You’re probably aware of the clean and jerk, given that it is one of the two competitive lifts that make up weightlifting. Plus, the clean and jerk looks cool and is among the most dynamic and effective exercises you can perform.

The exercise is interesting and effective because it combines four movement patterns: a deadlift, clean, front squat, and overhead press. Because of that, learning the whole movement takes time, patience, and consistent practice.

Still, despite being challenging to master, the clean and jerk will make you stronger and more explosive. The movement also makes everyday tasks like picking things off the floor and raising objects above your head easier.

We recommend including the clean and jerk early into your workouts, given its difficulty. Doing so would allow you to practice the exercise while you’re at your strongest. 

How to do a Clean and Jerk 

1. Stand in front of a loaded barbell with your feet underneath it and shins a couple of inches away. Your feet should be hip-width apart with toes pointed slightly out.
2. Bend down and grab the barbell with an even, overhand grip. Your hands should be wider than shoulder-level apart, and your knees should be against the crease of your elbows. 
3. Bring your chest out as much as you can to put your back in a safe, neutral position. Your hips should be slightly higher than your knees in this position, lower than they would be during a traditional deadlift setup.
4. Keep your neck in a neutral position with your gaze directed a few feet in front of you.
5. Initiate the first pull by deadlifting the barbell off the floor as you press your heels into the ground. Make the initial pull powerful because you have to generate some momentum for the next part of the lift.
6. Once the barbell travels above your knees, keep driving your hips forward as you begin pulling the weight in a straight vertical line. Maintain a neutral spine and keep your body upright. The entire sequence should happen in one smooth motion.
7. As the barbell travels up, squat, catch it, and have it land over your shoulders and upper chest. Maintain a firm grip over the barbell and keep your elbows pointing forward.
8. As the barbell lands in a front rack position, dip a few extra inches until your thighs are parallel to the floor and squat up to the top, straightening your knees fully.
9. Dip slightly and jerk the bar, bringing it over your head, and extending your elbows and knees. The motion is similar to a push press, but it requires a bit of extra momentum.
10. Lower the barbell to your shoulders and bring it to the floor while keeping your back neutral.

Clean and Jerk Muscles Worked

As briefly mentioned in the introduction, the clean and jerk consists of four movements, each of which trains several major muscle groups in the body.

One of the primary muscles that work during a clean and jerk is the quadriceps, which extend our knees off the bottom and create the necessary momentum (1). The quadriceps also work hard once we catch the barbell and perform a front squat (2). 

Our hamstrings and glutes also play an essential role during the initial part of the lift as both muscles produce hip extension (3, 4).

The entire back musculature (latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, rhomboids, etc.) produces force to keep us stable and perform the second pull. Similarly, our shoulders, biceps, and trapezius contribute to the pull, allowing us to raise the barbell enough for us to catch it in a front rack position.

The entire midsection (rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, obliques, and other muscles) flexes isometrically to provide even more torso stability, allowing us to maintain our balance during the highly dynamic clean and jerk.

Tips on the Proper Form with Clean and Jerk

Keeping the barbell close to your body is essential for a good clean and jerk. The bar should travel in a mostly straight line from the floor to above your head. 

The second tip for a successful clean and jerk is to pull the barbell with as much force off the floor as you can. A clean and jerk isn’t a deadlift, and you shouldn’t treat it as such. Raw strength is necessary, but creating momentum allows you to advance the barbell and achieve the required front rack position.

The third tip for a good clean and jerk is to keep your hips low (slightly above your knees). Doing so would allow you to engage your quadriceps better, allowing them to produce a lot of force off the bottom.

Variations and Modifications of the Clean and Jerk

1. Clean and Jerk With Squat

The clean and jerk with a squat is a neat variation you can perform to increase the amount of work you’re doing, practice the lift, and reinforce proper technique. Instead of doing the clean and jerk, you must include one or two front squat reps before completing the lift and setting the barbell down.

2. Block Clean and Jerk

The block clean and jerk is a variation you perform with the barbell elevated on blocks. Doing so is beneficial for improving your pulling technique and addressing any issues that may be preventing you from achieving a front rack position.

Mistakes to Avoid

A common mistake with the clean and jerk is not creating enough force off the bottom. As a result, you cannot gain enough momentum, complete a successful second pull, and get into a front rack position. Fix the mistake by using a lighter load and being as explosive as possible from the start.

