“Going light” on squats never got anyone bigger quads or stronger legs.
Challenging working sets induced via load are a prerequisite for any stimulus that builds muscle. Time is valuable, and “going light” is a good way to waste precious minutes of a session with no substantial return.
The barbell squat is a great North Star for your programming decisions, but it goes awry when the inevitable off-day arises.
So when your client walks into a session tired, under-recovered, and they’re struggling to un-rack the weight, let alone stabilize their warm-ups, avoid the temptation to just “go light today”.
Barbells aren’t suited for light weight.
“Light” barbell work is perhaps the most common (and misguided) call to make. A negligible load on the bar does nothing for stimulating growth – nor does it encourage skill development for future sessions.
Your client still needs stimulus, despite your first solution not being a viable option. In this case, mitigate fatigue through changing the exercise pattern before decreasing the load.
Choose the right squat for the job at hand.
The back squat is the holy grail for squatting. Once you put a bar on your back, your runway of progression multiplies: due to the structural stability of an axial load, you can add more weight than any other variation.
${component=BasicCard}High Bar
If low bar back squats are a standard feature of the program, transitioning to a high bar position removes some structural stability from your squat pattern. In doing so, there’s greater reliance on muscle from a pure bracing standpoint.
It also requires a more upright posture which lengthens the lever acting against key muscles – generating more subjective challenge with objectively less load.
${component=BasicCard}Front Squat
The front squat changes the game entirely by placing the bar on the anterior deltoids rather than the posterior. In doing so, there is a significant demand placed on your client to stay upright.
The weight on the bar is a physical reminder to control the centre of mass and brace in order to prevent dumping the weight. The front squat is true skill work for your back squat.
${component=BasicCard}Goblet Squat
Anteriorly loaded like the front squat, holding a heavy dumbbell in a goblet position doubles down on core mechanics. It pins your torso in the correct alignment for proper bracing and necessitates a balanced squat posture.
When a barbell variation isn’t on the table, a heavy goblet squat is your best way to maintain stimulus without underwhelming a client by “going light”.
Regress the pattern, not the load.
The squat is a lifelong skill that takes years to master. Going light doesn’t provide the right nervous system or muscular stimulus to drive adaptation, but transitioning the pattern is a fantastic failsafe for off days.
Before choosing a regression, determine the limiting factor in the planned primary squat. Select your regression based on whether your goal is to isolate and improve the limiting factor, or to bypass it entirely and facilitate a different muscular or positional adaptation.
${component=Step}High bar skews the challenge towards quad output.
Use leverage changes to keep the challenge high without as much load as a low bar squat. This variation allows for deeper ranges of knee flexion and thus more quad stimulus, and is more stable due to the axial load.
Squeeze the bar, pull your shoulder blades down, and start with a pre-hinge to keep tension on the glutes and quads.
${component=Step}Front squat skews challenge towards core/bracing & retains quad emphasis.
An anterior load forces you to brace and control your position. The posteriorly shifted COM allows for maximum knee flexion, but the rate limiter is the stability of your upper back.
Try a front rack, or a bro-rack by trapping the bar with each hand to the opposite shoulder, but keep your elbows up and lats packed. Stay tall throughout the whole movement. Stay over mid-foot: don’t end up on your toes.
${component=Step}Goblet squat isolates core stability and removes technical barriers.
Less technically challenging than the other variations, the goblet squat is meant for effort. Due to the core challenge, this variation is most effectively used after the quads have received some stimulus so they can be the rate limiter.
Allow for a higher rep count and more measured concentric tempo. Don’t be afraid to elevate the heels or add a band.