Unlock Explosive Leg Strength: Why We Love the Front Barbell Squat

Resurrecting Yet Another Forgotten Exercise

Resurrecting yet another forgotten exercise.

I had the good fortune to start off my iron career as an Olympic weightlifter. I was also fortunate to come up in a time when athletes were not overwhelmed with the curse of too many choices. Nowadays, those seeking to increase power and strength, add lean muscle mass, and improve human performance are presented with a seemingly unlimited number of attractive alternatives. How is the earnest trainee, someone ready, willing, and able to put in the work and exert the effort, supposed to find the strength and power golden needle buried deep within a voluminous haystack?

Sophisticated Simplicity and the Old Iron Game

Back in the 1960s we had very little information, but the information we had was uniformly barebones and rock solid. Our informational sources were limited, but as it turned out, my mentors gave timeless advice that still forms the backbone of what I believe and practice to this day. Those ancient strength strategies form the irreducible core of my philosophy. I would label the approach they passed along to me as “sophisticated simplicity.”

I took my earliest training cues from men like John McCallum, Tommy Suggs, Morris Weisbrott, Bill Starr, Bob Bednarski, and John Grimek. Every month these men offered up hardcore training advice in well-written articles that appeared in the muscle mags: Strength & Health, Muscle Builder and Iron Man. The progressive resistance approach of the day was to combine backbreaking work with crude tools powered by minimalistic training templates.

One profound gift they gave me that still resonates to this day was the progressive resistance training emphasis on the full barbell squat, both front and back. Out of all the progressive resistance exercises, the barbell squat was singled out as the undisputed King. My mentors stated unequivocally that leg power was the key to human power, and proper squatting was the key to leg power. As a teenage Olympic weightlifter, I routinely practiced back squats and ultra-deep front squats. The squats were done in both paused style and “rebound-and-go” style.

Why Olympic Lifters Loved the Front Squat

My coaches mocked weak-legged weightlifters that got pinned and were unable to come erect from the bottommost position of a squat clean. This inability to “recover,” meaning to come erect from a deep squat with the weight plates and barbell racked on the shoulders prior to jerking a barbell overhead, was overcome by routinely practicing deep front squats. The favored rep range was three to five reps, with an occasional 8-rep set thrown in, or, more likely, a limit single.

Our group of training partners would, in turn, work up to one all-out top set in each exercise and then, as a group, move on to the next exercise. We did not do multiple top sets with a static poundage in any exercise. There was no 5 x 5 or 8 x 3 or 3 x 8 using the same poundage on all the top sets. Our training menu was so extensive we did not have time to use multiple top sets as we worked our way through whole-body routines.

A typical training session would go as follows: clean and press, power snatch, clean and jerk, front or back squat, bench press, deadlift, biceps curls, and triceps dips. This was a lot of work, and this routine would take two solid hours for a group of four to six lifters, working round robin, to complete.

I was schooled and hardened in this high-intensity, high-volume approach. In each session, you performed your lifts in front of your training partners. On every set of every exercise you performed in front of men whose opinions you respected and valued. Their opinion was based solely on how you performed under a maximum poundage. Did you step up or wilt? It was easy to generate 102% effort under those circumstances.

We would train using this identical training template twice a week, and on a third day we would gather to perform maximum single reps in the press, snatch, clean and jerk, back squat, front squat, power clean, or deadlift. Most of us would total out in the three Olympic lifts.

The Front Squat Forces Honesty

Front squatting was a regular part of my early training, and to this day I am a huge proponent. The main advantage of the ultra-deep front squat is that it works the legs over a maximally extended range of motion and, most importantly, it encourages honest squat technique. If the front squatter bends forward while ascending the payload, the barbell will pop off the shoulders and fall to the floor. This technical anomaly forces the front squatter to fight for an upright torso.

When proper technique is combined with maximum pain-free depth, optimal results can occur.

You do not just start off doing perfect barbell front squats on the very first set in the very first session. Learning to front squat properly is as complex as learning a baseball bat swing, tennis serve or golf swing. In the optimal front squat, the trainee sits between the legs as he descends. The torso is kept as upright as humanly possible on both descent and ascent; the elbows are held high as the barbell wedges against the throat and shoulders.

The front squat is awkward at first because the bar is in front of the body and the lifter cannot hide sloppy mechanics as easily. The front squat rewards posture, balance, tightness, leg drive, and mental focus. It punishes forward lean, loose elbows and timid descent.

Finding the Stance That Lets You Drop Deep

Most men pinch their stance when learning to front squat. Ideally, you need to experiment with stance width, allowing the gut to drop between the thighs, enabling a deeper squat. Beware: when you open your stance width and learn to drop down fully and completely, you will likely be “leg weak.” You are working in a stance width that is new to you and where you have very little leg leverage. The good news is that when working with a new stance width, leg strength can come up rapidly.

Do not force one stance, one shin angle or one depth onto every body. The goal is the deepest pain-free, technically controlled front squat you can own while maintaining balance, posture and bar position. Some lifters will sit deeper than others. Some will need more ankle mobility, front-rack mobility, or time under the empty bar. Technique is earned.

