Barbell Full Squat

1. Set the bar in a rack at about upper-chest height, step under it, and place it across your upper traps, squeezing your shoulder blades together to build a shelf.
2. Grip the bar just outside your shoulders, stand up to unrack it, and take two or three steps back.
3. Set your feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider, toes turned out 15 to 30 degrees.
4. Take a deep breath into your belly, brace your core, and keep your chest up.
5. Bend your knees and hips together and sit down between your legs, keeping your knees tracking over your toes.
6. Descend under control until your hips drop below the level of your knees, keeping your whole foot flat on the floor.
7. Drive up out of the bottom by pushing the floor away, keeping your chest up and knees out.
8. Stand up fully at the top, exhale, re-brace, and repeat for the desired reps.

Common Mistakes

• Cutting the squat high: stopping above parallel skips the range where the glutes and quads work hardest. If depth is limited, reduce the load and work on ankle and hip mobility rather than stacking plates on a half squat.
• Knees caving inward: letting the knees collapse toward each other under load stresses the knee ligaments. Actively push your knees out in line with your toes, especially out of the bottom position.
• Heels rising off the floor: shifting onto the toes tips you forward and turns the squat into a knee-dominant good morning. Keep your weight spread across the whole foot and drive through mid-foot and heel.
• Losing the brace at the bottom: relaxing the trunk in the hole lets the chest drop and the lower back round. Take a full breath at the top and hold the brace through the entire rep.