Barbell · intermediate · upper legs
Barbell elevated back squat
Also called Heel elevated squat, Heels up squat, Plate squat, Wedge squat, Cyclist squat.
This is a back squat with your heels raised on plates or a wedge. Your quads still do the work of straightening the knees. Raising the heel tips your foot into a pointed position, which means the squat needs less range from your ankle to reach the same depth. That is the mechanism, and everything else about this variation follows from it.
How to do it
- Step onePosition a barbell on your upper back and stand with your heels elevated on plates or a wedge.
- Step twoStand with feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointed slightly outward.
- Step threeKeeping your chest up and back straight, lower your body by bending your knees.
- Step fourDescend until your thighs are parallel to the ground or slightly below.
- Step fiveDrive through your heels and midfoot to return to the starting position.
What usually goes wrong
Each starts with what you would notice.
Your heels slip off the back of the plate partway down.
WhyOnly part of the heel was on the plate to begin with, so as your weight shifts back in the descent there is nothing under it.
FixSet up with the whole heel on the plate and the ball of the foot on the floor, and check it before every set rather than once at the start. Plates slide, and a heel half on and half off is worse than no elevation at all.
The elevation is so high you feel like you are tipping forward onto your toes.
WhyPast a certain height the raise stops helping and just moves your weight forward, so you spend the set fighting to stay over your feet.
FixStart lower than you think. A small raise changes the ankle demand noticeably, and if you need a big one to reach depth, the problem is not the height of the plate.
Your knees travel a very long way forward now and it feels uncontrolled.
WhyThe ankle was what limited that travel before. Take the limit away and the knees will happily go further than you are used to.
FixLet them travel, but keep them tracking over your toes rather than drifting inward, and control the speed of the descent. Forward knee travel in a squat is normal. Losing the line the knees travel on is not.
You can only squat well with the plates under you.
WhyNothing has gone wrong, but it is worth naming: elevation gets you the depth today, it does not change what your ankle can do tomorrow.
FixUse it as a tool rather than a permanent setting. Plenty of people squat elevated on purpose because they want the position it gives, which is a legitimate choice. Just make it deliberately rather than by drifting into it.
What it is for
The barbell elevated back squat places the heels on an elevated surface to increase quad activation and allow for a more upright torso. It targets the quadriceps with secondary emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings, and is commonly used to improve squat depth and mechanics.
Questions people ask
- What does elevating your heels do in a squat?
- It tips your foot into a pointed position, so the squat needs less bend at the ankle to reach the same depth. That lets the knees travel further forward and lets your torso stay more upright than it otherwise could.
- Does a heel elevated squat work the quads more?
- It is widely said and we could not find anything measuring it. What is clear is that a more upright torso leaves less of the lift to the hips, which is a position argument rather than an activation one. That is as far as the evidence goes.
- How high should the elevation be?
- Low. A small raise changes the ankle demand a lot. If you need a large one to reach depth, you are moving your weight forward as much as you are helping the ankle, and the position gets harder rather than easier.
- Can you use weight plates under your heels?
- Yes, and most people do. Put the whole heel on the plate with the ball of the foot on the floor, and reset it between sets because plates move. A solid wedge or lifting shoes do the same job without sliding.
- Is squatting with elevated heels bad for you?
- Nothing we found suggests so. It is a position choice, and plenty of people squat this way permanently because they prefer what it does to their torso angle. It does not build ankle range, so if that is what you were after, this is not the tool.