Dr. Mike: Wrong About Front Squats!

Front squats might not stack up in regards to pure hypertrophy of the quads compared to the latest and greatest in exquisitely engineered exercise equipment technology, but for a lot of lifters, they're absolutely viable. If you use a home gym, a hotel gym, or a bunch of Tiktok kiddos are swarming the machines, they're quite possibly the best option. I don't love front squats, but I've benefited from them a lot and I think they're a nice tool to have in your exercise variable toolbox. Maybe they take slightly longer to learn, but we're not looking for an 8 week transformation here, we lift for LIFE. Sometimes content creators target optimal so much they forget what is practical. While it may have some downsides that contribute to many disliking them, I don't see it being any worse for quad activation compared to high or low bar, and EMG studies confirm this. So that statement was truly just summoned from the ether; logical sounding but untrue. I'd wager a study comparing the movements for long term muscle growth would probably see very similar results. So, not terrible. They work the ability to brace, something almost everyone has to work on, myself included. They target upper back strength and size, which few people have too much of. I've seen them firsthand improve posture in clients as well, which in the modern age is sometimes needed. They force you to stay upright and thus keep the movement in the quads. A lot of the comments on RPs video were defending this movement for a reason. I didn't cherry pick the comments I used, the majority of them were quite positive with regards to front squats. It's just as safe as any other squat variation when progressed reasonably and I strongly object to Mike's statements with regard to injury risk. You can summon up injury risk for literally ANY MOVEMENT IMAGINEABLE and many channels have built their following doing just that! We should judge a movement when it's done correctly, not butchered. Overall Renaissance Periodization still puts out excellent content, and I've personally enjoyed their content for years, but this particular video didn't sit well with me, and I didn't view their take on it as reasonable or nuanced. I understand that to a certain extent this is "the YouTube game" which most big channels partake in, but let's remember why we started creating content in the first place. I'm not saying front squats are the best quad exercise. They're far from perfect. I'm taking a much easier position to defend. I'm just saying they're not terrible.

Front squats enjoyer checking in. My quads are okayish (and I don't even use them for BBing purposes anyway).

Thus the Front Squat saga debate begin. Now waiting for at least: a 2 hour response video from NH, multiple response videos from BB and reaction video from Dr. Milo.

I'm so glad you made this video. Totally agree. We've favoured front-loaded squats (both goblet and front squats) with thousands of people for over a decade. No injuries or shoulder problems. Plus, one of the studies you referenced recommends front squats as a safer squat alternative. With online clients, front-loaded squats encourage WAY better technique. When we ask a beginner client to send a video of a goblet squat, front squat, and a back squat. Nine times out of ten, the goblet and front squats will be almost perfect, and the back squat will be a train wreck. For some extra credibility, I was speaking with Greg Nuckols about squats a couple of years ago. He recommended front squats (and safety-bar squats) as being the safest, encouraging the best technique, and stimulating the most muscle growth. Of note, he mentioned that they aren't just great for the upper back, they're also great for the serratus anterior, improving shoulder health and stability.

Heel-elevated front squats also played an instrumental role in fixing my right hip flexor pain. The deeper range of motion, the compromised position it puts you in helped improve my mobility and I've been able to back squat pain free since including them.

8:57 - A point I'd like to add as a 5'5 lifter, being short makes it a bit easier but it still comes down to proportions. I've a shorter torso, longer femurs, and a relatively shorter tibia. I can squat almost ATG with high bar but I still have to lean forward, making it hard to target the quads primarily. I hope front squats solve that.

I've tried to love front squats because they look cool and everyone I've seen with big front squats also have huge quads. My experience with them was basically as Dr.Mike described. They felt like more of a balancing act than a quad exercise. I get a way crazier burn and pump in my quads with high bar squats with much less fatigue. Front squats also make my shoulders feel like they're going to snap. I don't see the point when you can just place the bar on your back and it becomes 1000x better. If you don't have fancy machines and you want squat alternatives then you can do sissy squats, split squats, etc...

I loooove this video!! This is a good example of why you’re my absolute favorite fitness YouTuber.

One thing Mike didn't touch on is front squats can be good for people who get low back pain with high bar squats, too. I have long legs and short torso. Keeping bar over mid foot with high bar means I need to go almost sumo, or lean forward so much my low back hurts. With front squat, more of that load is easier to shift to my core/abs. Edit: LOL as soon as I typed that, it came up in this video. Edit 2: I can use less weight to get more quad stimulus, which is something Dr. Mike is usually all about. Hurts my ego to front squat low weight vs back squat big weight, but my goal is growing quads without hurting my knees or back.

Facts! Many of Dr. Mike's arguments for avoiding front squats were reasons TO do them 💪

This channel is growing!

Love this video

Thank you so much for talking about this. I watched Dr. Mike's video and I'm pretty new to lifting. When I started to learn how to squat I was doing goblet squats with a kettlebell and I tried to do backsquats but I just can't do it. I can't get the depth and I really struggle with the wrists and grip with backsquats. But frontsquats really work for me. After watching the video it turned me off even wanting to do squats but then I thought if it works for me why not. And also it's still a squatting movement and I think any form of a squatting movement where you can progressively overload is surely a good thing.

Dr. Mike never said they won’t build your quads. He said there are better movements in a hypertrophy context that don’t have some of the drawbacks. Obviously you’ll grow if you train a muscle.

Dr. Mike is an expert in overcomplicating everything that isn't complicated.

I think this very representative of one of the very few gripes I have with Dr Mike’s/RP’s training philosophy. They seem to really be averse to what they describe as “interference effects”, which a lot of other people might say is “bonus volume”. It makes total sense from the pure science based angle, where you want to be able to exactly pinpoint training variables. Having to figure out whether your upper back is fatigued from upper back work vs front squats and adjusting effective volumes accordingly is harder to do with a pure science based approach as opposed to a more mixed approach. I absolutely love my front squats, but I’d be damned if I don’t do them with a slow eccentric and pause like Dr Mike does his squats.

Glad a I watched this vid. Mikes video really influenced me lol. Thanks again Geoff

Informative and occasionally comedic, good stuff Geoff

i really respect you making this video tbh

First time I tried front squats, I felt so uncomfortable with all that weight on my shoulders, that I gave up after a single set of 10 reps. A year or so later, I gave them another try and this time I was determined to force myself to like them. So after persisting for a couple of weeks, the movement started feeling very natural and before long they became my favourite squat variation. My only concern is that after 2-3 years of practicing them consistently, I hit a wall, where the limiting factor is not my quad strength/stamina anymore but my core strength/ability to brace and I can't break through.