Barbell back squat

1. 1

   Set the bar in the rack at mid-chest height, settle it on your upper back just below your neck and grip it a little wider than your shoulders.

2. 2

   Unrack the bar, take 2 or 3 steps back and set your feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly out.

3. 3

   Take a breath, brace your core and sit down by moving your hips back and down, knees tracking over your toes.

4. 4

   Go as deep as you can while keeping a neutral spine and your heels down, ideally with your thighs at or below knee level.

5. 5

   Stand up by pushing the floor away with your whole foot and breathe out near the top.

• Mistake

  Knees caving in on the way up.

  How to fix it

  Think about spreading the floor with your feet and keep your knees in line with your toes. If you can't, lower the weight.

• Mistake

  Heels lifting at the bottom.

  How to fix it

  Widen your stance a little and only go as low as you can with your heels down. Build depth gradually.

• Mistake

  Hips shooting up before your chest out of the bottom.

  How to fix it

  Lift your chest and hips together, as if pushing your upper back into the bar.

Max strength (3 to 6 reps) only once your form is solid, always with 2 to 3 reps in reserve.

Reps in reserve: how many more reps you could still do with good form when you end the set.

• Smith machine

  The bar runs on a track with hooks at every height. Easier to learn and to train without a spotter.

• Goblet squat

  One dumbbell held at your chest. Helps you stay upright and learn to squat deep.

• Hack squat

  Back supported on a guided track. Takes balance out of the picture and keeps the work in your legs.

• At home: goblet squat with a dumbbell or backpack

  Hold a dumbbell, a large water jug or a weighted backpack against your chest and do the same movement.

• Prefer more stability? Box squat to bench

  Lightly sit on a bench or box at the bottom of each rep, then stand. The bench sets your depth and adds a safety net.

• Smith machine squat

  Gluteus maximus · Smith machine

  Beginner

• Goblet squat

  Gluteus maximus · Dumbbell

  Beginner

• 45-degree leg press

  Gluteus maximus · Machine

  Beginner

• Hack squat

  Quads · Machine

  Beginner

• 

  Gluteus maximus

  56 exercises

• Glute exercises with a barbell

  6 exercises

• Estimate your one-rep max

  For the barbell back squat, from a set you have already done.

• How to grow glutes

  What the science says about sets, exercises and how long it takes.

• Sets and reps

  Currier BS, D'Souza AC, et al. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2026;58(4):851-872.

  Full textPubMedDOI

• Technique

  Kubo K, Ikebukuro T, et al. Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2019;119(9):1933-1942.

  PubMedDOI

• Exercise choice

  Plotkin DL, Rodas MA, et al. Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift. Front Physiol. 2023;14:1279170.

  Full textPubMedDOI

• Exercise choice

  Barbalho M, Coswig V, et al. Back Squat vs. Hip Thrust Resistance-training Programs in Well-trained Women. Int J Sports Med. 2020;41(5):306-310.

  PubMedDOI

• Technique

  Bloomquist K, Langberg H, et al. Effect of range of motion in heavy load squatting on muscle and tendon adaptations. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2013;113(8):2133-2142.

  PubMedDOI