Barbell Squat To A Bench

How to do it

1. Set a bench behind you at a height that puts your thighs at or just below parallel when seated.
2. Rack a barbell across your upper back and step back until the bench is right behind you.
3. Set your feet a little wider than shoulder-width with the toes turned out.
4. Squat down under control until your backside touches the bench.
5. Touch without sitting — the trunk stays braced and the legs keep the load.
6. Drive back up through the whole foot.

Common mistakes

• Sitting down. Touch-and-go is what makes this a squat to a bench rather than a box squat; the bench is a depth marker, and taking weight off the legs turns each repetition into two half-lifts.
• Dropping onto the bench. Landing on it puts the impact through a loaded spine, and a bench is not built to be sat on hard.
• Setting whatever bench is there. The height sets the depth, which is the whole reason to use one.
• Rocking back to stand. If the trunk has to rock forward first, the legs stopped holding the position and the bench is now doing the work.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Quads

Secondary

• Calves
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Spinal Erectors