Health & Exercise

Workout of the Month: Front Squat to Press

By Jessica Escalante | bio | contact

The Front Squat to Press is a great exercise to tone both upper and lower body. You can perform this exercise with dumbbells or heavy weight as shown.

1 Setup

Stance: Position feet slightly outside of shoulders with the weight on the heels. Position the bar on your shoulders by creating a shelf. You can create a shelf by keeping your elbows up and maintaining a loose fingertip grip. Be sure to tighten abdomen in order to maintain the integrity of the spine.

2 Execution

Perform a front squat. Remember to: push your butt back and down to below your knees and be careful not to let your knees cave in or bowl out, but instead, maintaining straight balance tracking over your toes. When you reach the bottom of the squat, EXPLODE! Apply force to the bar by exploding at the bottom of the squat. This aggressive force helps drive that weight up. At the top of the front squat, finish with a shoulder press and get the bar above your head.

3 Finish

When you stand at the finishing position, maintain open hips. Remember to keep the bar directly over your head and shoulders and not in front of you. The Front Squat to Press targets both upper and lower body: legs, butt, lower back, core (abdomen & lower back), shoulders and triceps.

Suggested Workout:

Perform 10 Front Squat to Presses (FSTP)

Followed by 20 Step ups (you can either use a box or a bench)

Perform 8 FSTP’s

Followed by 18 step ups

Perform 6 FSTP’s

Followed by 16 step ups

Perform 4 FSTP’s

Followed by 14 Step ups

Perform 2 FSTP’s

Followed by 12 step ups

For different fitness levels, you may use more/less weight and also use a lower/higher box or bench for step ups.