Overhead Squat (How To, Benefits & Alternatives)

The Overhead Squat is a full-body strength and mobility exercise that challenges your legs, core, shoulders, and upper back all at once. With the barbell held overhead in a wide snatch grip, you squat through a full range of motion while maintaining balance and stability.

This is a highly technical lift that builds body control, improves posture, and carries over to Olympic lifts like the snatch.

Primary Muscles Worked: Quadriceps, Glutes, Core
Secondary Muscles Worked: Shoulders, Upper Back, Erector Spinae, Hip Stabilizers
Equipment Needed: Barbell, Bumper Plates, Lifting Platform or Open Space

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How To Do Overhead Squats

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Set-Up:
   • Start with the barbell in a wide snatch grip—roughly 1.5 to 2 times shoulder width.
   • Press the bar overhead and lock your arms out, pushing the bar slightly behind your head so it’s in line with your shoulders, hips, and heels.
   • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out, and brace your core.
2. Execution:
   • Initiate the squat by pushing your hips back and bending your knees.
   • Keep the bar balanced directly over the middle of your foot throughout the descent.
   • Descend until your hips drop below your knees (full depth), maintaining a tall chest and locked-out arms.
   • Drive through your heels to return to standing, keeping the bar stable and overhead.
3. Tips for Proper Form:
   • Actively press up into the bar throughout the movement to maintain shoulder stability.
   • Keep your torso upright—don’t let the chest fall forward.
   • Move slowly and focus on control, especially when learning the movement.

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Key Benefits

• Builds total-body strength and stability.
• Improves mobility in the shoulders, hips, and ankles.
• Enhances posture and body awareness.
• Transfers well to Olympic lifting and athletic movements.

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Modifications and Variations

• Easier Option:
  • Start with a PVC pipe or empty bar to learn the pattern.
  • Use a wall squat drill or goblet squat to build mobility and depth.
• Harder Option:
  • Add pauses at the bottom.
  • Use tempo (e.g., 3 seconds down, 1-second pause).
  • Incorporate into Olympic lifting complexes (e.g., snatch balance, overhead squat + snatch).

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Common Mistakes

• Losing the Bar Forward or Backward: Keep it stacked over the midfoot and press up the entire time.
• Caving Knees or Collapsing Chest: Keep your knees tracking over toes and chest tall.
• Inadequate Shoulder Mobility: Warm up thoroughly or regress until mobility improves.

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Reps and Sets Recommendations

• For Mobility and Technique: 3–4 sets of 3–5 reps with light weight or empty bar.
• For Strength and Control: 4–5 sets of 3–6 reps at moderate weight.
• In Olympic Lifting Sessions: Use as part of snatch prep or in complexes for overhead stability.

Overhead Squat Variations

Overhead Squat with PVC Pipe

This variation is perfect for both beginners first learning the movement and for anyone who doesn’t have the mobility yet to use a barbell.

Nothing about the movement itself changes, it’s simply done with a PVC Pipe instead of a bar. If you don’t have PVC Pipe, a broomstick works great as well.

DB Overhead Squat

Dumbbell Overhead Squats has two main benefits. Obviously, if you don’t have a barbell, the dumbbell version can be used as a substitute.

The dumbbell variation is best utilized, in my opinion, with a single dumbbell – one arm at a time. Doing Overhead Squats with two dumbbells overhead is incredibly hard – harder than the barbell version.

However, using a single dumbbell is much more forgiving and can be a good progression from a PVC Pipe working towards using a bar.

Overhead Squat Alternatives

Need a substitute for Overhead Squats? Here are a couple of exercises you may be able to use in its place:

(Need more options? Here are some of my favorite Overhead Squat alternatives.)

Goblet Squat

If you’re simply not ready to do Overhead Squats, but you’re looking for a good alternative to warm-up the lower body – give Goblet Squats a try.

They’re convenient because they require very little setup (grab a kettlebell or dumbbell and you’re ready to go) and they are light enough to fit into a warm-up.

Reverse Overhead Lunge

If you really want to do Overhead Squats, but you’re really struggling with the mobility demands of the movement, you may be able to give Reverse Overhead Lunges a try.

The lunge position is a little less demanding on lumbar flexibility for maintaining the bar in the overhead position and I’ve had many athletes use Reverse Overhead Lunges as the start of a progression towards Overhead Squats.

More Links and Info

Looking for more lower body strengthening exercises? You should definitely check out the Lower Body Lifts section of the Horton Barbell Exercise Library. It has dozens of lifts to choose from, all with full instructions.

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