Sit Down, Man - Part 2: Squat variations for trainees of all levels

As this is part 2, it would probably be a wise idea for you to read part 1 first (or do whatever you want because you are a strong independent individual who is in charge of their own destiny; yeah, you go girl).

Now you have a good grasp of the high and low bar back squats (or at least have the required information available to you) we are going to introduce some more variants. This is not (solely) because I'm a sadist and want to point and laugh as you use hobble around the day after trying these, but because all of these variants are effective for different goals and have a valuable place in many training programmes. Please don't mistake me though, back squats are indispensable for most and you can build a great physique and get seriously strong without ever straying from them. These lifts just allow you to add some variety to your routine (I would say fun, but I think that only applies to those with a masochistic streak).

The Front Squat

Staple of Olympic lifters and Dave Croles world over, the front squat separates the men from the boys (and the women from the girls? I might need a new idiom).

Bar position and set up - The non-retarded amongst you might have picked up that the back squat is so-called because the bar rests across the back of your shoulders, so let's have a guess where the bar goes in a front squat. That's right; across the front of your shoulders (hopefully you got that right; otherwise reading about lifting weights, actually lifting weights or simply reading are likely above your abilities). In the front squat you want  the bar to be resting in the meaty meaty fronts of your shoulders (your front deltoid), not the bony part. The bar should be tight up against your Adam's apple (or lack thereof) and your chin should be retracted (or 'neck packed'). Your feet should be as in a high bar back squat, or slightly closer

Grip - There is a choice of hand placement when front squatting, the clean grip or the cross-body grip. I personally use the clean grip as I find it much more stable, but many people lack the flexibility to use it effectively. To set a clean grip, hold the bar symmetrically just outside shoulder width before moving under the bar. Now pull yourself into position under the bar and push your chest up and elbows high; the bar should be in the position described above, your elbows should be high, directly in front of your shoulders, your wrists should be bent backwards towards the floor and just your fingertips should be under the bar. Sound uncomfortable? It might be at first, but once you get used to it, it's incredibly stable and looks bad-ass.

US Olympic lifting beast Kendrick Farris showing the clean grip (this is pretty wide) in the bottom position of a front squat.

Your other option if you are too inflexible to get the clean grip to work or as some people find, it gives you a bit of elbow pain, is the cross-bar grip. To set the cross bar grip, you will get under the bar and set the positioning first, you will then reach across your body to the opposite shoulder with each arm and place a hand on top of the bar. It's important to note that you are not grasping the bar, simply placing your hand on it to secure it.

Golden era bodybuilder Dave Draper using the cross-bar grip

The movement - as before, big breath, tense the core, keep the chest up and importantly here keep the elbows high (whichever grip you are using). If you let your elbows come down too far, you will either drop the weight in front of you or find yourself supporting the entirety with your arms. The front squat is more of a straight up and down movement that back squatting, most of the movement takes place at the knee and the torso remains fairly upright. Due to this, front squats tend to be more friendly to the lower back, they also engage your abdominal muscles to a much greater extent. It is generally easier to hit depth on front squats due to the shift in centre of mass, so you should squat ass to grass before reversing the motion. Again drive through the heels, force the knees out and here you will want to drive the elbows up as well to prevent yourself folding in two like a deck chair. You'll likely notice after a few sets that this motion of driving the elbows up requires a good amount of upper back strength. This is why I love front squats, they expose weak links; you need strong abs and upper back to stay upright in addition to strong quads to power yourself up. Fear not though; start light, work up and the results will be great.

It's a video of me again, lucky you. Clean grip, ass to grass:

Goblet Squats

Goblet squats are a useful regression, teaching tool or finisher for squat workouts. Goblet squats are one of the easiest forms of squat to learn and can help ingrain the groove of proper technique, they are also useful as a warm-up.

The set up - grab a dumbbell and place it on its end on a bench so the handle is vertical. Grab under the top weight plate with with both hands so that your palms support the weight evenly and your fingers are point up the side of the weight. Bring the weight to just under your chin. You should look like you are about to take a gulp from a bloody massive goblet of wine (you lad, you) hence the name. Alternatively use a kettlebell and grasp the handles.

The movement - this is identical to a back squat. Shoulder blades back, chest out, break at the hips first, push the hips back whilst bending the knees to descend. You should descend to the point where your elbows are inside your knees. If you are doing the movement as a warm up you may want to move slightly side to side and up and down when in the bottom position to loosen your hips for further squatting. The reversal should be as before, push through the heels and drive the hips and shoulders up at the same rate, finishing the movement by using the glutes to push the hips through.


Paused Squats

These aren't for the faint of heart. The concept is simple, but the extrusion is brutal.
You can perform these for any of the squat types outlined so far (although it is somewhat pointless with goblets). You set up exactly as you would for a regular squat; get tight (this is extra, extra important here), descend to the lowest position, then you stop. Yep, stop. Stay tight, hold the position for anywhere from a 2 count to a 10 count, then as powerfully as you can, explode upwards in exactly the same manner you would in a regular squat.

The reason these are so hard is the 'breaking of the kinetic chain'. When you perform a regular squat, you take advantage of the elastic stretch reflex in your muscle, even if you don't realise you are. The isometric hold at the bottom position in paused squats is long enough that you no longer can use the stretch reflex and have to initiate the movement from a dead stop; this takes a lot of effort. Secondly the bottom position is hardest part of the squat in which to stay tight, stopping here for a few seconds forces you to really focus on staying tight, so has great benefits for your stability.

I wouldn't recommend you try these until you are very comfortable with squat technique and can lift some respectable numbers. When you do come to give them a go, my suggestion is to use around 60% of your respective rep max, pausing for an honest 3 count in the hole and working in the 3-6 rep range.

No discussion of paused squats (or fronties) would be complete without watching a video of Klokov being the ultimate male:

Jump Squats

Again, not for the faint of heart and not for those who don't have solid technique and decent strength already. These, like paused squats are beautifully simple in premise and brutally effective in practice.

Using a high bar squat (low bar can fall off too easily and front will probably hit you in the chin), set up and descend as usual. Once you hit depth explode with all the force you can muster out of the hole and all the way through the upwards motion until you soar gloriously to a majestic height of about 4 inches off the floor. Land, reset your feel if necessary and repeat.

I like to actively pull the bar down into my traps when performing these as this prevents the bar from leaving your shoulders and landing in a potentially painful spot. As with pause squats, start low with the weight you use; 50-60% of your respective rep max for 3-6 reps works well. For real masochists, pause squats and jump squats can be combined ...enjoy that one.