Barbell Back Squat
The gold-standard strength builder — a bodyweight squat with the bar teaching you honesty.
Setup
- Bar on the upper traps, hands just outside the shoulders.
- Feet shoulder width, toes turned out slightly.
How To Do It
- Brace, unrack, and take two steps back.
- Sit down between the hips until the crease of the hip passes the knee.
- Drive the floor away, keeping the bar over mid-foot.
Breathing
Big breath at the top, hold it down, exhale past the hardest point.
Common Mistakes
- Knees caving in — push them out against the arch of the foot.
- Letting the chest drop faster than the hips out of the bottom.
Programming It
Three to five sets of 3-6 for strength, three to four of 6-10 for size. It costs the most to recover from, so count it in your weekly total.
Why This Exercise Works
The back squat loads the quads, glutes and spinal erectors through a long range at the same time. No other lift asks that much of that much simultaneously, which is why it drives whole-body strength and why it costs the most to recover from. Both of those facts should shape where you put it in the week.
Where You Should Feel It
Quads and glutes through the whole range, adductors at the bottom, and the upper back working hard to keep the bar where you put it. You should feel your feet gripping the floor. Feeling it mostly in the lower back means the torso is folding forward faster than the hips are dropping.
Where It Fits in a Program
The gold-standard strength builder — a bodyweight squat with the bar teaching you honesty. Everything else in the session should be arranged around this one.
Progressing and Regressing It
To progress the barbell back squat: add 2.5kg a side, or add a set before you add load. To regress it: squat to a box at a height you own, or switch to a goblet squat and rebuild the position.
Who It's For
Anyone chasing lower body strength, and anyone who wants one lift that tells them whether their training is working. It is not compulsory: if your hips or back will not tolerate it, a trap bar deadlift or belt squat builds the same legs without the spinal load.
Equipment and Substitutions
As written here it uses a barbell and a rack. Without a barbell, load the same pattern with dumbbells or a machine from the list below and accept a smaller top-end number.
Related Exercises
- Goblet Squat — Legs, Glutes, Core
- Bodyweight Squat — Legs, Glutes, Core
- Walking Lunge — Legs, Glutes, Conditioning
- Reverse Lunge — Legs, Glutes, Balance
- Zercher Squat — Quads, Glutes, Core, Upper Back
- Landmine Squat — Quads, Glutes, Core
- Sled Push — Legs, Glutes, Conditioning
- Paused Goblet Squat — Quads, Glutes, Core
Common Questions
What muscles does the barbell back squat work?
The barbell back squat primarily trains the legs, glutes, core.
How many sets and reps should I do?
Three to five sets of 3-6 for strength, three to four of 6-10 for size. It costs the most to recover from, so count it in your weekly total.
What are the most common barbell back squat mistakes?
Most often: knees caving in; letting the chest drop faster than the hips out of the bottom.
Do I need a barbell and a rack to do this?
This version uses a barbell and a rack, and it trains the legs, glutes, core. If there is no bar free, the dumbbell and machine versions below are honest substitutes — the bar mainly buys you load, not a different stimulus.
Is this safe if I have an existing injury?
The barbell back squat loads the knee and ankle, so stiff ankles or an irritable knee will show up early. Sharp pain at a single point is the one to stop for; a general burn is not. Not medical advice.