Another mistake with the clean and jerk is allowing the barbell to travel too far forward. Doing so makes the movement much more challenging and prevents you from achieving a solid front rack position. As with a deadlift, the barbell should travel in a mostly straight vertical line from start to finish.

The third mistake with the clean and jerk is starting with your hips too high and knees almost straight. Doing so prevents your quadriceps from producing force off the bottom position. Instead, your hamstrings and glutes must do all the work to extend your hips.

Avoid the error by setting your hips slightly higher than your knee and pressing through your heels as you initiate each repetition.

Similar Exercises to the Clean and Jerk

Push Press

The push press is a compound exercise, similar to the final part of a clean and jerk. With the barbell in your arms and at shoulder level, bend your knees slightly (dip) and press the barbell overhead as you extend your knees.

Front Squat

Front squats are a fantastic compound exercise that strengthens your quadriceps, glutes, back, and midsection (2). The movement is part of the clean and jerk, so performing it is vital for reinforcing proper technique and improving your front rack position.

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People often go about building strength and power separately. But the truth is, you don’t have to split your training and complicate things unnecessarily.

Exercises like the clean pull work great because they mix different training elements and develop multiple athletic characteristics. They work on building strength first and later leverage that to build power and explosiveness.

The clean pull is a three-stage movement that forces you to produce a lot of force quickly. As a result, you train many muscle groups simultaneously, build whole-body strength, and become more explosive. Because of that, clean pulls improve your athletic performance, make you stronger, and could even benefit your daily life.

How to do a Clean Pull 

1. Stand in front of a loaded barbell, similar to how you would for a deadlift. Your feet should be hip-width apart, and the barbell should be over the mid-foot.
2. Your back should be neutral with your chest out and arms to your sides. 
3. Bend forward and grab the barbell with an even overhand grip at shoulder-width distance.
4. Bring your shoulders back as much as you can to straighten your back, bring your shins against the bar, and pull the slack off the barbell.
5. Take a breath and initiate the pull by digging your heels into the floor.
6. Extend your hips and knees as you maintain your neutral back position.
7. As the barbell travels up, extend your knees with your hips.
8. Once the barbell goes over your knees, initiate the second stage by forcefully pressing your heels into the floor as if you were trying to do a vertical jump.
9. As the barbell keeps traveling up, forcefully drive your hips forward, fully extending your ankles, knees, and hips. While doing so, shrug your shoulders to raise the bar even more – it should go slightly above your waist.
10. Lower the barbell slowly by first bringing your glutes back. Keep your chest out and back straight.

Clean Pull Muscles Worked

Clean pulls emphasize your entire posterior chain (1). Specifically, the exercise works your hamstrings, glutes, and erector spinae. Your hamstrings and glutes work hard to produce hip extension while your erector spinae contract to keep your back neutral.

The movement also works your quadriceps. As you begin to raise the barbell, your quadriceps extend your knees, allowing your legs to become straight at the top position.

Clean pulls also involve your entire upper back musculature: rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and other muscles. These muscles keep you in position, and your trapezius gets more involved near the top as you shrug the barbell up.

Your abs, obliques, and transverse abdominis also work hard to keep you in a stable position as you lift and lower the barbell. Finally, we have your shoulders, biceps, and forearms. These muscles play an essential role in holding onto the weight, making the clean pull a fantastic full-body activity.

Clean Pull vs. Deadlift

The bar speed and execution is the most notable difference between clean pulls and deadlifts. With deadlifts, the goal is a slow and controlled repetition where the barbell travels in a straight vertical line (2).

Clean pulls have you use much more explosiveness to propel the barbell up. Also, unlike deadlifts, the weight travels in an “S” pattern (first pulling toward your body, then moving it slightly away, and bringing it back in for the finish).

The clean pull also has a slightly different starting position. Specifically, your torso must be a bit more upright, so your hips must be lower (1). In contrast, deadlifts have you keep your hips slightly higher and knees a bit more extended. As a result, you can engage your quadriceps better and force a more explosive initial pull of the barbell.

Variations and Modifications of the Clean Pull

1. Clean High Pull

The clean high pull is a variation of the regular exercise where you attempt to lift the bar even higher. To do that, you must keep pulling the barbell straight up, following the initial two vertical thrusts.

Clean high pulls are beneficial for reinforcing a more assertive and explosive execution of the movement, leading to better shoulder, trap, and bicep involvement.

