Barbell Isometric Squat Hold

Muscles worked by the Barbell Isometric Squat Hold

Primary

GlutesGluteus MaximusQuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Secondary

Lower BackErector SpinaeHamstringsHamstring Muscles

Also called: glute, glutes, gluteus maximus, buttocks, butt, quad.

Equipment

Barbell

Also called: bar, olympic barbell, straight bar, olympic bar, power bar.

How to do the Barbell Isometric Squat Hold

1. Set the bar on your upper back, grip it just outside your shoulders and step back from the rack with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
2. Take a big breath into your belly, brace your core and keep your chest tall.
3. Sit down and back until your thighs are about parallel to the floor or a little below, with your knees tracking over your toes.
4. Stop at the bottom and hold the position, with your weight over the middle of your feet.
5. Keep your back flat and your knees pushed out while you hold for the planned time.
6. Drive up through your feet to stand, then rack the bar.

Form tips

• Use safety arms or pins set just below your bottom position, since a long hold at depth is tiring.
• Choose a lighter bar than your working squat weight; holding for time is harder than it looks.
• Keep the knees pushed out over the toes instead of letting them collapse inward as you tire.

At a glance

Barbell Isometric Squat Hold in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Balance Dome Squat
• Balance Dome Squat Hold
• Banded Squat
• Barbell Back Squat
• Barbell Box Squat
• Barbell Bulgarian Split Squat
• Barbell Zercher Hold
• Barbell Zercher Squat Hold

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "barbell-isometric-squat-hold",
  "name_en": "Barbell Isometric Squat Hold",
  "name_de": "Langhantel-Kniebeuge Iso-Halt",
  "name_es": "Sentadilla Isométrica con Barra",
  "description_en": "An isometric version of the barbell back squat: you squat down with the bar on your upper back and hold the bottom position. The quadriceps, glutes and the muscles that keep your back rigid stay under tension at the deepest, hardest point of the squat.",
  "description_de": "Eine isometrische Variante der Langhantel-Kniebeuge mit der Stange im Nacken: Du gehst in die Hocke und hältst die untere Position. Quadrizeps, Gesäßmuskeln und die Muskeln, die deinen Rücken stabil halten, stehen am tiefsten und schwersten Punkt der Kniebeuge unter Spannung.",
  "description_es": "Una versión isométrica de la sentadilla trasera con barra: bajas en sentadilla con la barra sobre la parte alta de la espalda y mantienes la posición baja. Los cuádriceps, los glúteos y los músculos que mantienen la espalda rígida permanecen bajo tensión en el punto más profundo y difícil de la sentadilla.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "barbell",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "strength",
    "endurance"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "leg_day"
  ],
  "variation_group": "squat",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Set the bar on your upper back, grip it just outside your shoulders and step back from the rack with your feet about shoulder-width apart.",
    "Take a big breath into your belly, brace your core and keep your chest tall.",
    "Sit down and back until your thighs are about parallel to the floor or a little below, with your knees tracking over your toes.",
    "Stop at the bottom and hold the position, with your weight over the middle of your feet.",
    "Keep your back flat and your knees pushed out while you hold for the planned time.",
    "Drive up through your feet to stand, then rack the bar."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege die Stange auf deinen oberen Rücken, greife sie knapp außerhalb der Schultern und gehe mit etwa schulterbreit stehenden Füßen vom Rack zurück.",
    "Atme tief in den Bauch, spanne den Rumpf an und halte die Brust aufrecht.",
    "Setze dich nach unten und hinten, bis die Oberschenkel etwa parallel zum Boden oder etwas tiefer sind, die Knie dabei über den Zehen.",
    "Stoppe unten und halte die Position, dein Gewicht über der Fußmitte.",
    "Halte den Rücken gerade und die Knie nach außen gedrückt, während du für die geplante Zeit hältst.",
    "Drücke dich über die Füße nach oben in den Stand und lege die Stange dann ins Rack."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Coloca la barra sobre la parte alta de la espalda, agárrala justo por fuera de los hombros y da un paso atrás desde el rack con los pies separados aproximadamente al ancho de los hombros.",
    "Toma una gran bocanada de aire hacia el abdomen, contrae el core y mantén el pecho elevado.",
    "Siéntate hacia atrás y abajo hasta que los muslos queden aproximadamente paralelos al suelo o algo por debajo, con las rodillas en línea con las puntas de los pies.",
    "Detente abajo y mantén la posición, con el peso sobre el centro de los pies.",
    "Mantén la espalda recta y las rodillas empujadas hacia fuera mientras aguantas el tiempo previsto.",
    "Empuja con los pies para ponerte de pie y luego deja la barra en el rack."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Use safety arms or pins set just below your bottom position, since a long hold at depth is tiring.",
    "Choose a lighter bar than your working squat weight; holding for time is harder than it looks.",
    "Keep the knees pushed out over the toes instead of letting them collapse inward as you tire."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Nutze Sicherheitsarme oder Pins knapp unter deiner unteren Position, denn ein langer Halt in der Tiefe ist ermüdend.",
    "Wähle eine leichtere Stange als dein Arbeitsgewicht bei der Kniebeuge; Halten auf Zeit ist schwerer, als es aussieht.",
    "Drücke die Knie über die Zehen nach außen, statt sie bei Ermüdung nach innen einknicken zu lassen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Usa los brazos o pines de seguridad colocados justo por debajo de tu posición baja, ya que un aguante largo en profundidad resulta agotador.",
    "Elige una barra más ligera que tu peso de trabajo en sentadilla; aguantar por tiempo es más difícil de lo que parece.",
    "Mantén las rodillas empujadas hacia fuera sobre las puntas de los pies en lugar de dejar que se cierren hacia dentro cuando te canses."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/barbell-isometric-squat-hold-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "barbell-isometric-squat-hold");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.