Barbell Full Squat

How to do the barbell full squat with proper form to build glutes and leg strength

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How to perform

1. Set up with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly outward, and the bar resting across your upper back on your traps or rear delts.
2. Grip the bar firmly, brace your core, and keep your chest up as you begin the descent.
3. Push your hips back and down as if sitting into a chair, bending at the knees and hips at the same time.
4. Lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor or slightly below, keeping your knees tracking over your toes and your weight in your heels.
5. Pause briefly at the bottom, then drive through your heels and extend your hips and knees to stand back up.
6. Exhale as you rise, inhale on the way down, and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Muscles worked

The full squat is a compound lower-body lift that builds the entire chain: the deep range of motion puts the glutes through a long stretch, while the quads, hamstrings and calves share the load and the core keeps the spine rigid.

• Glutes — extend the hips and drive you out of the bottom
• Quadriceps — extend the knees and control the descent
• Hamstrings — stabilize the knee and work in the deep position
• Calves — keep the ankles stable throughout
• Core — braces the spine under load

Make it easier

Use a lighter bar, switch to a goblet squat or a front squat, or lower down to a box at parallel height until your form is solid. Reducing the depth slightly also helps when mobility is limited.

Make it harder

Add weight, pause for two seconds in the bottom position, or slow the lowering phase to a three-second count. You can also work on squatting to a depth well below parallel to increase the range of motion.

Common mistakes

Mistake: Letting the knees cave inward on the way up. Fix: push the knees out and keep them tracking over the toes. Mistake: Rounding the lower back at the bottom. Fix: brace the core hard and keep the chest up throughout. Mistake: Heels lifting off the floor. Fix: press through the midfoot and work on ankle mobility. Mistake: Cutting depth short and only doing half reps. Fix: lower until the thighs reach at least parallel on every rep.