m1kekim]

i don't squat anything like this guy, but this video isn't bad for newbs looking to start. i would suggest heels for FSing. also i suggest newbs to put on like 185, 225, and just pause in the hole for 30-40 seconds. i do it after my work sets to get some core flexibility along with ability to hold the elbows up position.

[johnnymnemonic2]

Not the most constructive post, but okay...

You might notice I'm wearing OL shoes (w. a heel)...

[kraftsportNO]

excellent video. :)

[overlin2]

mr johnny thank u so m for your tips

[aks73]

hey man thanks so much for these awesome videos..i have bad knees and these videos are incredibly helpful and informative.

[ja391]

Great video. Where'd you get that shirt?

[DjKokane]

very good post,thanks heaps

[tj5006]

thanks man, very informative.

[marsh8417]

Really useful, thanks

[johnnymnemonic2]

Thank YOU.

[mkj22]

thanks.

[andreandreeee]

Excellent, thank you very much.

[tigerak02]

very informative, great info!