The Brink Front Squat

The alternative grip I developed to the traditional grips used in the front squat* came from my own frustrations with this movement. Some people – including yours truly – could never get comfortable with the traditional grips used in the front squat no matter how hard they try, and thus simply don’t make progress in this exercise or simply avoid it altogether. Over the years I put serious effort into the front squat, only to get frustrated with it and drop it from my leg routines. No matter what I did, I simply could not get comfortable with the traditional grips. I came up with something that worked for me. I call it the Brink Front Squat.
Teaching it to others who had similar issues with the traditional front squat, feedback on the grip I developed was very positive, so I decided to make a vid to demonstrate the Brink Front Squat.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9ounKT_16A[/youtube]
Now, some people seem to excel using the traditional front squat grip, and I envy them! For example, John Sully, the guy I used in my first video on the front squat (see URL below), has perfect form doing front squats using traditional grips. That’s why I used him for the vid…If you are one of those people, I recommend you stick to what works best for you. You might want to try the Brink Front Squat, but you don’t need to.
For the rest of us, if you are one of those people who has tried many times to use the traditional grip for the front squat and were unable to have productive legs workouts, try The Brink Front Squat and see if it does not solve the issues you had in the past. It’s been very helpful to me and others I have worked with who were never able to get a “grove” going with the traditional front squat variations.
• = see my vid on the traditional front squat

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9 Comments
  1. Larry Darland 16 years ago

    Thank you thank you… this is what is needed… videos on how to do certain lifts… this is awsome… i hate doing the squats but i do them every other day like i should… i will be trying this, and i hope it works better for me…
    way cool video
    thanks

  2. greg stamm 16 years ago

    Every expert stresses proper form.Your videos show us the way.
    Thanks

  3. Philip (fairlane) 16 years ago

    I love doing squats.. never could do them with Sully’s first grip though, always made my hands tingle. Using the cross-over grip works just fine, even if i bruise my shoulders. I do go down almost all the way though, a little bit farther down than just below parallel, but then again I’m not using a lot of weight, otherwise my back starts to hurt, even with it pretty straight.

  4. Author
    Will Brink 16 years ago

    Larry and Greg, you will note other exercises are covered on my youtube page: traditional front squats, leg press, cable row, and St leg dead lift, as well as other fun stuff. More to come as I can get them done.
    Philip, if the other grips didn’t for you (as they didn’t for me) then try the grip I developed.

  5. George B. 16 years ago

    Will, I have never liked doing front squats, so thanks very much for this option. I’d like to give this a try. I watched your video, but still have a question, sorry if I’m not being perceptive enough, but do the wrists curl down towards the chest a tad, or do they stay straight?

  6. Author
    Will Brink 16 years ago

    I guess they curl slightly, but watch the vid, and experiment what works best for you. You may find more or less curl is more comfortable for you.

  7. Ryan 16 years ago

    Will, what is reasoning behind doing a front squat over a regular squat? Does it get the quads differently?

  8. Author
    Will Brink 16 years ago

    Ryan, front squats are simply another variation that = small changes in neuro muscular stimulus, just as variations in other like movements accomplish. Many coaches and athletes actually feel the front squat is superior to the back squat for various reasons. I, like many, do both, as well as other exercises for the lower body, because variation is a key concept to making continued progress in weight lifting.

  9. Evan 14 years ago

    Front squats and back squats are both great exercises.
    Some “functional training” coaches claim that the front squat is more “sports specific” but this is false. Their statement is actually code for: not being able to make anyone strong on the back squat.

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