How To Back Squat

Back Squat (How To, Muscles Worked, Benefits)

ByCoach Horton Updated On

The Back Squat is one of the foundational strength training exercises, building total lower-body strength and power while also engaging the core and upper body for stability.

With a barbell placed across the upper back, this compound movement trains the quads, glutes, and hamstrings, making it a staple for athletes, strength development, and general fitness.

Primary Muscles Worked: Quadriceps, Glutes, Hamstrings
Secondary Muscles Worked: Erector Spinae, Core, Upper Back (stabilization)
Equipment Needed: Barbell, Weight Plates, Squat Rack

How To Back Squat

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Set-Up:
    • Position the barbell on a rack at about chest height.
    • Step under the bar and place it across your upper back (traps for high-bar, rear delts for low-bar).
    • Grip the bar firmly, engage your lats and lift it out of the rack.
    • Step back into your stance with feet roughly shoulder-width apart, toes slightly out.
  2. Execution:
    • Brace your core and keep your chest tall.
    • Begin the squat by bending your knees and hips at the same time, lowering until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground (or deeper if mobility allows).
    • Keep your weight evenly distributed through your whole foot.
    • Drive through your feet to stand back up, maintaining balance and posture.
  3. Tips for Proper Form:
    • Keep knees in line with your toes. Don’t let them collapse inward.
    • Maintain a neutral spine; avoid rounding your back.
    • Use controlled depth that matches your mobility and strength.

Key Benefits

  • Builds lower-body strength and size.
  • Improves core stability and athletic performance.
  • One of the most functional lifts for overall strength development.

Modifications and Variations

  • Easier Option:
    • Start with a goblet squat using a dumbbell or kettlebell.
    • Use lighter loads and focus on depth and technique.
  • Harder Option:
    • Increase load progressively.
    • Add pause squats (hold at the bottom for 2–3 seconds).
    • Perform tempo squats (slow eccentric phase).

Common Mistakes

  • Leaning Too Far Forward: Keep chest tall and core braced.
  • Heels Coming Off the Floor: Push through the whole foot, not the toes.
  • Collapsing Knees Inward: Focus on driving knees out in line with toes.
  • Cutting Depth Short: Go as low as mobility and strength safely allow.

Reps and Sets Recommendations

  • For Strength: 4–6 sets of 3–6 reps with heavy load.
  • For Hypertrophy: 3–4 sets of 6–12 reps with moderate load.
  • For Endurance/Conditioning: 2–3 sets of 12–20 reps with lighter load.

Back Squat Variations

Several back squat variations are utilized by athletes and coaches either as teaching tools for technical cues, or as variations to train different effects.

Pin Squats

Pin squats are popular for athletes who have trouble keeping their weight balanced over their mid-foot, have issues with their hips shooting back out of the hole, or struggle to hit consistent depth. In executing a pin squat, the athlete sets the safeties to appropriate depth, and performs the eccentric phase of the squat until the bar gently touches the pins.

Upon the bar making contact with the pins, the athlete comes to a dead stop and then executes the concentric phase. Make sure not to relax when the bar touches the pins – maintain a braced midsection and back throughout the movement.

Pause Squats

Pause squats are a good variation for athletes who struggle with maintaining tension in the hole or just out of the hole.

In executing a pin squat, the athlete executes the eccentric phase of the squat until they hit appropriate depth, bring the bar to a dead stop for one-three seconds, and execute the concentric phase. Both Pause Squats and Pin Squats take away the stretch-shortening cycle and force the athlete to accelerate the bar from a dead stop out of the hole.

Squats with Bands or Chains

Squats with Bands or Chains are commonly used to train athletes’ rate of force development. The bands and chains are a means of providing accommodating resistance to the training load, in which the combined resistance of the bar and bands or chains increases as the athlete elevates the bar.

In practical settings, coaches use these variations with relatively little bar weight compared to band or chain weight, and cue the athletes to lift the bar as fast as possible.

Back Squat Alternatives

(based on injury and equipment limitations)

Squat alternatives are typically used to work around various injuries.

Want more options? Here are 10 Back Squat alternatives that can develop leg strength.

Belt Squats

Belt Squats provide the athlete with a means of training their lower body while taking strain off of their backs; an application that is useful for both injured and health athletes.

Safety Bar Squats

Safety Bar Squats are useful for athletes with upper body injuries who cannot grip a barbell with both hands.

Final Thoughts

To wrap it all up, the Back Squat is a fundamental piece of any athlete’s strength and conditioning program. Training it provides an excellent return on athlete’s hypertrophy, strength, power, and coordination.

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Ryan Horton is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) who has served as both a Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and as the Director of Sports Science during his 20 year career at elite collegiate programs including the University of Tennessee, Temple University and Georgia Tech. He also holds an Exercise Science degree from Otterbein College where he was captain of the football team.