Dumbbell Front Squat
oec:dumbbell-front-squat
A bilateral squat variation holding a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height in a front-rack position to emphasize the quadriceps and core.
Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.
Also called: DB Front Squat, Dumbbell Squat with Shoulder Hold
How to do it
Setup
- Stand with feet roughly shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly outward.
- Clean or lift two dumbbells to rest one end of each dumbbell on the front of your shoulders, with elbows pointing forward and slightly up.
Movement
- Brace your core and initiate the descent by bending at your knees and hips simultaneously.
- Lower your hips under control until your thighs reach at least parallel to the floor, keeping your torso upright and elbows elevated.
- Push through your midfoot and heels to reverse the movement and stand back up to full hip and knee extension.
Breathing
Inhale and brace your core before descending; exhale as you push past the sticking point on the ascent.
Cues
- Keep the elbows high.
- Sit between your heels.
- Stay tall through the torso.
Common faults
- Elbows dropping, causing the chest to collapse forward.
- Actively drive your elbows up throughout the squat to keep the upper back extended.
- Heels lifting off the floor during the descent.
- Distribute weight evenly across the entire foot and work on ankle dorsiflexion mobility or elevate heels slightly.
- Knees caving inward (valgus collapse) on the ascent.
- Track your knees in line with your toes throughout the movement.
Safety
- If you lose balance or reach failure, safely dump the dumbbells forward away from your body onto the floor.
Muscles
Joints
- Hip: Flexion, Extension
- Knee: Flexion, Extension
- Ankle: Dorsiflexion, Plantarflexion
- Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization
- Thoracic spine: Isometric stabilization
Details
- Movement
- Squat
- Modality
- Strength, Hypertrophy
- Mechanics
- compound
- Force
- push
- Laterality
- bilateral
- Kinetic chain
- closed
- Level
- beginner
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Record
- Repetitions and Load
- Load
- external, per implement
Related
- substitute for Barbell Front Squat
- regression of Barbell Front Squat
- substitute for Double Kettlebell Front Squat
- progression of Dumbbell Goblet Squat
- part of Dumbbell Thruster
Sources
- wger: Dumbbell Front Squat, by AlucardEvil40 (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.