Fix your Front Squat

By: Martha Theirl, PT, DPT, Cert- CFMA

Do you find yourself skipping days at the gym where front squat is programmed because you have pain or difficulty getting into position? Read on for a few ways you can improve your front squat technique!

The front squat is a highly beneficial squat variation where you place the load on the front of your shoulders. There’s a few key regions that we need to be working well to optimize the front squat position.

You must have the range of motion to train the range of motion. A few places we need specific ranges of motion for the front squat are the wrists, ankles, thoracic (mid) spine, and shoulders. Below you’ll see some ways to check your mobility immediately followed by something to try if it’s not looking quite right. 

Having pain? Not sure if you’re doing it right? Check in with us to schedule a chat on how we can work together toward your goals! 

Wrists:

Begin with your hand on the ground or a box with fingers facing away from you. With a straight arm, press forward to see if you can reach a 90 deg angle from the hand to the forearm.

Not quite getting the range you hoped for? Use a band on the rig or something else that’s solid to work on mobility here.

Ankles:

Also known as ankle dorsiflexion, or how much knees over toes you have! Begin with hands with distance from the wall, make sure the foot is pointed straight at the wall. Keeping your heel on the ground, press the knee forward until you touch the wall with your knee or your heel comes up. You should be able to touch the wall at this distance.

Can’t do this? Well a banded ankle drill or just simply doing this for reps or holds can be helpful here. Strength of the ankle is also very important.

Shoulders and Elbows:

You need both external rotation and space in the lats here to get into a great position. To look at the shoulder rotation, place your forearm on a rig or wall at shoulder height with elbow bent to 90 deg. Keeping your upright position and elbow on the wall/rig, rotate your hand away. You need about 10-15 degrees of motion here. 

Lacking a bit of strength or range here? The PVC stretch can help, but I like to follow it up with active reps or holds into that rotated position. You can do this right from the PVC as shown!

For the Lats- begin in a cross legged position at the wall. Take a PVC pipe and place your palms down to grip the pipe. Lift it toward the wall- you should be able to touch here with straight arms. Then, fip your grip so palms are facing up to the ceiling. This tightens the lats. Try to touch the wall again. If you can’t, this indicates the lats are restricted. If you’re having trouble here, try foam rolling the lats and then retest. 

For the elbows: With elbows raised to shoulder height bend the elbow to see if your thumb touches your shoulder. This indicates you have enough movement at the shoulder for good front rack positioning. 

A banded elbow flexion on the bar can be helpful to open up mobility, but as always, shouldn’t be painful.

Thoracic Spine:

Begin on the wall with your butt on your heels and elbows on the ground in front of the knees. Without moving away from the wall, twist toward the ceiling. You’d like your shoulders to move 50 degrees from their start position. 

Feeling tight or limited here? Putting a band around you for assistance helps to build mobility and strength at the same time!

If you’re having trouble keeping that uprtight position, isometric holds are a great strength builder. By staying right over your pins, you can tell immediately if you start to drop forward. Hold for 30-45s here and don’t forget to breathe!

Having great foundations will set you up for a long and healthy exercise routine. Create resilience to the finish.

*Disclaimer: This content is provided for educational purposes and is not intended to be specific medical advice. Please consult a licensed professional to address your personal needs.