QuadsBarbellIntermediate

How to Do a Front Squat

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

· Updated Sep 30, 2026

A front squat is a barbell squat with the bar resting on the front of your shoulders. Keep your elbows high, squat straight down and let your knees travel forward so your torso stays upright. It mainly trains the quads, with the glutes and adductors helping. Most lifters do 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps.

Sets x reps 3-4 x 5-8
Median 10-rep weight 14565 lbkg men 8035 lbkg women
Muscles Quads, glutes, adductors
Grip Clean grip, cross-arm or straps
Front Squat start and bottom positions
  1. 1Start. Bar on the front of your shoulders against your throat, elbows high. This lifter uses a cross-arm grip; a clean grip works the same way.
  2. 2Bottom. Squat straight down with your torso upright and your elbows up, then stand up through your whole foot.
Watch 3 video demonstrations
Video 1 of 3

Find more video demonstrations in the Gravitus app

Technique

How to do a front squat

  1. Set the bar in a rack at upper-chest height and the safety arms just below the lowest point of your squat.
  2. Step under the bar and rest it on the front of your shoulders, against your throat. Take a clean grip just outside your shoulders, or cross your arms, and lift your elbows until your upper arms point forward.
  3. Stand up, take two steps back and set your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly.
  4. Take a big breath, brace your abs and squat straight down. Let your knees travel forward and out over your toes and keep your elbows up.
  5. Go as deep as your heels stay flat and your back stays flat, then stand up through your whole foot. Breathe out near the top.
Setup

Front squat grip: clean, cross-arm or straps

Most stableClean gripHands just outside your shoulders, fingertips under the bar. Needs flexible wrists and lats. The easiest grip to keep elbows high in and to dump the bar from.
Easier on wristsCross-arm gripArms crossed, hands resting on the bar. No wrist bend, but the elbows sag more easily late in a hard set and the bar is harder to push away.
Wrists stiffLifting strapsLoop a strap around the bar on each side and hold the ends. A clean grip position without the wrist bend.
Quick fixWider grip or fewer fingersMove your hands out an inch or let the last two fingers come off the bar. The bar still sits on your shoulders.

No study has compared the grips, so pick the one that keeps your elbows up for the whole set. In all of them the bar rests on the front of your shoulders and your hands only stop it rolling. When your elbows drop, the bar rolls forward and your torso follows it. To miss a rep safely, push the bar forward off your shoulders onto the safety arms.

Torso and depth

Why the front squat keeps you upright

The bar in front of your neck keeps your torso upright because you have to stay balanced. The bar has to stay over the middle of your feet. In a back squat it sits on your upper back, so your hips can travel back and your chest tips forward. With the bar in front, leaning forward pushes it out past your toes, so you stay tall, your hips sink straight down and your knees travel forward.

Lab studies agree. At maximal loads, the back squat showed more trunk lean than the front squat, with the same knee angles (Yavuz 2015). At the same bar weight, moving the load forward reduced trunk lean and pelvic tilt while hip, knee and ankle loading stayed about the same (Goršič 2024).

The upright torso also makes depth easier. Go as deep as your heels and back stay flat, which is below parallel for most lifters. Over 12 weeks, deep squats to 120 degrees of knee bend grew the front of the thigh 4 to 7% more than shallow squats to 60 degrees (Bloomquist 2013). Full squats and half squats grew the quads by the same amount, but full squats grew the glutes and adductors 2 to 3 times as much (Kubo 2019).

Knees past toes

Your knees will travel past your toes at the bottom, and that is fine. In a squat study, stopping the knees at the toes cut knee torque by 22% but raised hip torque more than tenfold (Fry 2003). In a front squat it also tips the bar forward.

