The Smith Machine Front Squat is a beginner-friendly machine strength exercise that targets the quadriceps, with the glutes, hamstrings, abdominals and calves working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesQuads
Secondary musclesGlutes, Hamstrings, Abs, Calves
EquipmentMachine
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Smith Machine Front Squat
Set the Smith bar at shoulder height and step under it so it rests across your front deltoids.
Place your hands on top of the bar or use a front rack grip with two or three fingers.
Set your feet slightly ahead of the bar, about shoulder width, with the toes turned out a little.
Rotate your wrists to unrack the bar and brace your trunk.
Bend the knees and push the hips back together until your thighs reach parallel.
Drive the elbows up and press through the whole foot to return to standing.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Emphasizes the quadriceps through an upright torso position.
Produces lower knee compressive force than an equivalent back squat.
Removes most of the balance demand, which shortens the learning curve.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Letting the elbows drop, which rolls the bar forward off the shoulders.
Placing the feet directly under the bar, which forces the torso to lean into the fixed path.
Rising hips first, which turns an anterior-loaded squat into a stiff-legged shove.
Letting the knees collapse inward instead of tracking over the second toe.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Smith Machine Front Squat, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
