Back squat
/ bæk skwɒt / · noun
Also: high-bar back squat, low-bar back squat
A barbell movement in which the bar rests across the upper back and the athlete descends by flexing at the hips and knees, then returns to standing. The back squat is a foundational lower-body strength lift in nearly every hybrid training program: it underwrites the leg drive used in wall ball, thruster, sandbag carries, and most race-day movements that demand repeated triple extension under load.
Bar position: high-bar vs. low-bar
Two bar positions, two distinct movement patterns:
- High-bar back squat: bar sits on the upper trapezius. Torso stays more vertical, knees travel further forward, quads do more of the work. Used in Olympic weightlifting and most CrossFit programming.
- Low-bar back squat: bar sits on the rear deltoids, roughly two inches lower. Torso angles forward, hips travel further back, posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, low back) does more of the work. Used in powerlifting where the goal is maximum load.
For hybrid athletes, the high-bar version transfers more directly to race-day movements (the front-rack of a thruster mirrors the upright torso of a high-bar squat). The low-bar version produces higher 1RM numbers but at the cost of pattern specificity.
Standards by discipline
- Powerlifting (IPF): 1RM tested in competition. Depth standard: top of the hip crease below the top of the knee.
- CrossFit: hip crease below knee crease. Tested in benchmarks like "1RM Back Squat" and integrated into many hero WODs.
- HYROX: not directly tested. Strength carries over via sled push, sled pull, sandbag lunges, and wall ball.
- USAW (weightlifting): not contested, but trained as accessory work for the snatch and clean.
Movement breakdown
- Setup: bar at upper-back position, hands gripped just outside shoulder width, feet roughly shoulder width with toes turned out 10–15°. Brace the trunk before unracking.
- Descent: initiate by pushing the hips back and bending the knees simultaneously. Knees track over the toes. Descend until the hip crease is below the top of the knee.
- Drive: push the floor away through the mid-foot. Hips and chest rise together: if the hips rise faster, the squat becomes a good morning under load.
Common mistakes
- Knee valgus (knees caving in): usually a strength deficit in the glute medius or a cue problem. The cue "spread the floor with the feet" tends to resolve it within a session.
- Butt wink (posterior pelvic tilt at depth): from limited hip mobility, ankle mobility, or excessive depth for the athlete's structure. Squat to the depth the athlete can hold a neutral spine, not deeper.
- Heel rise: ankle mobility limit. Lifting shoes with a raised heel solve the symptom; targeted ankle mobility work solves the cause.
- Hips rising faster than the chest: a weak upper back or insufficient bracing. Pause squats at the bottom expose this and train it out.
Programming
Suchomel and colleagues (2018) reviewed the case for prioritizing maximal strength as a base for nearly every athletic quality. For hybrid athletes pursuing concurrent training, that means treating the back squat as a year-round anchor:
- Strength block: 3–5 sets of 3–5 reps at 80%+ 1RM, 1–2× per week.
- Hypertrophy block: 3–4 sets of 6–12 reps at 65–80% 1RM. Schoenfeld et al. (2019) found higher weekly set volume drives hypertrophy more than strength gains.
- Race-prep block: reduce volume, maintain intensity. Heavy doubles or triples once per week preserve strength while leaving recovery capacity for run/conditioning work.
Equipment notes
A standard 45 lb (20 kg) barbell with 2 inch (50 mm) sleeves accommodates competition plates. Squat shoes with a raised heel (typically 0.5–0.75 inch (12–19 mm)) allow more upright torso for athletes with limited ankle dorsiflexion. A power rack with adjustable safeties is the standard setup for solo training near 1RM.
Sources
- The Importance of Muscular Strength: Training Considerations
- Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed.
- Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men