Start With the Empty Bar

Start front squatting with an empty 45-pound weightlifting bar. Do not add any poundage until you are able to perform three sets of eight perfect, cookie-cutter reps. Go all the way down, within your pain-free and controlled range, and hold the bottommost position for a beat before arising. Knees are pinned out during the descent and ascent. Inhale between reps. Breathe “as if trying to suck all the air out of the room.”

Once you master the 45-pound empty barbell, once you can perform perfect front squats for three sets of eight reps, add 10 pounds per session, but only when the technique earns the increase. In ten successful sessions, you could be handling 145 pounds for 8 perfect, cookie-cutter front squat reps.

Fast progress is fine when the lifter is technically clean, healthy, and recovering. Fast progress is not fine when the front rack collapses, the knees dive inward, the heels rise, the back rounds, or the lifter turns every rep into an ugly survival act.

The Classic Three-Set Warm-Up Sequence

The classic warm-up sequence is simple:

• First set: 50% of the max poundage used in that session
• Second set: 75%
• Third set, the top set: 100%

If a trainee was scheduled to squat 100 pounds for 8 reps on the top set, the three-set poundage selection would be: first set, 50 pounds; second set, 75 pounds; third set, 100 pounds for 8 reps.

One helpful hint: on set one and again on set three, we suggest performing a full 8-rep set. On the 75% second set, the middle set, do not perform 8 reps, as that would sap strength better reserved for the third and final set. Usually the experienced squatter will perform three or four reps with the interim second set. The idea is to feel the weight, yet not expend power that could be better used on the final all-out top set.

No one does barbell front squats anymore. They are awkward, difficult, complex, and maximally taxing — exactly the traits that make front squats so effective. A ten-week cycle of front squats can powerize your legs in ways you might not imagine. Play with your stance width until you find the sweet spot that allows you to drop deep while maintaining balance, a tall torso and a strong front-rack position.

Goblet Squats as a Front Squat Precursor

Many trainees find the kettlebell goblet squat makes a great precursor to barbell front squatting. The tool is secondary to the technique and the tactics. The goblet squat teaches the lifter to sit down between the legs, stay tall, keep the elbows inside the knees, and learn what depth feels like before the barbell is introduced.

If you want to take your leg strength to the next level, subject yourself to ten weeks of serious front squatting. Do no other thigh exercise during this short specialization phase if you want the cleanest test. Concentrate 100% of your thigh-training effort on conquering this technically difficult, maximally beneficial, killer leg exercise.

Let us not allow front squats to become extinct. This exercise is far too effective and productive to end up on the exercise trash heap, along with the bent press and the two-hand-anyhow. Give front squatting a test drive for ten weeks. You can thank me later.

Equipment Notes for Front Barbell Squat Training

The front barbell squat requires simple tools: a dependable bar, secure loading, collars, a safe start height, and enough space to miss or rerack without chaos.

For front squat training, lifters and facilities can compare Olympic weightlifting bars, weight plates, barbell collars, and squat stands and modular racks.

A setup might include Legend Fitness Commercial Adjustable Squat Stands, a bar such as the IRON COMPANY Iron Cowboy Powerlifting Bar, secure collars such as Lock-Jaw The Machine Barbell Collars and durable loading such as IRON COMPANY Premium Rubber Bumper Plates, when those tools match the lifter, room, and training style.

The equipment does not create the front squat. The lifter, the stance, the rack position, the depth, the discipline, and the willingness to master an awkward movement create the result.

Safety Note for Deep Front Squats and Fast Progression

Deep front squats should be earned. Use a pain-free range of motion, conservative progression, secure collars, a clear training area, safe rack height, and a load that allows the lifter to keep the elbows high and torso controlled.

Stop or scale back for sharp knee, hip, ankle, wrist, shoulder, back, or neck pain; dizziness; numbness; loss of bar position; repeated forward collapse; uncontrolled descent; or any rep that becomes a different lift than the one being trained.

Front-rack mobility varies. Lifters with wrist, elbow, shoulder, thoracic spine or previous injury limitations may need coaching, modified grip options or a different squat variation. This article preserves Marty Gallagher’s RAW front squat philosophy and Olympic-lifting experience. It is not individualized medical, rehabilitation, or programming advice.

Related Squat Reading

For the broader Marty Gallagher squat philosophy, read KING SQUAT! A Signature Squat Technique Used By World Champions. For another deep dive into squat method and purpose, read King Squat: Why We Squat the Way We Do.

RAW with Marty Gallagher, J.P. Brice, and Jim Steel Podcast.

About the Author: Marty Gallagher

As an athlete Marty Gallagher is a national and world champion in Olympic lifting and powerlifting. He was a world champion team coach in 1991 and coached Black's Gym to five national team titles. He's also coached some of the strongest men on the planet including Kirk Karwoski when he completed his world record 1,003 lb. squat. Today he teaches the US Secret Service and Tier 1 Spec Ops on how to maximize their strength in minimal time. As a writer since 1978 he’s written for Powerlifting USA, Milo, Flex Magazine, Muscle & Fitness, Prime Fitness, Washington Post, Dragon Door and now IRON COMPANY. He’s also the author of multiple books including Purposeful Primitive, Strong Medicine, Ed Coan’s book Coan, The Man, the Myth, the Method and numerous others. Read the Marty Gallagher biography here.