How is a dumbbell front squat different from a goblet squat?

A goblet squat holds one weight against the chest with both hands, while a dumbbell front squat rests a dumbbell on each shoulder. Because the shoulders carry the load instead of the arms, the front squat usually allows a heavier total weight, which is why lifters often move to it from the Dumbbell Squat.

Should I front squat with dumbbells or a barbell?

Dumbbells need less wrist and shoulder mobility, no squat rack and are easy to set down if a rep goes wrong, which makes them a good starting point. The Barbell Front Squat can be loaded much heavier and in smaller steps, so it is the better long-term choice once you outgrow the dumbbells.

How do I get heavy dumbbells onto my shoulders?

Lighter dumbbells can be curled up into place, as in the Dumbbell Curl. Once they are too heavy to curl, use your hips and legs to clean them into place, as in the Dumbbell Power Clean, and lower them back to your sides under control after the set.

Does the dumbbell front squat work the core?

Yes. Holding the load in front of the body makes the trunk work hard to stay upright, and a study of resistance-trained adults aged 40 to 63 found that the dumbbell front squat was among the lower-body lifts that raised abdominal wall tension the most, more than single-joint upper-body exercises such as curls and triceps extensions.

Why do my grip or wrists give out before my legs?

This usually means the dumbbells are being held out in front by the arms instead of resting on the shoulders. Let the weight sit on the front of the shoulders with the wrists stacked under the handles, and if the rack is still the limit, use a lighter pair or shorter sets while your upper back and grip catch up.

How deep should I squat?

Aim for at least thighs parallel to the floor, and go lower if you can keep your heels flat, your back neutral and the dumbbells in place. If you can only reach parallel by lifting your heels or rounding your back, stay a little higher while you work on ankle and hip mobility.

Dumbbell Front Squat

What Is the Dumbbell Front Squat?

Dumbbell Front Squat is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quadriceps and also engages the glutes, adductors and the muscles of the trunk. It is an intermediate-level movement in which a dumbbell is held in each hand and rested on the front of the shoulders, so the load sits in front of the body and the torso stays upright through a deep squat.

Placing the weight in front of the body keeps the chest up and the knees traveling forward, which puts most of the work on the quadriceps while the trunk and upper back fight to keep the dumbbells from pulling you forward. That makes it a practical way to build leg strength and size with nothing more than a pair of dumbbells, whether in a home gym, a hotel gym, or a busy gym where the squat racks are taken. It also carries straight over to the Dumbbell Thruster, which starts with the same racked squat.

It is easy to confuse with the goblet squat, but the two load differently. The Dumbbell Squat holds one dumbbell against the chest with both hands, so the load is capped by what the arms can hold there. Racking a dumbbell on each shoulder lets the shoulders carry the weight and allows a heavier total load. Compared with the Barbell Front Squat, the dumbbells let each arm find its own comfortable position and demand far less wrist and shoulder mobility than a barbell front rack, while the barbell version can be loaded much heavier over time. A slightly wider stance with the toes turned out brings in more adductor and glute work, and squatting deeper increases the range the hips and knees have to extend through.

This squat suits lifters who can already perform a Bodyweight Squat and a Kettlebell Goblet Squat to full depth with heels down and a neutral back. If holding two dumbbells at the shoulders feels unstable, build up with the goblet squat first. Once the dumbbells get heavy, getting them onto the shoulders becomes its own skill, and a controlled Dumbbell Power Clean is the usual way to do it.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Vastus Lateralis: Primary
Vastus Medialis: Primary
Gluteus Maximus: High
Rectus Femoris: High
Adductor Magnus: Medium
Erector Spinae: Medium
Rectus Abdominis: Medium
Deltoid: Low
External Oblique: Low
Soleus: Low

Instructions

Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your toes turned slightly out, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
Bring the dumbbells up to your shoulders with a controlled curl, or a clean if they are heavy.
Rest each dumbbell across the front of its shoulder with the handle running side to side and your palms facing you, elbows pointing forward and down in front of your ribs and your chest up.
Take a deep breath and brace your trunk.
Bend your hips and knees together and sit straight down between your heels, keeping your torso upright and the dumbbells on your shoulders.
Let your knees travel forward and out in line with your toes while your heels stay flat.
Lower until your hips are below your knees, or as deep as you can go with your heels down and your back neutral.
Drive through your whole foot to stand, keeping your chest and elbows up so the dumbbells stay in place.
Fully extend your hips and knees at the top, then breathe and brace again before the next rep.
After the last rep, lower the dumbbells to your sides under control.

