Barbell Anderson Squat
- Músculo objetivo
- —
- Equipamiento
- Barbell
- Parte del cuerpo
- Thighs
- Tipo
- Strength
The barbell Anderson squat is a bottom-up strength exercise that starts from a dead stop, with the bar resting on safety pins set at your bottom squat position. Because each rep begins from rest with no stretch reflex, it builds raw starting strength out of the hole and trains the quads, glutes, and hamstrings that drive a squat.
Cómo hacer el Barbell Anderson Squat
- 1Set the safety pins or spotter arms in a power rack to your target bottom-squat depth, with the bar resting on them.
- 2Step under the bar, position it across your upper back, and grip it slightly wider than shoulder-width with your elbows pointing down.
- 3Brace your core, set your feet about shoulder-width apart with toes turned slightly out, and take the weight of the bar off the pins so it sits dead-still on them.
- 4From this dead stop, drive hard through your mid-foot and heels, pushing your knees out and extending your hips and knees together.
- 5Keep your chest up and back flat as you stand, accelerating through the weakest point of the lift.
- 6Lock out fully at the top with your hips and knees extended, without overarching your lower back.
- 7Lower the bar under control back onto the pins, let it settle to a complete dead stop, and reset your brace before the next rep.
- 8After your final rep, set the bar down on the pins and step out of the rack.
Consejos de técnica
- Re-brace and reset your whole body on the pins before every rep — the dead stop is the point of the lift, so never use bounce or momentum.
- Set the pins at the exact depth you want to get stronger from; raising or lowering them shifts where you build strength.
- Drive your knees out in line with your toes as you stand to keep tension through the quads and glutes.
- This is a heavy free-weight barbell lift — always work inside a power rack with the safety pins set so the bar can never trap you, and use a spotter when going near your limit.
Errores comunes
- Bouncing the bar off the pins instead of starting from a true dead stop, which defeats the purpose of training starting strength and can jar the spine.
- Setting the pins too high so you never reach a challenging depth, which limits the carryover to your full squat.
- Letting the chest collapse and the back round as you initiate the drive, which shifts load onto the spine and risks injury.
- Letting the knees cave inward under the heavy start, which stresses the knees and leaks force away from the quads and glutes.
- Pulling the hips up faster than the chest, turning the rep into a good-morning and overloading the lower back.
Preguntas frecuentes
What is an Anderson squat?
An Anderson squat is a bottom-up barbell squat that begins from a dead stop, with the bar resting on safety pins set at your bottom position. You drive up from rest with no stretch reflex, which builds starting strength out of the hardest part of the squat.
What muscles does the barbell Anderson squat work?
Like any squat, it trains the muscles of the thighs — the quads to extend the knees, plus the glutes and hamstrings to extend the hips — with the core working to keep your torso braced and upright.
What's the difference between an Anderson squat and a pin squat or pause squat?
All three remove the bounce at the bottom. A pause squat lowers under control and holds at the bottom before standing, keeping tension on the muscles. A pin squat and an Anderson squat both rest the bar on pins, but the Anderson squat starts each rep from that dead stop on the pins (concentric-only), so there's no eccentric or stretch reflex to help you out of the hole.
Is the Anderson squat good for beginners?
It's better suited to lifters who already squat with solid form, since it loads the weakest point of the lift and demands a strong, repeatable brace. Beginners are usually better off mastering a normal squat first, then adding Anderson squats to fix a sticking point out of the hole.
How many sets and reps should I do?
Because each rep starts from a dead stop, the Anderson squat is typically trained in low reps for strength — around 3–5 sets of 3–5 reps with a challenging weight, resting fully between sets so every rep keeps quality drive.
