Jan 16, 2012
Do you come forward on your front squats? I know I had that problem for awhile. Coming forward will often cause you to lose the bar forward even if your legs are strong enough to lift the weight. There are three ways that I approached fixing my problem. The first is mobility work. I found that my hips and ankles were very tight, thus limiting my ability to squat deeply without coming forward.
The second way was adding in back extensions and reverse hypers to my training. These two assistance exercises helped me to strengthen my hamstrings and glutes; therefore making me strong at the bottom of the squat. Before I added in these exercises, I would come forward because I wanted to use my stronger quad muscles to lift the weight. Now that my leg strength has equalized (my anterior/posterior… aka. front/back muscles are now balanced in strength) I don’t feel the need to learn forward because of a lack of strength.
The third way was the “lean back” cue. This cue was the most effective of these three methods. After I unrack the bar and walk into position, I think about sitting straight down and leaning back a little bit. It is this leaning back feeling that helps me to stay upright during the squat. I’m not actually leaning back; the cue helps me to counteract the impulse to come forward with a net result of causing me to squat with a vertical torso, the most effective way to perform a front squat.
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