Heel Elevated Dumbbell Front Squat
Front-rack squat with two dumbbells at the shoulders and both heels on a weight plate.
How to do it
- Place a weight plate on the floor and set both heels on its front edge, toes on the ground.
- Hold a hex dumbbell at each shoulder in a front-rack position.
- Brace the trunk and sit the hips down between the feet.
- Keep the elbows up and the torso as vertical as the rack allows.
- Drive through the midfoot to stand without the heels sliding off the plate.
- Do not let the knees cave in or the dumbbells roll off the shoulders.
Key technique cue
Elbows up, hips down between the feet; keep the heels from sliding off the plate.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Letting the heels slip off the plate as the knees travel forward.
- ✕ Dropping the elbows so the dumbbells pull the chest down.
- ✕ Turning the lift into a hinge by sending the hips back too far.
- ✕ Using a plate so tall that the toes lose contact with the floor.
Benefits
- ✓ Biases the quads by adding knee travel and an upright trunk.
- ✓ Gives lifters with limited ankle dorsiflexion a way to squat deeper.
- ✓ Uses dumbbells and a plate, so it fits home and dumbbell-only programs.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Heel Elevated Dumbbell Front Squat
- Dumbbell Front Squat
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Step 2 -
Step 3
About the exercise
A heel-elevated dumbbell front squat puts the load in a front rack and the heels on a plate or wedge. A heel lift lets the knees travel farther and the trunk stay more upright, which biases the quadriceps. Heel-elevated squats are quad-dominant, with glutes and hamstrings doing less than in a flat-heel squat, and the core bracing the upright torso. Use two hex dumbbells at the shoulders and a single circular plate under both heels, toes on the floor in front. This is the heel-elevated dumbbell front squat, not a barbell front squat and not a goblet squat, and it suits squat variety, quad-bias accessory work, and coaching lifters with limited dorsiflexion.
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