2. Block Clean Pull

The block clean pull is a variation where you elevate the barbell on blocks and only do the top half of the range of motion. This variation is beneficial for practicing the final extension without becoming too tired. 

3. Clean Pull Hold

The clean pull hold is a variation where you hold the shoulder shrug position for two to five seconds. The movement is good for reinforcing balance, working your back more, and emphasizing complete extension.

Mistakes to Avoid

A common mistake to avoid with clean pulls is using too much weight. In doing so, you can’t accelerate the barbell off the floor and essentially turn the movement into a deadlift. You should practice clean pulls with less weight to achieve good speed and explosiveness in one smooth motion.

Another mistake to watch out for is turning the clean pull into a deadlift with a shrug on top. Clean pulls are about accelerating the bar off the floor and accelerating it again at thigh level, allowing you to use the momentum to raise it a few extra inches at the top. The movement should feel like a single unit, not as separate exercises bundled together.

The last common mistake to avoid relates to the initial setup. People new to the movement often approach it as they do a deadlift, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s not ideal. With clean pulls, your hips have to be lower, and your torso has to be more upright.

The position will allow you to turn the initial pull more into a squat than a hip hinge. In doing so, you can engage your quadriceps better and generate enough force to accelerate the barbell.

Similar Exercises to the Clean Pull 

Deadlift

Deadlifts are similar to clean pulls because both movements take advantage of hip extension and activate many of the same muscle groups (1, 3). The differences stem from the initial setup, the load used, and the speed of execution. As a result, deadlifts develop maximal strength, whereas clean pulls build explosiveness.

Shrug (Barbell)

Barbell shrugs are essentially the final portion of the clean pull. As you lift the weight off the floor and raise it to your upper thigh area, shrugging is what allows you to raise the barbell a few extra inches.

Snatch Pull

Snatch pulls are similar to clean pulls in terms of the range of motion, objective, and execution. The primary difference is, snatch pulls are primarily used to help lifters master the extension on their way to a perfect snatch. With snatch pulls, your grip on the barbell is also much wider.

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If you’re looking to build genuine power and balance, you should include Olympic lifts in your training. The hang snatch is one of the most effective full-body dynamic movements for building speed, strength, overall balance, and muscle mass.

Doing the hang snatch can improve your sports performance, build your core strength, and teach your muscles to produce more force quickly. 

The hang snatch is also beneficial for your daily life because the movement trains all major muscle groups in your body, making you stronger and allowing you to tackle everyday tasks with ease.

How to do a Hang Snatch 

1. Hold a barbell with an overhand snatch grip. Your arms should be straight and to your sides with hands near both ends of the barbell. The barbell should rest against your upper thighs.
2. Spread your feet hip-width apart with toes pointing slightly out. Ensure that your knees are straight and that you’re balancing yourself on your whole foot, not leaning back or forward.
3. Bring your shoulders back and down, engage your abs, and take a breath.
4. Descend into the hang position by hinging at your hips. Bring your glutes back as you maintain a neutral back. Allow your knees to bend so your shins remain vertical. Your shoulders should be directly over the barbell.
5. Lower the barbell to a solid and comfortable position. The position can be quite low or just a few inches down your thighs. Practice for a while to find your ideal point. Most people should aim for around knee level.
6. Extend powerfully by driving through your feet as you extend your knees and hips.
7. As the barbell travels up to hip level, begin the second phase by shrugging your shoulders and pulling the barbell forcefully with your arms and back muscles.
8. With the barbell accelerating rapidly, begin the final phase by ducking under the weight with your arms straight, core engaged, and heels in contact with the floor.
9. If you do everything correctly, you should end up in an overhead squat position with the barbell over your head.
10. Squat up, extending your ankles, knees, and hips.

Hang Snatch Muscles Worked

The primary muscles that work during a hang snatch are your hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps. These muscles provide essential force during the initial hinge and thrust, allowing the barbell to gain speed on its way up.

Your erector spinae and abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and obliques) also provide crucial support to maintain your position as you lift the barbell.

Once you’ve gone through the initial thrust and the barbell travels up, your entire upper body pulls the barbell up, allowing you to complete the catch. Your latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, and other muscles work together to complete the repetition.

Your quadriceps work the most during the final portion of the lift as the barbell is over your head. The muscle group produces the knee extension needed to do the overhead squat and finish standing up.

