There are so many squat variations out there that it can be hard to know which one is best for you — and when that changes throughout the season (if you even have a season). So let’s get into it.
Full Range of Motion Back Squat
This is the squat you bring to a desert island if you could only do one lift for the rest of your life. Elevate your heels, remove the ankle as a limiting factor and then get deep.
- Mobility, joint & connective tissue health
- Tendon remodelling and massive hypertrophy thanks to deep ranges
- Huge transfer to athletic development
This squat loads your quads and glutes like nothing else.
When to use:
Physique athletes can keep it in year‑round and rotate with machines (hack squat, pendulum). Contact athletes can also keep it in all season — once chronic adaptations are built, you won’t get much soreness unless you add novelty (rep ranges, tempo, volume, intensity). Outstanding in the off‑season and still very reliable in‑season.
Box Squats
Squat down, sit to the box/bench, lose some elastic energy and explode up.
- Perfect entry point for beginners or youth athletes
- Builds confidence — you “know” you have something to sit on
- Improves intent → improves bar speed
- Lets you lift heavy percentages of your 1RM with higher bar velocity
When to use:
Brilliant in‑season. Great teaching tool. Great velocity tool.
Anderson Squats
Most people haven’t heard of these. They’re all about starting strength — overcoming inertia from a dead stop. Newton’s first law: an object not in motion needs an external force to get moving, exactly like acceleration mechanics: those first 1–2 steps are pure concentric power.
Squat to roughly halfway, drop the bar onto pins, lose all elastic energy and blast up.
- Very low soreness
- Massive gains in concentric force and acceleration
- Perfect primer for speed days
- Pairs beautifully with French contrast work (CMJ, jump squat, etc.)
When to use:
In‑season or the day before a game as a neural primer.
Pin Squats
Similar idea to Andersons, but with a much smaller range of motion. Squat down a quarter, set the bar on the pins, then drive up. You don’t need a long pause — lose some elastic energy, not all.
- Minimal soreness and fatigue
- You can load above 100% of your 1RM full squat
- Break strength plateaus
- Safe and effective in‑season
If your 1RM is stuck at 150 kg, pin squats let you lift 155–160 kg for doubles/triples. Huge confidence and neural benefit.
Front Squats
Brilliant movement for youth athletes and anyone who struggles staying upright in the back squat. The front rack position keeps the torso vertical — more knee flexion and more quad loading.
Limiting factor? For stronger athletes, it’s often the ability to hold the rack position, not the legs.
When to use:
Year‑round. Perfect top‑up lift later in the week — for example, back squat Monday and front squat Thursday with a Sunday match coming.
So There You Have It
Full range back squat. Box squat. Anderson squat. Pin squat. Front squat. Each has a purpose. Each has a place in the year. Each has a different physiological and practical benefit.
Which one’s your favourite — and why?