Front Squat (Clean Grip)

Hoist that bar into your front rack like a bear balancing a honey jar on its paws. Stay tall, elbows up, and squat straight down into your den. Your quads will roar, your core will brace like a sturdy tree trunk, and you will stand back up proud and strong.

Instructions

1. Set a barbell in a rack at upper-chest height.
2. Step under the bar and place it across the front delts, close to the throat, resting on the shoulders.
3. Take a clean grip: hands just outside shoulders, fingers under the bar, wrists extended; drive elbows up.
4. Unrack the bar, take 1 to 3 steps back, and set feet about shoulder-width with toes slightly out.
5. Brace your core and keep chest tall, elbows high, and upper back tight.
6. Squat down by bending knees and hips together, keeping heels down and knees tracking over toes.
7. Descend until thighs are at least parallel (or as mobility allows while staying upright).
8. Drive up through midfoot, extend knees and hips, and return to standing without letting elbows drop.
9. Re-rack the bar by stepping forward into the uprights and setting it down under control.

Benefits

• Builds quadriceps strength and size with high knee flexion demand
• Improves squat posture and upper-back strength for bar support
• Develops trunk bracing and anterior core strength under load
• Carries over to Olympic lifting (clean recovery) and athletic leg strength
• Often reduces shear stress compared to back squat due to more upright torso (individual dependent)

Key Points

• Keep elbows high to prevent the bar from rolling forward.
• Brace hard and keep ribs down to maintain a strong torso position.
• Maintain an upright torso; think "sit between your heels" rather than folding forward.
• Keep full-foot pressure (tripod foot) and let knees travel forward as needed.
• Use a controlled descent and a strong, smooth drive up.

Common Mistakes

• Letting elbows drop, causing the bar to roll forward
• Collapsing the upper back or losing thoracic extension
• Heels lifting or shifting weight to toes
• Knees caving inward instead of tracking over toes
• Turning it into a good-morning by leaning forward excessively
• Overextending wrists aggressively instead of supporting the rack with shoulders