Barbell Full Squat
Also works: Calves · Glutes · Hamstrings · Lower Back
The full squat takes the back squat past parallel and keeps descending until the hamstrings meet the calves. That bottom position asks for ankle and hip range most lifters do not have, and it shifts a meaningful share of the work onto the adductors and glutes that a parallel squat leaves on the table.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Set the hooks at mid-chest height and take the bar out with two steps. A long walkout is wasted energy at a depth that already demands more of you.
- Bar high on the traps, above the rear delts — a high-bar position keeps the torso more upright, which is what makes the deep bottom reachable.
- Feet about shoulder-width with toes turned out 25-30 degrees, wider toe flare than you would use for a parallel squat.
- Flat, hard-soled shoes or lifting shoes. A raised heel buys you the ankle range this depth needs.
- Take one breath into the belly and brace hard before the descent, not halfway down.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — One breath per rep, taken and held at the top, released only once you are standing. Three seconds down, no bounce, drive up as fast as the load allows.
Before you load it
- Set the rack pins just below your bottom position. At this depth the pins are the only thing between a failed rep and being pinned on the floor.
- Practise bailing backwards with a light bar once. Getting out from under a failed deep squat is a different skill from a parallel one.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Start with the empty 20 kg bar and find the bottom position before adding anything. A realistic full-squat working weight is 80-85% of what you handle to parallel. Add 2.5 kg only when every rep of every set reaches the bottom with a neutral pelvis and no bounce — depth is the progression gate, not the rep count.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Squat only to the depth where your pelvis stays neutral, filmed from the side, and build range with ankle mobility and paused bodyweight sits. Add a 1 cm heel lift to buy depth today.
Pause for a full second at the bottom on every rep for a training block. If the weight will not come up without the bounce, the weight is what needs changing.
Drop 15-20% off your parallel squat top set. Deep squats are a different lift with a different max — logging them at the same weight is how technique quietly rots.
Widen your stance slightly, flare the toes more, and squat in lifting shoes. Heels rising means the ankle has run out of dorsiflexion and the bar is now over your toes.
Why bother
Below parallel, the hip has to keep flexing after the knee has run out of useful travel, so the adductor magnus and glutes take over the job of reversing the descent. That is the specific muscular difference between this and a squat that stops at parallel, and it is why full-range squatters tend to have thicker inner thighs and stronger hips out of the hole.
The trade-off is honest: you will squat noticeably less weight, and if your ankles or hips cannot supply the range, your pelvis tucks under at the bottom and your lumbar spine rounds under load. That tuck — the butt wink — is the failure mode this depth provokes more than any other squat variation.
Where it fits
First movement on a lower-body day, once or twice a week. Use it as your main squat if your range allows it, or as the moderate-load day alongside a parallel or box squat for heavy work. Sets of 3-8 are the sweet spot; long high-rep sets at this depth usually degrade into whatever position you can reach when tired.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Start here instead
When this gets easy
Asked and answered
Is squatting past parallel bad for my knees?
No. Knee shear forces actually fall in the deep position, and knees adapt to loaded range like anything else. What does cause trouble is jumping to full depth with heavy weight before your ankles and hips supply the range, so the load ends up on tissue that never trained there.
How much weight will I lose compared with a parallel squat?
Expect 15-20%. That is the correct trade for a much larger range of motion and more hip and adductor work. Log the two separately rather than treating the deeper number as a regression.
Is butt wink something I have to fix?
A small amount of pelvic tuck at the very bottom is common and not dangerous under light load. A pronounced tuck under a heavy bar is worth fixing — squat to just above the depth where it appears, work ankle dorsiflexion, and let the depth return over weeks.
Do I need weightlifting shoes for this?
Not strictly, but they help more here than in any other squat. The raised heel converts a knee-forward, upright position into something reachable without the pelvis tucking. If you squat deep regularly and have stiff ankles, they are the highest-value kit purchase you can make.