Tempo Back Squat

How to do it

1. Grip the racked bar evenly with your hands just outside shoulder width.
2. Position yourself under the bar with it resting across your upper-back muscles.
3. Stand to lift the bar clear of the hooks.
4. Step back into a roughly shoulder-width stance with your toes slightly turned out.
5. Lower into a squat over three seconds to the deepest position you can control.
6. Rise at your normal lifting speed to a fully standing position.
7. Walk forward to the rack after your final repetition.
8. Lower the bar into both hooks.

Safety

The slow descent increases fatigue, which can lead to losing trunk support or failing under the bar. Excessive load or an uncontrolled repetition can strain your back or knees, and an unsupported failed lift can trap you.

• Set the safety supports just below the bar's lowest position; test their height with an empty bar.
• Start substantially lighter than your regular back squat, adding weight only when every repetition stays controlled.
• Secure the plates with collars before unracking.
• End the set when you can no longer maintain the prescribed descent speed or stable posture.

If you have back, hip, or knee pain during squats, choose a lighter, shallower variation and seek advice from a physiotherapist before loading this version.

Sets and reps

Sets

3–4

Target

4–6 reps

Rest

3 min

Finish each set with enough reserve to perform about two more repetitions at the same tempo.

Variations