I consider the front squat to be one of the most important lower body options available to strength coaches. Often I will prescribe it first when teaching young athletes to squat as it reinforces the chest up position that is required when squatting. Also it is important in strengthening the receiving position of the clean and by being able to front squat in excess of your clean weight you have the confidence to trust your leg strength when you are coming up out of a heavy clean.

The one problem that most athletes have is that they complain of sore wrists when trying to rack the front squat correctly using the clean grip. Of course you could revert to the bodybuilding style of crossed arms front squat but this is only one part of the problem solved and it also does not transfer as well to the clean. You could also use lifting straps attached to the bar as a much better option than the bodybuilding style of front squat.

Now you have a third and by far best method of training the front squat, by using the harness you can position the bar in a similar position to the regular front squat, whilst working on the necessary flexibility to perform the front squat. The harness comes in two sizes fitting all body sizes comfortably and enables you to grab the top of the handles keeping the elbows up and also because of the fact that the weight is out in front of the athlete the lower back has to work harder to keep you upright. This further strengthens the posterior chain and can be used in a number of programming situations as you learn the front squat and beyond into all aspects of your training

Ashley Jones
Crusaders Head Strength Coach - Super 14 Rugby