# Dumbbell Front Squat: how to do it

- Main muscles: quads, glutes
- Also works: abs, upper back
- Equipment: dumbbell
- Level: intermediate
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/dumbbell_front_squat/bdda750199/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Rest a dumbbell on the front of each shoulder, palms facing in.
2. Lift your elbows and stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
3. Sit straight down until your thighs are level or a little lower.
4. Keep your chest tall and the dumbbells still.
5. Push through your whole foot to stand up.

## Cues

- Elbows up, chest proud.
- Knees travel forward over your toes.
- Weight over the middle of your foot.

## Common mistakes

- Dropping the elbows so the dumbbells tip forward.
- Rounding the upper back at the bottom.
- Rising onto your toes as you stand.

## Starting position

A dumbbell in each hand, lifted to the front of the shoulders. Palms face each other, so the handles point straight ahead; the rear head of each dumbbell rests on the front of its shoulder. Elbows are up and forward, upper arms angled down only a little from horizontal. Heels about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out about 10°, whole foot flat. Chest lifted, shoulder blades set, eyes forward.

## The movement

Hips and knees bend together and the body sinks almost straight down. The knees travel forward over the 2nd and 3rd toes, further than in a back squat, and the trunk stays fairly upright. The dumbbells stay fixed on the shoulders and move in a vertical line over the mid-foot. The elbows stay up the whole way. Push through the whole foot to stand, hips and shoulders rising together.

## End position

Bottom: thighs at parallel or just below (hip crease a little below the top of the knee). With the load in front of the shoulders, keeping it over the mid-foot holds the trunk near the barbell front squat's 15–35° rather than the back squat's 35–45°.

## Tempo

About 1.9 s down, 0.25 s pause, 1.4 s up, short stand at the top.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stance, heel to heel | 1.0 × shoulder width | 0.9–1.2 × | [1] [2] |
| Toe-out, each foot | 10° | 0–20° | [1] [2] |
| Upper arm vs horizontal, whole rep | 15° below | 0–30° below | [1] |
| Depth: hip crease vs top of knee | 3 cm below | 0–8 cm below | [1] |
| Shin lean from vertical at the bottom | 38° | 30–42° |  |
| Heel lift | 0 cm | 0 cm | [1] [2] |

## Sources

1. [NASM, Dumbbell Front Squat](https://www.nasm.org/resource-center/exercise-library/dumbbell-front-squat)
2. [ACE, Front Squat](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/22/front-squat/)
3. [Gullett et al. 2009, J Strength Cond Res, "A biomechanical comparison of back and front squats in healthy trained individuals"](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19002072/)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/dumbbell-front-squat