Thread: Question on grip for Front squats....

You may be leaning too far forward.

Shoulders up, elbows up and chest out.

Make sure you rack the bar close enough to your throat and not on the "meat" of your shoulders where the bar is more likely to slide forward.

A note on the clean grip - you really only need the tips of your pointer and middle fingers under the bar. The fingers are not there to hold to bar in place, the are under the bar to act as a fulcrum so you can create leverage to hold your shoulders and elbows up high and tight.

Be very aware of your elbow height. People tend to drop them a lot when they reach the bottom position of the front squat.

My advice, become proficient with the clean grip. It is the best way to front squat.

Check out this video to develop your wrist flexibility.

If you've ever done a clean before, as the bar rests upon your clavicles, forearms out-this works for me. another way is to use wraps. google some videos on front squats. You'll get the idea.

Make sure your elbows are parallel with the floor or pointing higher to stop the bar from sliding. I find sometimes when I squat like that my elbows come down a bit because I forget where they're supposed to be while focusing on the squat. Just keep doing it till it becomes natural then you wont need to think about it.

Work on wrist flexibility and scrap the cross grip for the clean grip.

You shouldn't be gripping the bar when doing a clean style front squat. The bar should just be pulling your finger tips back. You have to really focus on driving your elbows up on each repetition during the descent.

You may have the placement wrong too. A lot of people put the bar too far forward. There is a groove in your shoulder where it sits. The problem is, the appropriate place is pretty uncomfortable. It puts pressure on your clavical, and it presses on your neck a little bit too for many people. Most clients I've trained that had difficulty keeping it there at first was the result of the bar sitting too far forward from the start.

I've been gripping the bar this way: An Alternative To Traditional Front Squats

Also have been doing zurcher squats as an alternative to fronts which i really like.

Originally Posted by rahaas

I've been gripping the bar this way: An Alternative To Traditional Front Squats

This is the grip i use, also because of similar reasons to the OP. It's very comfortable, very stable, and i haven't had any problems with it.

If your elbows are low when you use the clean grip, tricep flexibility may also be a problem.

Originally Posted by rahaas

I've been gripping the bar this way: An Alternative To Traditional Front Squats

Also have been doing zurcher squats as an alternative to fronts which i really like.

Pretty cool idea. I use another alternative I picked up from Charles Poliquin (I think...). I wrap towels or straps around the bar and then grab them. Like this: