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Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Glutes

Barbell Back Squat

Also called Squat, High-bar squat

BarbellCompoundTakes some practice
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Quads, Glutes

Also adductors, lower back, abs

You need

Barbell, Squat rack

Squat rack / power rack setup →
How to do itPicture · 3 steps
  1. 1Brace hard before each rep
  2. 2Sit down between your heels
  3. 3Go as deep as you can with a neutral back

Most common mistake

Cutting depth to load more plates.

Watch a demo
A
For quads
#16 of 33
See the full list →
Research
70
Published rubric
Lifters
—
0/10 ratings
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 701 study
Target tension · 35%4/5
Loaded stretch · 25%4/5
Progression · 20%5/5
Low cost · 20%2/5

Full-depth squats build the quads well. Their cost is fatigue, not effectiveness.

  • Kubo et al., 2019: Full squats grew the glutes (+6.7% vs +2.2%) and adductors (+6.2% vs +2.7%) more than half squats. Quad growth was similar. (17 untrained men; 10 weeks.)
How scores work

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