How to Integrate the Hang Snatch Into Your Workouts?

If you’re new to the movement, your primary goal should be to master proper execution. So, begin with an empty barbell or PVC pipe and do multiple sets of two to three reps. Doing so is great for improving your technique without fatiguing yourself too much.

If you’re already familiar with the movement, do multiple sets of two to three reps with a moderately heavy load that allows you to lift the barbell quickly.

If you’re more advanced and looking to build even more power and explosiveness, you can use heavier weights and do singles. To make up for the low repetition count, you can do upward of six, eight, or even ten total sets.

We recommend doing hang snatches early in your workouts. Since the snatch relies heavily on proper execution, it’s best to do it while you’re still fresh. Otherwise, tired muscles can hinder your technique.

Variations and Modifications of the Hand Snatch 

1. Hang Power Snatch

The hang power snatch is a good variation that forces you to produce even more force as you lift the barbell. The movement is similar to hang snatches, but instead of catching the barbell in a full squat, you receive it in a half or quarter squat position. So, you have to lift the barbell with much more power to land in this higher position.

2. Block Snatch

With block snatches, the barbell rests upon blocks, which naturally limits your range of motion for producing power to accelerate the weight. Doing the block snatch variation is excellent because it improves pulling mechanics and forces you to engage your muscles as best as you can to produce enough power.

Mistakes to Avoid

A common mistake related to the hang snatches is using too much weight. The goal with the movement isn’t to load as much weight on the bar as possible, but to do the exercise effectively. To achieve this, start with a light weight to improve your timing and technique.

Another mistake you could make with hang snatches is to relax your body at crucial parts of the lift. The hang snatch is a whole-body dynamic movement that relies on raw power that comes from creating tightness in your entire body.

A mistake that relates to hang snatch programming is to do the movement too late in your workout. As an exercise that requires fantastic technique, it’s best to do it early in your training, preferably right after warming up. Doing so will prevent any tired muscles from hindering your performance or leading to poor technique.

The final mistake to consider, especially if you’re new to the exercise, is excessive forward swinging of the barbell. Swinging typically occurs due to a lack of good vertical extension.

Instead, lifters would thrust their hips forward, which pushes the barbell far forward, creating a large loop. Doing so makes the exercise unnecessarily tricky and can cause you to lose balance, fall forward, or fail to receive the barbell.

Similar Exercises to the Hang Snatch 

Snatch Pull

The snatch pull is similar to hang snatches in many ways. The grip width is the same, and you have to produce explosive strength to thrust the bar up. The difference is, snatch pulls have you lift the bar off the floor and pull it to just above your waist instead of over your head.

Overhead Squat

Overhead squats are similar to hang snatches because the movement is an integral part of the entire exercise. As you receive the barbell during a hang snatch, you’re in an overhead squat position. In that sense, doing overhead squats can improve your snatch pull performance.

Snatch Grip Power Shrug

To do snatch grip power shrugs, you have to grab the barbell wide, similar to how you would for the hang snatch. This shrug variation is essentially your upper body thrusting the barbell up before you receive it overhead. 

Upright Row (Barbell)

The upright row is a movement where you stand tall, hold onto a barbell, and row from your waist to your chest. Unlike the hang snatch or its variations, the upright row doesn’t have a dynamic element. The goal is to do the movement smoothly by emphasizing your upper back, shoulders, and biceps.

But upright rows are similar to hang snatches because the exercise trains some of the same muscles you use. As a result, that strength can carry over to a better hang snatch.

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Overhead squats are one of the most beneficial but overlooked exercises you can perform for whole-body strength, balance, and muscle growth. As its name suggests, the objective is to lift a barbell overhead and perform squats. While seemingly simple, the movement pattern offers numerous advantages.

A notable benefit of overhead squats is that it challenges you to remain more upright during each set. Doing so forces more significant core, back, and quadriceps activation. Being more upright means you cannot rely on hip extension as much.

Instead, your quadriceps must work extra hard to produce knee extension, allowing you to complete each repetition. Similarly, your back and core get stronger and grow more effectively.

Another benefit of overhead squats is that the exercise improves your squat pattern and prevents your hips from shooting up during other movements, such as the barbell back squat. As a result, squats become more effective and train the correct muscles.

The third significant advantage of overhead squats is that you get to strengthen your shoulders and triceps while working your lower body. Keeping a barbell in an overhead position requires significant shoulder and triceps involvement, leading to growth and strength gain.

