Front Squat

Muscles worked by the Front Squat

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 Front Squat

1. Clean or rack the bar to your front deltoids with elbows high.
2. Squat down keeping torso upright until thighs are parallel.
3. Drive back up.
4. Repeat.

Form tips

• Maintain high elbows to keep the bar stable.
• A more upright torso increases quad activation.

At a glance

Front Squat in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Barbell Back Squat
• Bodyweight Squat
• Box Squat
• Bulgarian Split Squat
• Dumbbell Front Squat
• Dumbbell Split Squat
• Goblet Squat
• Hack Squat

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": "front-squat",
  "name_en": "Front Squat",
  "name_de": "Front Squat",
  "name_es": "Sentadilla Frontal",
  "description_en": "A barbell squat with the bar held in front on the deltoids, emphasizing quads and core.",
  "description_de": "Eine Kniebeuge mit der Langhantel vorne auf den Deltamuskeln, die Quadrizeps und Rumpf betont.",
  "description_es": "Una sentadilla con barra sostenida al frente sobre los deltoides, enfatizando cuádriceps y core.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "barbell",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "leg_day"
  ],
  "variation_group": "squat",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Clean or rack the bar to your front deltoids with elbows high.",
    "Squat down keeping torso upright until thighs are parallel.",
    "Drive back up.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Reinige oder rack die Stange auf deine vorderen Deltamuskeln mit hohen Ellbogen.",
    "Beuge dich nach unten, halte den Oberkörper aufrecht, bis die Oberschenkel parallel sind.",
    "Drücke zurück hoch.",
    "Wiederholen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Limpia o coloca la barra en los deltoides frontales con los codos altos.",
    "Baja en sentadilla manteniendo el torso erguido hasta que los muslos estén paralelos al suelo.",
    "Vuelve a subir.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Maintain high elbows to keep the bar stable.",
    "A more upright torso increases quad activation."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte die Ellbogen hoch, um die Stange stabil zu halten.",
    "Ein aufrechter Oberkörper erhöht die Quadrizeps-Aktivierung."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén los codos altos para estabilizar la barra.",
    "Un torso más vertical aumenta la activación de los cuádriceps."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/front-squat-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/front-squat-peak.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 === "front-squat");

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.