Barbell Full Zercher Squat

Step 1: Position a barbell on a rack at your desired height. Step 2: Stand facing the barbell and carefully grip it with an underhand grip, crossing your arms in front of your abdomen. Step 3: Step away from the rack, maintaining a firm hold on the barbell and keeping it close to your body. Step 4: Move your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, ensuring your toes are slightly turned out. Step 5: Engage your core and brace your abdominal muscles before initiating the movement. Step 6: Lower your body by bending your knees and hips, keeping your chest lifted and maintaining a neutral spine. Step 7: Continue descending until your thighs are parallel to the ground or slightly below, ensuring your knees track in line with your toes. Step 8: From the bottom position, push through your feet and extend your hips and knees to lift your body back to the starting position. Step 9: Make sure to maintain control of the barbell throughout the movement, keeping your elbows tucked in and your back straight. Step 10: Repeat the exercise for the desired number of repetitions, ensuring proper form is maintained at all times.

How to perform the Barbell Full Zercher Squat

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Barbell Full Zercher Squat using your barbell.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your quadriceps.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your quadriceps rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

Build a free routine

Stage exercises here, then sign up to save them as a real Fitly routine — synced to web and mobile.

View staged routine (0)

Related exercises

0 exercises staged Save your routine — sign up free.