The 9 Best Alternatives To Back Squats

Davy McGregor
14 May 2020

Davy McGregor

Managing Director ERA-FIT

Published

14 May 2020

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Back squats are indisputably great for strength, mobility, core strength and general fitness however sometimes they just don’t work for a person. Possibly because of pre-existing conditions such as back injuries, knee, shoulder or even wrist pains. Therefore it can be best for some people to avoid back squats, many athletes for example rugby players avoid squats in order to avoid pain or worse injury. Luckily, there are plenty of other knee flexion exercises which are worthy of doing, these may even be beneficial for people looking to vary their training or for gym goers who may have hit a plateau and are looking for variations. Here are our 9 best alternatives to back squats:

Leg Press

Often looked down on because it is deemed as not as effective as free-weights exercises just like the back squat, the leg press is nonetheless a great exercise. While it may not allow to train stabilising muscles in your joints or core muscles like free weight exercises would, it provides a fixed movement pattern which isolates the exact muscles you’re looking to train. In this case, primarily your quadriceps and your hamstrings and glutes to a lesser extent, allowing you break down those muscles to an extent you may not be able to while squatting (CoachMag.co.uk, 2018). Overall the leg press is one of the best alternatives to back squats as it focuses on the same muscles whilst allowing to de-load the users back.

Deadlifts

The deadlift in such is not technically a replacement of the squat, although it does mobilise stabilising muscles just like the back squat it mainly targets different muscles (glutes, hamstrings, adductors, quadriceps, core and back). On the other hand, as good as are the leg press, lunges or split squats none of them compare to the deadlift in terms of building explosive full body power. Equally, many with hip, knee or ankle injuries are able to perform the movement with heavy weight without pain. Using a trap bar is also one of the best alternatives to back squats for anyone with lower back issues looking to still develop their explosive power and overall strength. (Breakingmuscle.com, 2019).

Goblet Squats

As the name indicates, the goblet squat is a squat however it differs from the barbell back squat. Indeed, to perform it you have to hold a weight (kettlebell, dumbell or weight plate) with your hands at chin level and squat down until the weight is between your legs while keeping your torso upright all along.

One of the limitations of the goblet squat however is the maximum weight you can perform it with, if you are looking to develop strength this may not be the exercise for you. On the other hand you can focus on higher reps and more volume which is good to achieve hypertrophy or train muscle endurance.

Front Squats

Often overlooked as people can find holding the bar in the front rack position difficult front squats are however a great alternative to back squats. While with the back squat you can hide weaknesses such as imbalances, strength deficiencies and mobility issues, with the front squat you cannot. Indeed the movement forces you to remedy any postural problems, it can be utilised as a tool to identify and correct the following issues:

Problems with thoracic extension (the ability to keep your chest up)
Overdeveloped pic minor, biceps or triceps that can lead to a hunched forward position
Imbalances in the shoulder girdle
Weaknesses in the core
Front rack mobility issues
Poor strength in the glutes and quads
Hip mobility issues
Lack of ankle flexibility

Bulgarian Split Squats

Bulgarian split squats are an ideal replacement and also one of the best alternatives to back squats for anyone looking to take the load away from their back. In fact, by placing one foot behind you on an elevated platform (bench, box) and the other foot on the floor and then performing the squat by going down until the back knee touches the floor, the load is passed fully through the legs.

As a result, split squats provide benefits in the sense that they are a unilateral movement allowing to train any imbalances, and equally the depth needed to complete the movement can be a good way for athletes to and whilst it can require some balance work, it allows to overload your quads and glutes and work on your lower body strength effectively.

Lunges

Reverse Lunges, Walking Lunges, TRX Lunges, Jump Lunges, Curtsy Lunges… there’s a whole range of variation of lunges to choose from depending on what you want to work on. They are one of the most popular exercises in the gym for several reasons. First of all they are easy to do and necessarily require any equipment. They are versatile, depending on what you are looking to work strength, speed or mobility. Finally, they have a low injury risk, taking the load away from the spine and requiring little weight in order to be effective.

Step Ups

Another great alternative is weighted step ups. Like many of the unilateral exercises the load required in order to work optimally is lower than that carried during a back squats, the risk of injury is therefore significantly lower. Ideally performed on plyo boxes or a stable bench with either weights in each hand or a barbell on the shoulders it can be suitable for anyone. Equally the exercise is very versatile and can be altered to work lateral movement by doing side step ups or can be used as a plyometric exercise to improve speed and explosive power by using lighter weight and speeding up the movement.

Single Leg Leg Press

Whilst most people use the leg press machine with two legs at the same time, performing it one leg at a time is a harder variation, if you are looking to really target your quads this is for you. Equally as with all single leg exercises it also allows to reduce imbalances and tire muscles out faster.

Sled Pushes

Simple but incredibly effective, sled pushes are deceivingly vicious. With the option to be used for conditioning, fat loss, muscle building or sport-specific training it is a must have piece of equipment for any gym. As a replacement for back squats you will want to look at pushing the sled to mainly target your leg muscles however it can also be pulled or dragged depending on what you are looking to work. Additionally, it is a low impact exercise and you don’t have to carry any weight through your spine which minimises the risk of injury and places little stress on the spine, shoulder and knees.