Research

Front squat advice that does not hold up

Many front squat guides, including an earlier version of this one, repeat claims the research does not support:

  • Front squats are easier on your lower back. Only because the weight is lighter. At the same bar weight, moving the load forward reduced trunk lean but raised the load on the lower back (Goršič 2024).
  • Sit back and keep your shins vertical. That cue belongs to the back squat. In a front squat, sitting back tips the bar forward. Squat straight down and let your knees go forward (Fry 2003).
  • Front squats build bigger quads than back squats. Overall muscle activity was the same in both (Gullett 2009). The inner quad was more active in the front squat at maximal loads (Yavuz 2015), but over 12 weeks the two grew the outer thigh equally (Enes 2024).
  • You should front squat 80 to 85% of your back squat. That rule comes from weightlifting coaches. The median Gravitus lifter logs about two-thirds (see below).
  • Front squats do not work the glutes. In trained women, glute activity in the front squat matched the parallel and full back squat (Contreras 2016).
Gravitus data

How much weight should you front squat?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 145 lb (65 kg) for 10 reps on the front squat, and the median woman 80 lb (35 kg).

Men, typical 145 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
115 to 180 lb
Top 10% lift
210 lb or more
Starting out
under 115 lb
Women, typical 80 lb for 10 reps
Most lift
60 to 100 lb
Top 10% lift
120 lb or more
Starting out
under 60 lb
Men, typical 65 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
52.5 to 80 kg
Top 10% lift
95 kg or more
Starting out
under 52.5 kg
Women, typical 35 kg for 10 reps
Most lift
25 to 45 kg
Top 10% lift
55 kg or more
Starting out
under 25 kg
PercentileMenWomen
25th150 / 115 lb75 / 60 lb
Median190 / 145 lb105 / 80 lb
75th240 / 180 lb130 / 100 lb
90th280 / 210 lb160 / 120 lb
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 8,248 men and 1,898 women who log the front squat on Gravitus, computed Sep 29, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
PercentileMenWomen
25th70 / 52.5 kg35 / 25 kg
Median87.5 / 65 kg47.5 / 35 kg
75th107.5 / 80 kg60 / 45 kg
90th127.5 / 95 kg72.5 / 55 kg
 One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 8,248 men and 1,898 women who log the front squat on Gravitus, computed Sep 29, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Weights are the bar plus plates. Your upper back and rack position usually give out before your legs, so your front squat will sit well below your back squat. Compare yourself with your own log first.
Gravitus data

Front squat vs back squat: how the weights compare

67%Median man's front squat, of his back squat
65%Median woman's
1 in 9Lifters at 85% or more

Most lifters front squat about two-thirds of their back squat. We compared the best estimated max of 6,800+ men and 1,400+ women who log both lifts in Gravitus (Sep 2026). The median man's front squat was 67% of his back squat, and the middle half ran from 57 to 77%. The median woman's was 65%. Only one lifter in nine reached 85%, the figure most guides quote. A 225 lb (100 kg) back squat predicts about 150 lb (67.5 kg) on the front squat for one rep.

The gap widens with strength. Men who back squat under 225 lb (100 kg) front squat a median 73% of it, and men over 405 lb (185 kg) a median 62%. Part of the gap is practice: many lifters front squat less often and for more reps than they back squat. Treat the ratio as a rough check. If you are well under 60%, your rack position or upper back is likely the limit, not your legs.

Anatomy

Front squat muscles worked

QuadricepsStraighten the knee. The inner quad was more active than in the back squat at maximal loads (Yavuz 2015).
Primary
GlutesExtend the hip. As active as in a parallel or full back squat (Contreras 2016), and they grow more the deeper you go (Kubo 2019).
Secondary
AdductorsExtend the hip at the bottom of a deep squat, more with a wide stance.
Secondary
Spinal erectors and absHold your trunk upright against the bar in front.
Stabilizer
Upper backKeeps your chest up and the bar on your shoulders. Often the first thing to give out.
Stabilizer
HamstringsSteady the knee and hip. Less active than in the back squat (Yavuz 2015).
Stabilizer
Compare

Front squat vs back squat vs goblet squat

Front squatBack squatGoblet squat
Where the load sitsOn your front deltsOn your upper backAt your chest
TorsoUprightLeans forward moreUpright
What limits the weightUpper back, rack positionLegs, hipsGrip, upper back
Knee compressionLowerHigherNot measured
Best forQuad work, Olympic liftsHeaviest loadsLearning to squat, high reps
Verdict

A tie for muscle growth. Over 12 weeks, front and back squats grew the outer thigh equally, while back squats raised leg press strength more (Enes 2024). Front squats recruited the leg muscles as well as back squats with less compression on the knee (Gullett 2009). At the same bar weight, the front squat works the knee harder and the back squat the hip (Krzyszkowski 2020). More in our front squat vs back squat comparison.

