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Barbell squat
The exercise that changes a leg the most, and the one most often done halfway. The difference isn't the weight: it's how low you go and whether your back stays set while you do it.
Barbell squat with Nora. Nora and Hugo are our models, created with artificial intelligence, against the backdrop of our gym. In amber, the quads: the lower you go, the brighter it gets.
What it works
- Quads, the front of the thigh, which do most of the work
- Glutes and hamstrings, more and more the lower you go
- Lower back and abs, which work without moving to hold your torso in place
How to do it
- 1Set the bar
On your traps, not on your neck. About a finger below the bone at the base of your neck, resting on the muscle. If your neck hurts, it's too high.
- 2Grip and squeeze
Hands a little wider than your shoulders, elbows down and back, chest up. That move tightens your upper back and makes the shelf the bar rests on.
- 3Unrack and take two steps
Two, not five. Feet shoulder-width apart or a little wider, toes turned slightly out. Take a breath and hold it.
- 4Sit down
Hips and knees at the same time, as if you were reaching for a chair slightly behind you. Your knees travel where your toes point, never inward. Weight spread over your whole foot, heels down.
- 5Go as low as you should
The benchmark is your hip dropping below the height of your knee. If your hips or ankles won't let you go that far, go as low as you can while keeping your back set: less range is better than a rounding back.
- 6Stand up by pushing the floor
Hips and chest rise together. If your butt shoots up first and your chest stays down, your back takes the work that belonged to your legs. Breathe out once you're past the hard part.
The mistakes you see most
- Stopping halfway. By far the most common one. A half squat with a lot of weight works less than a full squat with less, and it's harder on the knee. Go down, and take a plate off if you need to.
- Knees caving in. It usually means the weight is too heavy or your glutes aren't kicking in. Think about spreading the floor apart with your feet as you stand up.
- Heels coming up. Almost always tight ankles. Shoes with a slightly raised heel, or a thin plate under your heels, fixes it on the spot.
- Looking at the ceiling. Your head follows your back, not the other way round. Pick a spot on the floor a few yards ahead and keep it.
Variations
- Front squat, with the bar in front. It forces a more upright torso and loads the quads more. It's less forgiving of bad technique, and that's why it teaches you so much.
- Goblet squat, with one dumbbell. The easiest way to learn the movement: holding the weight in front puts you in position by itself. Great for beginners and for warming up.
- Bulgarian split squat, one leg. One foot back on a bench. Less weight, more work per leg and a lot more glute. A good option if your lower back bothers you.
- On a Smith machine. The bar is guided, so you can go close to failure without a spotter. In exchange, you don't train balance and the bar path is set for you.
Frequently asked questions
How low should you go in a squat?
The usual benchmark is for the crease of your hip to drop below the top of your knee, which is called breaking parallel. Below that, as far as you can go with your back set. If you can't get there, it's almost always ankle or hip mobility, and that can be trained.
Is it bad for your knees?
Done with full range and a load you can control, no: it's one of the exercises that best prepares a knee. What is hard on it is the half squat with a lot of weight and the knees caving in. If you have an injury, your physical therapist decides this, not an article.
How much weight should I lift?
Whatever lets you do every rep with the same technique as the first one. Comparing yourself with someone else is pointless: two people with the same strength lift different amounts depending on their leverage.
Feet straight or turned out?
Slightly turned out, between fifteen and thirty degrees, with your knees following that same line. There's no single right number for everyone: the right one is the one that lets you go down without your hips closing up.
With a belt or without?
To learn, without. A belt helps once you're moving heavy loads and know how to brace your abs against it; wearing one from day one just hides technique you don't have yet.
And to keep track of what you lift
In the Reverfit Workout app every exercise comes with its animation, and you log the weight and reps set by set, with what you did last time right in front of you. Free and with no ads.
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