Speed Squats

What it is

This is a dynamic, barbell-based lift focusing on explosive lower body power. It primarily strengthens your quadriceps, while also engaging your glutes, hamstrings, calves, and lower back. You'll perform this compound movement with a focus on speed and control, challenging multiple muscle groups simultaneously.

Technique tips

• Set up in a squat rack with the bar across your upper back, not your neck.
• Keep your head up and back straight throughout the entire movement.
• Descend until your upper legs are just below parallel to the floor.
• Drive up explosively from the bottom, pushing through your heels.
• Ensure your knees track in line with your toes, not past them.
• Inhale as you lower, and powerfully exhale as you stand up.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.