Half Front Squat with Isometric Hold

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Overview

Half Front Squats with an isometric hold for 3 to 5 seconds is an exercise that develops the ability to brace the body under load. This ability is exceptionally important in the receiving position for the Clean and the Power Clean.

Set a target squat depth so that your femur is just above parallel, using a bench or other object, as shown. Do not sit on the object; touch it lightly, and exercise extreme caution when stepping backwards.

The time under tension and the depth of the squat make this exercise surprisingly difficult to perform; therefore, an intensity range of 50 – 90% of your best Clean and Jerk is recommended, depending on your fitness level.

Key Coaching Points

1. It helps to use an object to gauge the depth of your squat. Set the depth of squat so that your femur is just above ‘parallel’ (see illustration below) when your reach the lowest point.
2. The width of your foot stance should be slightly wider than hip width. When estimating the width of your foot stance, it is the distance between your heels that matters.
3. Before descending, take a deep breath and raise your chest as much as possible. This will help you to prevent unhelpful loss of spinal shape.
4. Descend slowly, and do not sit on the object used to gauge depth. You should ‘feel’ the object underneath you.
5. Hold still for a count of 5, that’s about four seconds. Don’t let go of your breath until you rise to complete the rep or you risk losing spinal shape.