Barbell Back Squat

Setup

• Set the bar in the rack at roughly mid-chest height and the safety pins just below your bottom position.
• Step under the bar and place it across the upper back — on the traps for a high bar, on the rear delts for a low bar.
• Grip evenly, lift the chest, and unrack by standing tall. Step back into a stance about shoulder width, toes turned slightly out.

Execution

1. 1.Take a breath and brace the trunk as if bracing for a punch.
2. 2.Break at the hips and knees together, sitting between your feet.
3. 3.Descend under control until the hip crease passes below the top of the knee, or as deep as you can hold position.
4. 4.Drive through the whole foot and stand back to full hip and knee extension.

Breathing

Breathe in and brace at the top, hold through the descent and drive, exhale near lockout.

Form cues

• Brace before the descent, not during it.
• Keep the bar stacked over mid-foot.
• Track the knees out over the toes.
• Push the floor away rather than lifting the chest first.

Common mistakes

• Letting the hips rise faster than the shoulders, turning the squat into a good morning.
• Knees collapsing inward as you leave the bottom.
• Bouncing out of the bottom instead of controlling the turnaround.
• Losing the brace and rounding the lower back under load.