Plus, the overhead squat serves as a fantastic exercise for anyone interested in Olympic weightlifting. In addition, the activity teaches important movement patterns involved in the snatch and clean and jerk.

As a whole, overhead squats are a fantastic full-body exercise that develops strength, muscle mass, and overall athleticism. You become stronger, more stable and athletic, and better able to handle everyday tasks.

We recommend including overhead squats early in your training. The movement is highly technical, so it’s best to perform it while you’re at your strongest. Fatigue in the primary muscles can worsen your technique and impair performance.

Level of Exercise: Intermediate

How to do an Overhead Squat

1. Place an empty barbell on a squat stand at collarbone height.
2. Stand in front of the bar and grab it with a double overhand grip. Keep your hands well apart from one another, but not to the point where you experience shoulder discomfort.
3. Tuck your head underneath while keeping your hands on the bar, placing your upper back against the barbell. Keep your feet together with your knees bent slightly.
4. Engage your abs, take a breath, and extend your knees to unrack the barbell from the stand.
5. Take a couple of careful steps back to clear some room for the exercise.
6. Take another breath, dip slightly by bending your knees, and push-press the barbell into an overhead position. Using an empty barbell is crucial for getting used to the proper setup. 
7. Once in an overhead squat position, take another breath, brace your core, and descend.
8. Bend your knees slightly, keeping your heels in contact with the floor. Avoid hyperextending your back. Instead, keep your abs engaged and aim for a neutral spine position.
9. Descend until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
10. Hold the bottom position for a moment: heels in contact with the floor, knees pointing slightly out, back neutral, chest out, gaze forward, and elbows extended.
11. Press through your heels to drive up as you maintain a rigid body position.
12. Extend your knees and hips fully, exhaling near the top and keeping the barbell directly overhead.
13. Take another breath and repeat.

Overhead Squat Muscles Worked

The primary muscle group that works during overhead squats is the quadriceps, which make up the front of our thighs and produce knee extensions (straightening of the legs) (1, 2). As mentioned above, overhead squats keep us more upright as we move up and down. Therefore, we cannot rely on hip extension, leading to better quadriceps activation. 

Our hamstrings and glutes also contribute during overhead squats, but to a much lesser degree. These muscles primarily work to keep us stable during the exercise. For instance, the hamstrings contribute to knee stability, whereas our glutes support our pelvis and keep it in a neutral position.

The entire midsection musculature also contributes to overhead squats. Similar to the posterior muscles, the abs, obliques, and other muscles in the area contract isometrically to provide torso support during the movement. 

Like the midsection, our back musculature produces force to keep us balanced during the exercise. Some of the working muscles are the latissimus dorsi (lats), erector spinae, and trapezius (1). 

Our shoulders (deltoids) also have an active role in the overhead squat (1). The muscle group flexes isometrically to offer stability at the shoulder joint, allowing us to support a barbell overhead as we do repetitions. In addition, our triceps work with the shoulders to provide stability and extend our elbows for the squat.

Tips on How to Perform the Overhead Squat Safely 

Tip 1

Overhead squats are demanding and often challenging to learn, so starting with an empty barbell is best. Doing so will help you understand the proper setup and execution for safe and effective overhead squats. 

Tip 2

Keep your back in a neutral position and avoid hyperextending it. One way to achieve a neutral spine is to flex your abs before each set. Doing so will shorten the distance between the ribcage and pelvis, creating torso rigidity and improving your balance. 

Tip 3

Learn how to set up for the exercise and stick with one method. Beginners would be best off learning how to push-press the barbell into an overhead position. Begin by tucking under the bar while it is on a stand, place your upper back against the barbell, unrack it, and step back. Next, dip slightly by bending your knees, and push-press the bar. Alternatively, you can snatch the bar, but that can get difficult as you start using more weight.

Tip 4 

Sitting back over your heels as you descend. People new to the exercise tend to lean forward, causing the barbell to travel in front of the body, leading to loss of balance. Sitting back allows the barbell to remain over your center of gravity and for you to maintain your stability.

Tip 5

Descend as much as possible but not to the point where you start losing your balance. Like front squats, you must maintain a relatively upright torso, so you need good mobility in your shoulders, upper back, hips, and ankles to perform the exercise safely and reach a good depth.

