Certain doctors have referred to this lift as essentially a "sub-optimal back squat." A squat variation that just doesn't let you push as intensely and as such creates a bottleneck on your gains. So let’s clear the air of this copium right away: front squats are not just a harder, more annoying, less productive version of back squats. In reality they might as well be a completely different lift.

Front squats absolutely force you to learn how to stay on the quads. With back squats, people have a tendency to shift the load onto the hips and posterior chain. You simply can't do that with front squats or you lose the bar.

This forced upright, anterior loaded position has an immense impact on deep core strength and thoracic extensor strength, while simultaneously providing a different leverage that allows many people to actually find a smoother, deeper squat pattern that they can then carryover into other movements and exercises.

Different mechanics = different adaptations. If you treat the front squat like it's just a back squat with the bar in a disadvantageous spot, you’ll never get the true benefits this movement can deliver.

The front squat simply builds core strength you can’t fake. I have said many times this is probably the single greatest upper back strengthening exercise in existence. You either brace and stay tall or you fold like a lawn chair. But either way your spine doesn’t lie when you're front squatting.

This sort of anti-flexion, resistive type of strength is what separates the wheat from the chaff. It's what separates the guys who look strong from the guys who can actually throw you over a fence. This type of power is going to carryover into pretty much anything and everything: Olympic lifts, sandbag work, various strongman exercises, loaded carries, grappling, and just life in general.

You're building leg strength, you're building insane core and upper back strength, and you are building commendable mobility in just about every major joint of the body all at once. That's strength, power, and resilience in one fell swoop, which is a lot of important birds to be able to kill with one small stone.

Finally, the front squat organically fixes your squat mechanics. Here’s a dirty little secret: most people’s back squats are trash, and they don’t even know it. The front squat exposes those weaknesses and limitations very fast, which is probably why so many dislike them!

The knees are forced to shift forward to keep the torso upright, which leads to greater leg strength and stronger knees. The elbows have to stay tall throughout; you cannot let the chest collapse as you drive out of the hole. This teaches you how to maintain a tight, rigid, and unbreakable brace throughout the torso while building a core and upper back of steel. And the anteriorly loaded position allows many people to learn how to get comfortable squatting deep without folding over.

All of this carries over into the general squat pattern, and over time it will lead to cleaner, deeper, more efficient squats across the board, as well as bigger, stronger legs, and a bigger, stronger person in general.

Are they uncomfortable? Yeah, often times they are. But most things worth pursuing in life are not always going to be comfortable, and are oftentimes going to be downright painful. The bar might choke you out, your wrists might strain under the load, and sometimes shit might just feel plain awkward.

But that’s exactly why you should be MASTERING this lift, not avoiding it. Also, it's important to remember that discomfort isn’t necessarily danger—it’s feedback. And you can scale your way into this lift. You don't have to start with a full on clean grip and ATG squats right off the bat. The clean grip with straps is a regressed option, the cross arm grip (aka "bodybuilder style") is another option, as are zombie front squats which come with their own set of unique benefits as well!

To build range of motion, you can start from pins set at a comfortable depth, and gradually increase that range of motion slowly over time as you gain strength, skill, and confidence with the movement. 

Front squats are an uncomfortable, technical, and brutally honest movement. But they’re also one of the best tools in existence to build real world, usable strength and mobility across the entire body. The benefits they provide are unique and myriad, the efficiency with which they provide them is pretty much unmatched, and in reality the movement is not nearly as inaccessible as people seem to want to believe.

So now you know the truth about front squats and why you should stop skipping them! Now go make some gains!