Legs · Squat and lunge
Cable Bar Front Squat
The Cable Bar Front Squat mainly trains your quads and glutes. Also working: abs and adductors.
Both cables
Stable
How to do it
- Pick up the bar and stand right over the pulleys
- Elbows high, chest up
- Squat straight down, deep, knees out
- Drive up through the whole foot
Coach’s tip
Both cables on one bar doubles the load. The bar sits most comfortably in the crooks of your elbows (Zercher): a towel wrapped around it spares your forearms. Standing on two weight plates keeps the stack from bottoming out.
Noticeably loads the knee. If you tell DCFT that this joint bothers you, the app leaves exercises like this one out and picks a better supported alternative.
Setup
Pulley
Both pulleys at the bottom, both cables on the bar
Grip
Bar in the crooks of your elbows or in front of your shoulders
Load
Both cables
Needs two cable towers
You need
one of: Straight bar (both cables), Lat bar (both cables), Short straight bar, EZ bar
Stability
A bench, the floor or the frame takes the counterforce, or the cable pulls straight up or down. Good for heavy sets.
Alternatives
Other exercises for the same movement (squat and lunge). In DCFT you can swap with one tap, and the app only offers what your equipment allows.
Questions about this exercise
What muscles does the Cable Bar Front Squat work?
Mainly the quads and glutes. The abs and adductors help.
How do I set up the cable machine for the Cable Bar Front Squat?
Pulley: Both pulleys at the bottom, both cables on the bar. Grip: Bar in the crooks of your elbows or in front of your shoulders.
Can I do the Cable Bar Front Squat on a single cable tower?
Not like this. The Cable Bar Front Squat needs both cables at once, so two towers. If you set up DCFT for one tower, the app leaves it out of your plan and uses exercises such as Goblet Squat and Cable Goblet Squat instead.
What can I do instead of the Cable Bar Front Squat?
For the same movement: Cable Belt Squat, Cable Split Squat and Goblet Squat. In DCFT you swap with one tap.
DCFT
The Cable Bar Front Squat in DCFT
In the app this exercise comes with your weight: the plate to pin, what you lifted last time and a rest timer that starts by itself.
Free on the App Store for iPhone. Pro is a one-time purchase with no subscription.