Double Front Squat

Squat with two bells racked at the shoulders. Heavy bilateral leg strength with a brutal demand on upright posture.

· 3 min read

kettlebell · squat · legs · posture · double bell

The lesson

  1. 1

    Set the rack

    Clean both bells up so your fists are at your collarbones, elbows tucked tight against your ribs, ribs stacked over your hips.

  2. 2

    Own it standing

    Stand still and breathe under the rack before you move. If it collapses here, it will collapse at the bottom.

  3. 3

    Hips back, then down

    Push your hips back and drop between your knees, knees tracking over your toes.

  4. 4

    Elbows stay up

    The bells try to fold you forward. Refusing that is the whole exercise.

  5. 5

    Drive the whole foot

    Stand by pushing the ground away through your entire foot, not just the heel or the ball.

  6. 6

    The test

    If the bells drag you forward on the way down, or your elbows sink toward your ribs, the weight is too heavy. Reset your breath and the rack at the top of every rep, and hinge the bells down to the floor when the set ends.

Double Front Squat

How to do it

Clean two matched bells to the rack position. Stand tall — fists at collarbones, elbows tucked tight against your ribs, ribs stacked over hips. Push your hips back and drop into a deep squat, keeping your chest up and elbows from drifting down. Knees track over toes. Drive through the whole foot to stand. Reset the brace between reps; the rack position must not collapse.

Why it's good for runners

The front-loaded rack pulls you forward — the only way to stay upright is to brace the core hard and hold the chest tall. Heavy bilateral leg strength at the same time as a serious anti-extension demand. Trains the upright-under-load posture every late mile of a marathon requires.

Common mistakes

Elbows drifting down at the bottom turns the rack into a tug on your spine — keep them up. If the bells pull you forward as you descend, the load is too heavy or your thoracic mobility needs work; either way, drop the weight and own the position before adding back.

Appears in these routines

Power · 05

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