Back Squat
Base strength to win the collision
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Set the rack so the bar sits at mid-chest height. Step under it and rest it on the upper traps, below the bony point at the base of the neck, hands as close as the shoulders comfortably allow. Squeeze the shoulder blades together to make a shelf, stand it up, and take two or three steps back. Feet about shoulder width, toes out 15–30°.
The rep
Breathe into the belly and brace around it as if you were about to be hit. Break at the hips and knees together and sit down between the feet, knees travelling out over the toes. Reach the depth where the hips are level with or below the knees without the lower back tucking under, then push the floor away through the whole foot and stand tall.
On the exercise card
- Brace 360°
- Drive through midfoot
- Tempo
- 2s down
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| The hips shoot up first out of the bottom | The chest and hips should rise at the same speed. The load is usually too heavy for the quads — take weight off and pause at the bottom. |
| The knees cave inward | Push the knees out in line with the toes on the way up. If it persists at lighter loads, add single-leg work. |
| Losing the brace halfway through a set | Breathe and brace before every rep, not once at the start of the set. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Box squat to a set depth, or a goblet squat.
- Harder
- Tempo — three seconds down and a one-second pause — before chasing more load.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
In the collision codes this is the base strength lift: more force into the ground at contact, and a stronger platform for every other lower-body quality. It is heaviest in the max-strength blocks and carried at lower volume once the season starts.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby League | Max Strength (Lower) | 5 × 4 | 82% 1RM |
| Basketball | Lower Power + Plyo | 4 × 5 | 80% 1RM |
| Bodybuilding | Legs — Quads, Hams, Glutes, Calves | 4 × 8 | Heavy |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Region
- Lower body
- Prescribed in
- rugby league · basketball · bodybuilding
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Front Squat | More upright — quad + core emphasis, great for cleans/sprinters |
| Goblet Squat | Easy to load, joint-friendly, great depth |
| Box Squat | Controls depth, easier on the knees, builds drive out of the hole |
| Tempo Front Squat | 3s down — quad eccentric for jumpers + sprinters |
| Safety-Bar Squat | Bar across the chest — shoulder-friendly, brutal for the upper back, great for contact athletes |
| Zercher Squat | Bar in the elbow crooks — anti-rotation trunk + drive for rugby/MMA |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
Your first month is free, with nothing to pay today. Then A$24.99/month, cancel any time. On the App Store and Google Play.
- Install itFree to download on iPhone and Android.
- Tell it how you playYour sport, your season, the nights you train and the kit you have. No account needed.
- See your week, then start freeYour program is built before you pay anything. Start the free month to unlock it, and cancel any time in your store settings.