Instructions
- Stand with your midfoot directly beneath the barbell, feet hip-width apart. The bar should be about one inch from your shins.
- Hinge at your hips and grip the barbell just outside your knees with an overhand or mixed grip.
- Bend your knees until your shins lightly graze the bar. Do not let the barbell move from its position over the midfoot.
- Lift your chest, pull the slack out of the barbell until you hear the click, and engage your lats by squeezing your armpits.
- Take a deep breath into your core, brace hard, and push the floor away with your legs.
- Keep the bar dragging close along your shins and thighs. Lock out with glutes and hips tall without hyperextending your spine. Reverse the motion smoothly to return the bar to the ground.
💡 Pro Tip & Form Cue
Think of pushing the earth away with your legs rather than pulling the bar up with your arms.
Common Mistakes
- Rounding the lumbar spine: Compromises disc health. Keep spine in a neutral alignment.
- Bar drifting away from the body: Greatly increases the moment arm on your lower back. Keep the bar in contact with your legs.
- Hyperextending at the top: Leaning back past vertical puts shear stress on spinal discs. Lock out straight tall.
- Jerking the weight from the floor: Pull slack first before exploding upward.
📊 Recommended Sets & Reps
Strength & Power: 3–5 sets of 3–5 reps with full 3-minute rest periods.