Starting Strength

knees forward and out, keeping the chest and elbows up, and possibly even thinking about leaning back slightly. The bottom of the front squat is quite easy to feel because some contact between the calves and the hamstrings will occur.

    Figure 7-14. An upright torso for the front squat is necessary, and this is one way to visualize the situation.

    There is no pause at the bottom, and the ascent starts with an upward drive of the chest, not the elbows. Elbows stay up, and the chest is driven up, since merely raising the elbows will not positively affect the upper spine – the whole point of the “chest up” cue. As the chest is driven up, the hips rise vertically underneath it, maintaining the vertical position and keeping the bar on the delts so that it doesn’t roll forward and down. The elbows-up position traps the bar between the fingers and the neck, but the weight is on the delts, not on the hands. At no time during the movement is the back relaxed, at either the bottom or the top; the spine must be consciously squeezed tight and held in position vertically, more of a challenge in the front squat due to the bar’s position in front of the neck and the consequently greater leverage against the upper back.
    The differences in bar position and hamstring function between the front and back squats necessitate a different set of cues for each version. The back squat depends on hip drive, and it is cued at the sacrum, as mentioned previously. The chest and elbows are the focal points for attention in the front squat. “Big air” is critical to chest position, as is the strength of the upper part of the spinal erectors, which get sore when this position is trained hard the first few times. Thinking about leaning back on the way down may produce a feel for the position if it does not interfere with balance; most people can grasp this concept without falling backwards.
    Some people have proportions that make the front squat difficult. A short torso with long legs is a bad combination for good front squat form, and little can be done about this. In extreme cases, it may be best not to perform the exercise if correct form cannot be maintained due to an anthropometric problem that cannot be solved ( Figure 7-15 ).

    Figure 7-15. Anthropometry affects the lifter’s ability to assume an efficient position in the front squat, as it does with all barbell exercises. The front squat suffers from a short torso and long legs.

    Front squats are usually done in sets of three, due to the greater sensitivity of the exercise to form deterioration. Volume is accumulated with multiple sets across.
     
    Breath control is terribly critical in the front squat. More leverage against the upper back – the result of the increased distance of the bar from the spine – results in more rotational force that must be countered. The support provided by increased intrathoracic pressure is often the difference between holding a heavy last rep in place and dropping it on the floor. A big breath keeps the chest up, the shoulders up, and the elbows up by tightening the entire upper body. You will need a new breath at the top of each rep, maybe just a top-off of the previous breath so that you maintain tightness.
    As mentioned previously, a missed front squat will fall away forward off the shoulders. This is unavoidable because if you are training hard, you will eventually miss a front squat, so you might as well prepare for it by practicing it occasionally during warm-ups. And unless you are used to getting away from the bar as it falls – putting enough distance between you and the bar that it won’t hit you on the way down – you might drop it on your knees or lower thighs. This potentially painful error is usually prevented by most people’s sense of self-preservation, but it is prudent to have at least practiced missing the front squat a few times.
    One of the problems associated with front squats is related to bar placement. If the throat is squeezed too hard by a bar racked too far back on the shoulders, the result can be a blackout. It is caused by the occlusion of the carotid arteries from the pressure of the bar. This is dangerous because of the fall that will occur if you allow yourself to pass completely out before doing something about it (the blackout itself is harmless). If you feel your perception start to change – and you’ll know it when it happens – either rack the bar while you can, or drop it safely on the platform