Strength Training · Olympic Weightlifting
Tempo Front Squat
The tempo front squat uses a deliberately slow descent and a normal, controlled ascent. It trains your thighs and glutes while challenging your trunk to keep the bar supported in front of you.
Higher injury risk. Read the safety notes before adding weight.
- Intermediate
- Compound
- Higher injury risk
- Rest 3 min
How to do it
- Grip the racked bar slightly wider than shoulder width.
- Position yourself under the bar with it resting across the fronts of your shoulders, supported lightly by your fingers.
- Lift the bar clear of the hooks by straightening your legs.
- Take two short steps back from the rack.
- Set your feet about shoulder-width apart, with your toes turned slightly outward.
- Lower into a squat over three seconds, reaching the deepest position you can control with an upright torso.
- Stand back up smoothly at your normal lifting speed to finish the rep.
Form cues
- Brace your trunk before each descent
- Keep pressure through your whole foot
- Let your knees follow your toes
Common mistakes
- Elbows droppingPoint your elbows forward throughout the rep so the bar stays on your shoulders rather than rolling into your hands.
- Rushing the final part of the descentSpread the lowering time evenly across the full range instead of dropping quickly into the bottom.
- Hips rising before the chestBring your hips and chest up together rather than tipping forward as you stand.
Safety
The prolonged descent increases fatigue, which can cause you to lose the bar position or tip forward under load. A failed rep without properly positioned supports can trap you beneath the bar or strain your back and wrists.
- Set the rack hooks just below shoulder height and the safety supports just below the bar's lowest squat position.
- Practice with an empty bar before adding weight, using less load than for your regular front squat.
- End the set if you can no longer maintain the descent time or shoulder support.
- After your final rep, contact both rack uprights with the bar before lowering it onto the hooks.
If wrist, shoulder, knee, or back pain prevents a comfortable repetition, choose a lighter goblet squat or seek advice from a physiotherapist before loading this movement.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Barbell Collar
- Bumper Plate
- Knee Sleeves (optional)
- Lifting Belt (optional)
- Lifting Straps (optional)
- Olympic Weightlifting Barbell
- Power Rack
- Rack Safety Supports
- Wrist Wraps (optional)
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 3–4
- Target
- 4–6 reps
- Rest
- 3 min
Finish each set with about two good repetitions remaining.