Common Mistakes

Letting the elbows sink
If the elbows collapse toward the thighs during the descent, the dumbbells roll forward off the shoulders, the chest caves and the upper back rounds.
Holding the weight with the arms
Carrying the dumbbells in front of the shoulders instead of resting them on the shoulders tires the arms and grip long before the legs.
Heels lifting
Rising onto the toes shifts the load forward and makes the bottom unstable, usually because of limited ankle mobility, so squat only as deep as the heels stay down.
Knees caving in
Letting the knees drift inward on the way up takes them out of line with the toes and loads the knee joint unevenly.
Cutting the depth short
Stopping well above parallel skips the hardest part of the range and turns the lift into a partial squat.
Bouncing out of the bottom
Dropping fast and rebounding with a loose trunk lets the dumbbells shift and the lower back round at the deepest point.

Injuries

Dumbbell Front Squat is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The load is limited to what you can hold on your shoulders, the upright torso keeps the lower back in a strong position, and a failed rep ends with the dumbbells lowered to your sides rather than stuck on your back. The areas that take the most strain are the knees at the bottom of a deep squat, especially when they cave inward, the lower back when the chest collapses and the upper back rounds, and the wrists, elbows and shoulders from holding the dumbbells in place. Getting heavy dumbbells up to the shoulders and back down is also where many lifters tweak something.

Warm up with a few sets of bodyweight squats and squat only as deep as you can keep your heels flat and your back neutral. Keep your knees in line with your toes, brace your trunk before every rep, and let the dumbbells rest on your shoulders instead of holding them out in front with your arms. Bring the dumbbells up and down with a controlled curl or clean rather than letting them drop from your shoulders, and pick a weight you can keep racked for the whole set.

If the movement is too hard, regress to the Kettlebell Goblet Squat, the Dumbbell Squat or the Bodyweight Squat, or squat to a bench set at a depth you can control. To progress, add a pause at the bottom, slow the lowering phase, increase the load, or move on to the Barbell Front Squat. Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the knees or lower back, numbness or tingling in the hands or arms, or wrist or shoulder pain that does not ease when you reposition the dumbbells.

Overview

Primary Focus: Quads
Equipment: Dumbbell
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Other Names for the Dumbbell Front Squat

The Dumbbell Front Squat is also known as:

Double Dumbbell Front Squat
Dumbbell Front Rack Squat

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is a dumbbell front squat different from a goblet squat?: A goblet squat holds one weight against the chest with both hands, while a dumbbell front squat rests a dumbbell on each shoulder. Because the shoulders carry the load instead of the arms, the front squat usually allows a heavier total weight, which is why lifters often move to it from the Dumbbell Squat.
Q: Should I front squat with dumbbells or a barbell?: Dumbbells need less wrist and shoulder mobility, no squat rack and are easy to set down if a rep goes wrong, which makes them a good starting point. The Barbell Front Squat can be loaded much heavier and in smaller steps, so it is the better long-term choice once you outgrow the dumbbells.
Q: How do I get heavy dumbbells onto my shoulders?: Lighter dumbbells can be curled up into place, as in the Dumbbell Curl. Once they are too heavy to curl, use your hips and legs to clean them into place, as in the Dumbbell Power Clean, and lower them back to your sides under control after the set.
Q: Does the dumbbell front squat work the core?: Yes. Holding the load in front of the body makes the trunk work hard to stay upright, and a study of resistance-trained adults aged 40 to 63 found that the dumbbell front squat was among the lower-body lifts that raised abdominal wall tension the most, more than single-joint upper-body exercises such as curls and triceps extensions.
Q: Why do my grip or wrists give out before my legs?: This usually means the dumbbells are being held out in front by the arms instead of resting on the shoulders. Let the weight sit on the front of the shoulders with the wrists stacked under the handles, and if the rack is still the limit, use a lighter pair or shorter sets while your upper back and grip catch up.
Q: How deep should I squat?: Aim for at least thighs parallel to the floor, and go lower if you can keep your heels flat, your back neutral and the dumbbells in place. If you can only reach parallel by lifting your heels or rounding your back, stay a little higher while you work on ankle and hip mobility.