Front Squat Without the Use of Your Hands

This front squat variation works well for getting comfortable with bar placement. The key here is getting the bar in the right groove in your deltoids so your wrists and hands don’t have to do much work. Going hands-free makes it easy to find that sweet spot because otherwise you’ll dump the bar.

It also teaches you very quickly to keep your elbows high so the bar doesn’t roll forward on you. If you can learn all that without the use of your hands, it will feel much more secure when you grip the bar again.

Bonus: It’s also useful for advanced lifters to use from time to time just to reinforce good technique. I still use it a lot during my warm-up sets with moderate weights to dial in my form before the heavier work.