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Strength exercises Β· Lower body

Barbell back squat

Difficulty Squats

How to perform it

Bar resting on the rear delts, load dominated by the quads and glutes. Differs from the goblet squat in allowing much heavier loads, and from the front squat in bar position (back = more glute involvement).

Video demo

Equipment

  • Barbell 15 kg (technique bar) / Barbell 20 kgFree weight Β· 15 kg
  • Squat rackMachine

Muscles worked

Muscles and artwork credits
  • Biceps femoris
  • Erector spinae
  • Gluteus maximus
  • Rectus abdominis
  • Rectus femoris
  • Transverse abdominis (not on the surface map)
  • Vastus intermedius (not on the surface map)
  • Vastus lateralis
  • Vastus medialis

Artwork: Ryan Graves, CC BY 4.0, modified

Related exercises

Find another variation and compare difficulty.

Family in the library

Squats

Exercise family Β· pattern: Squats

1 family Β· 10 variationsDifficulty

Difficulty describes how demanding the execution is. It is not a recommended training order.