Narrow-Stance Squat
Trains the Quads.
- Equipment
- A barbell and a rack
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Rack a barbell across your upper back and step back.
- Set your feet close together — roughly hip-width or narrower — with the toes pointing forward or slightly out.
- Brace your stomach and set your chest up.
- Squat down by bending the knees and pushing the hips back, keeping the heels down.
- Go as deep as a flat back and flat heels allow, which is usually less than a wide stance.
- Drive back up through the whole foot.
Common mistakes
- Letting the heels lift. A narrow stance demands more ankle range, and heels coming up is the signal to widen slightly or raise them on plates rather than to push on.
- Expecting it to build the outer thigh. A narrow stance changes how the hip is positioned and how far the knee travels; it does not aim the load at one side of the quadriceps.
- Loading it from a normal squat. Less hip contribution and a longer knee travel means less weight.
- Letting the knees drift inward. Narrow feet leave little room before the knees touch, which makes it obvious — and it is the signal to end the set.