Front Squat

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Overview

In the context of early development of Weightlifting skill, the Front Squat is a critically important activity for developing the positional awareness and postural strength needed in the Clean and Power Clean. For this reason, it is a key recommendation that beginners should develop basic competency in the Front Squat before attempting to learn the Power Clean or Clean. In the early learning of the Front Squat, beginners should be encouraged to begin with Front Squats to Partial Depth as this will facilitate the learning of correct body positions.

For athletes, who have moved beyond the beginner stage, the Front Squat is an exercise of high-specificity for developing leg strength and the ability to stand out of heavy Cleans.

Width of Grip

There is always a tendency for beginners to grip the bar for the Front Squat where it feels most comfortable but, as with other aspects of Weightlifting technique, comfort is not necessarily a good indicator of technical correctness.  

Beginners should practise the Front Squat with a width of grip slightly wider than their shoulders (see figure 1-A). For most beginners, this grip width presents less difficulty positioning the bar comfortably on the shoulders. This grip width will also suit the beginner as they begin learning all the Clean and Jerk derivatives. As the beginner advances in learning, widening their grip by a margin of 2-3 finger-widths will not present any issue provided the athlete demonstrates an ability to keep their elbows high as depicted in figure 1-B.

Key Coaching Points

1. Introduce full depth Front Squats only after preparatory work on partial depth Front Squats has been successfully achieved.
2. Instruct the athlete to fully inhale and hold breath through all downward movement and to exhale in a controlled manner after the athlete has risen three quarters out of the squat.
3. The feet should be slightly wider than hip width with toes turned out about 10-15 degrees.
4. Feet should remain flat throughout.
5. Knees should track in the direction that feet point. This often requires the beginner to focus on using their hip abductors to pull the knees outwards and avoid knee valgus during the ascending phase.
6. Discourage any tendency to bounce. Beginners should learn to decelerate in the last quarter of the squat.­
7. Ensure elbows remain high, with the bar resting against the neck and all fingers under the bar.
8. Encourage the beginner to practise one repetition each set with a pause (count to 3) at the bottom of the squat without losing any tension in posture.
9. Posture should not be relaxed at any time in the downward or upward phase.