Exercise movement reviewed by:Cody Lockling, MS, CSCS

How Iridium Programs This

Iridium analyzes your 7-day workout history to verify your upper back and core are recovered from recent pulling sessions, ensuring you have the stability required for the front rack position. The system counts this specifically toward your quadriceps volume targets while monitoring RPE trends to detect if core fatigue is prematurely capping your leg performance.

Form Cues

Keep your elbows high and parallel to the floor throughout the lift
Create a 'shelf' with your shoulders for the bar to rest on
Maintain an upright torso with your chest proud
Drive your knees outward and track them over your toes
Inhale deep into your belly and brace your core before descending

Don't

Don't let your elbows drop during the ascent
Don't round your upper back or collapse your chest
Don't let your heels lift off the ground
Don't allow your knees to cave inward
Don't hold the weight with your hands; they just stabilize the bar

Common Mistakes

Dropping elbows as fatigue sets in
Supporting the weight with wrists instead of shoulders
Rounding the thoracic spine (upper back)
Rising hips faster than the shoulders
Insufficient depth due to ankle stiffness

Muscles Worked

This exercise places primary stress on the quadriceps due to the upright torso angle, which forces greater knee flexion than back squats. It also heavily engages the upper back (thoracic extensors) and core isometrically to prevent the bar from pulling you forward, while the glutes work to extend the hips.