It’s no secret that squatting is intense, not just on your central nervous system, but to every part of your body. Plopping hundreds of pounds on your shoulders and expecting your knees, core, and backbone to instantly get along with you wanting to repeatedly stand up with it isn’t a reality. For that reason, you’re going to need a decent warmup. I’ve tinkered with many different warmups over the years on the way to securing a drug-free, ass-to-grass, belt-only squat of over 500 lbs (at 190 lbs bodyweight). But this warmup is the one I feel is the one that’s best suited to helping the busy individual who happens to be making gains a worthy priority in their lives.

The exercises below are intended for both back squat, front squat, and Bulgarian split squats. However, it’s worth noting that you’re not truly ready for a front squat day without some proper warmup of your t-spine (thoracic spine) and lats.

You’ll notice that I didn’t include using a foam roller on here. Use at your own needs and discretion. They’re a great addition, but I wanted this warm-up to be strictly movement-based.

I aim to follow up with a video demonstration of this in the near future, but for those that like a little reading material, this will do for now.