Bodyweight Elevated Heel Front Squat exercise animation (Männlich)

Bodyweight Elevated Heel Front Squat

Zielmuskel
—
Equipment
Body weight
Körperregion
Thighs
Typ
Strength

The bodyweight elevated heel front squat is a quad-focused lower-body exercise that targets the thighs, with the glutes assisting and the core working to hold an upright torso. Performed with your heels raised on a small wedge, plate, or board and your arms held in a front-rack position, the heel lift opens up ankle range and biases the squat toward your quadriceps.

Bodyweight Elevated Heel Front Squat: So führst du sie aus

  1. 1Place a small wedge, plate, or board under your heels and stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly out.
  2. 2Raise your arms to a front-rack position — elbows up and forward, fingertips near your shoulders — to keep your chest tall.
  3. 3Brace your core and pull your shoulders back, keeping your torso as upright as the front-rack position allows.
  4. 4Bend your knees and sit straight down, letting your knees travel forward over your toes as your heels stay supported on the riser.
  5. 5Descend under control until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, keeping your chest up and heels weighted.
  6. 6Drive through your whole foot to stand back up, extending your knees and hips until you reach the top.
  7. 7Squeeze your glutes at the top without leaning back, then repeat for your target reps.

Technik-Tipps

  • Keep your torso vertical throughout — the elevated heels and front-rack arms are there to let you stay upright and load the quads.
  • Use a low riser (about 2.5–5 cm) so your heels stay in contact with it the whole time rather than rocking off.
  • Control the descent over 2–3 seconds and avoid bouncing at the bottom to keep constant tension on the thighs.
  • Track your knees in line with your toes as they travel forward, rather than letting them cave inward.
  • Drive evenly through the whole foot on the way up, not just the toes, to stay balanced over the riser.

Häufige Fehler

  • Letting your heels lift off the riser, which defeats the elevation and shifts you onto an unstable forefoot balance.
  • Leaning the torso forward instead of staying upright, which turns the movement into a hip-dominant squat and takes work off the quads.
  • Letting the knees collapse inward, which puts the knee joint under uneven stress and weakens the drive out of the bottom.
  • Cutting the depth short above parallel, which shortens the range the thighs work through and limits the stimulus.
  • Dropping the elbows out of the front-rack position, which rounds the chest and pulls you out of the upright posture the exercise relies on.

Häufig gestellte Fragen

What muscles does the bodyweight elevated heel front squat work?

It mainly works the thighs, emphasizing the quadriceps, with the glutes assisting on the way up and the core working to keep your torso upright.

Why elevate your heels in this squat?

Raising your heels increases ankle range of motion so you can sit straight down with a more upright torso, which shifts more of the work onto your quadriceps.

What can I use to raise my heels?

A small wedge, weight plate, or sturdy board about 2.5–5 cm tall works well. Keep it low and stable so your heels rest on it through the full rep.

Is the bodyweight elevated heel front squat good for beginners?

Yes. It uses only your body weight plus a heel riser, so it is a low-load way to learn an upright, quad-focused squat pattern before adding external resistance.

How many sets and reps should I do?

Because it is a bodyweight movement, higher reps work well — try 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps, focusing on a controlled tempo and full depth.

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