Instead of forcing the range of motion, do what you can while doing some mobility work for the mentioned areas.

Variations and Modifications of the Overhead Squat

1. Tempo Overhead Squat

Tempo overhead squats are a variation you perform by slowing down the speed. Unlike traditional squats, where you perform repetitions with an average tempo, the objective is to descend for at least three seconds and move back up at the same speed.

Doing so is beneficial for improving your balance and learning to keep the barbell over your center of gravity, which can be challenging for overhead squats.

2. Clean Grip Overhead Squat

Clean grip overhead squats are a variation where you do the exercise with a clean grip (having your hands closer together). Doing so makes the exercise more challenging because you need more upper back and shoulder mobility.

Clean grip squats better engage your shoulders, triceps, and upper back musculature, leading to whole-body strength and muscle gain.

3. Pause Overhead Squat

Pause overhead squats are one of the most challenging variations of the exercise. The objective is to descend as you would during any other squat, but pause at the bottom for at least three seconds.

Doing so is beneficial for preventing the stretch reflex of your muscles from helping you get out of the bottom position. Like tempo squats, adding a pause forces you to clean up your technique and improve your balance. 

4. Dumbbell Overhead Squat

Dumbbell overhead squats are more challenging in some ways, but the variation is well-suited for beginners. Using dumbbells leads to instability and forces both sides of your body to work independently. But dumbbells can also be lighter, and you can perform the exercise even if you don’t have the best shoulder or upper back mobility.

Mistakes to Avoid

Leaning Forward

Leaning forward is perhaps the most common error seen in people doing overhead squats for the first time. As mentioned above, overhead squats require good mobility in the shoulders, upper back, and hips.

Stiffness in any area would make it challenging to perform the exercise through a full range of motion or keep the barbell over your center of gravity. Leaning forward is particularly dangerous because the barbell travels forward, and your heels lift off the floor.

The two best ways to prevent the natural forward lean are to work on your upper body mobility and use the cue of sitting back into your heels as you squat.

Knees Caving In

The second common error with overhead squats is the knees caving in. People new to the exercise often struggle with caving knees, not because of poor mobility or weak muscles, but simply because the practice is new and they lack the experience.

But you should still be careful with your technique and monitor your knee position, especially after doing the exercise a few times.

One potential cause for caving knees is weak glutes (buttocks), making it challenging to stabilize the femur (large thigh bone), causing it to move in as you squat.

The second cause typically relates to poor ankle mobility. Instead of your knee traveling over your toes, it travels in as a compensatory mechanism.

Bending Your Elbows

The third mistake with the overhead squat relates to unstable elbows. Instead of keeping the arms straight and weight balanced overhead, trainees allow their elbows to bend and extend during each repetition.

Doing so leads to instability, unnecessary strain on the triceps and deltoids, and a higher risk of dropping the weight.

Avoid the error by push-pressing or snatching the barbell overhead, locking out your elbows, and maintaining the position. Start with an empty barbell and only increase the resistance if you’re confident you can keep your arms straight.

Similar Exercises to the Overhead Squat

Front Squat

Front squats are one of the most effective compound exercises for strengthening the quadriceps (1, 3). Like overhead squats, you must maintain an upright torso to keep the barbell in position and prevent it from falling forward.

Doing so means you cannot rely on hip extension as much, and your quads have to activate extra hard to straighten your legs as you start moving up.

Zercher Squat

Zercher squats are a lesser-known variation, but they can be effective when used correctly. Like overhead and front squats, the Zercher squat forces you to maintain a more upright torso, leading to better quadriceps activation (4).

On top of that, supporting the weight over the crease of your elbows leads to greater chest, shoulders, and bicep activation, making the movement beneficial for the upper body.

Box Squat

Box squats are typically done by placing the barbell behind your head and over your upper back. You must place a plyometric box or another sturdy object behind you.

The object should be tall enough so when you rest your buttocks on top, your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor. Squat slowly, transfer some weight on the elevated object by sitting, and engage your quadriceps to bring yourself to the top.

Overhead Dumbbell Lunge

Overhead dumbbell lunges are another lesser-known exercise that offers many benefits athletes reap from overhead squats.

The objective is to grab a pair of dumbbells, raise them overhead with your palms neutral (facing one another), and lunge forward, alternating between left and right. Doing so strengthens your lower body musculature and engages your shoulders, triceps, upper back, and core.

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