Exercise:

Front Squats

Target Muscle:

Quads

Secondary Muscle:

Hamstrings, Lower Back, Glutes

Equipment Needed:

Squat Rack, Barbell

Proper Execution:

Step into the squat rack and adjust the pins so that the bar will rest at about shoulder-height. Cross your arms in front of your body so that they are parallel to the ground and rest the bar across the front of your shoulders. Lift the bar off of the pins and take a small step back. With your feet spaced shoulder width apart, toes pointing slightly outward, back flat, abs tight and head up, begin the movement by squatting down toward the ground. Continue lowering yourself until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground. Once you reach the bottom, drive the weight back up until you are back in a standing position. When you have completed your desired number of reps, walk back to the pins and re-rack the bar.

Tips:

Front squats are a very awkward exercise to perform at first so make sure you start out with light weight in order to get a proper feel for the lift. Make sure that you maintain proper form at all times by keeping your lower back arched and by avoiding jerky motions or body momentum. When you are in the standing position, remember to not lock your knees out as this will keep the stress on your quads and minimize the stress on your joints. Taking this exercise to all-out failure can be potentially dangerous and because of this I would recommend that you stop your set one rep short of failure and safely re-rack the bar.