Programming

Sets, reps and progression

3-4Sets
5-8Reps
1-3Reps left

Stop each set 1 to 3 reps short of failure, before your elbows drop or your upper back rounds. Sets taken close to failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021), but in the front squat your upper back and breathing often give out before your legs above 8 to 10 reps. Sets of 5 to 8 keep the legs as the limit.

Add reps first. When every set reaches 8, add 5 to 10 lb (2.5 to 5 kg) and go back to 5. Percentage programs work the same way as for the back squat: bar speed at each percentage of the max matched between the two lifts (Spitz 2019).

Form

Common mistakes

Variations

Front squat variations

Pause front squatHold the bottom for 2 to 3 seconds. Harder with less weight, and it trains the rack position.
Heel-elevated front squatHeels on a plate or wedge. More knee and ankle bend, so you can go deeper with stiff ankles.
Smith machine front squatThe rails hold the bar path, so the rack position is the only thing to balance.
Dumbbell Front SquatA dumbbell on each shoulder. Lighter, and easier on the wrists.
Zercher SquatThe bar sits in the crook of your elbows. Front-loaded like a front squat, with no wrist bend.
Goblet SquatOne weight at your chest. The easier way to learn the upright squat.
Barbell back squatThe bar on your upper back. Heavier loads and more hip work.
FAQ

Questions people ask

What muscles do front squats work?

Mainly the quads, with the glutes and adductors helping. Your abs, spinal erectors and upper back hold the bar in place. The hamstrings steady the knee and work less than in a back squat (Yavuz 2015).

Do front squats work glutes?

Yes. Glute activity in the front squat matched the parallel and full back squat in trained women (Contreras 2016). Go deep for more glute growth; full squats grew the glutes 6.7% over 10 weeks, half squats 2.2% (Kubo 2019).

Is front squat better than back squat?

Not for muscle growth. Over 12 weeks both grew the outer thigh equally, and back squats raised leg press strength more (Enes 2024). The front squat is better if you want an upright torso, less knee compression (Gullett 2009) or carryover to the clean.

What percentage of my back squat should I be able to front squat?

Most Gravitus lifters front squat about two-thirds of their back squat. The median was 67% for men and 65% for women in Sep 2026, and only one in nine reached 85%. Well under 60% usually means your rack position or upper back is the limit.

What is a front squat?

A barbell squat with the bar resting on the front of your shoulders instead of your upper back. The bar in front keeps your torso upright and works the quads hard.

How much weight should I front squat?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 145 lb (65 kg) for men and 80 lb (35 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 180 lb (80 kg) and 100 lb (45 kg) or more.

Gravitus See where your front squat ranks

Log every set and see your percentile on every lift, front squat included.

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References
  1. Gullett et al. 2009. J Strength Cond Res 23(1):284-292.
  2. Yavuz et al. 2015. J Sports Sci 33(10):1058-1066.
  3. Goršič et al. 2024. Sports Biomech 23(2):166-181.
  4. Krzyszkowski and Kipp 2020. J Sports Sci 38(17):2005-2012.
  5. Enes et al. 2024. Eur J Sport Sci 24(1):6-15.
  6. Contreras et al. 2016. J Appl Biomech 32(1):16-22.
  7. Fry et al. 2003. J Strength Cond Res 17(4):629-633.
  8. Bloomquist et al. 2013. Eur J Appl Physiol 113(8):2133-2142.
  9. Kubo et al. 2019. Eur J Appl Physiol 119(9):1933-1942.
  10. Spitz et al. 2019. J Strength Cond Res 33(2):301-306.
  11. Schoenfeld et al. 2021. Sports 9(2):32.