Barbell Back Squat
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Set the bar at upper-back height in a power rack. Step under, bar across upper traps (high bar) or rear delts (low bar). Brace abs HARD, take a tight grip outside shoulders. Step back 2-3 paces with feet shoulder-width, toes slightly out. Initiate the descent by sitting hips back AND breaking at knees simultaneously. Descend until hip crease is below knee — 'parallel'. Knees track over toes. Drive back up by pushing the floor away — chest stays up, no forward dump. Lock out fully at top with hips and knees extended.
Why It Works
The back squat is the single most-studied lower-body strength builder. For hockey, it develops the quad/glute/hamstring chain that produces every skating stride. Athletes with a back squat ≥ 1.6× bodyweight outperform weaker athletes in skating speed by 12-15%. The depth and load capacity also build the connective tissue resilience required for in-season durability.
Hockey Transfer
Foundation of lower body strength — drives skating power. Three reps at 85%, four sets, three minutes rest. The hockey-specific max strength prescription. No shortcuts.
Coaching Cues
- "Chest up"
- "Knees track toes"
- "Break parallel"
- "Drive through heels"
Common Mistakes
Knees collapsing inward (valgus) — major injury risk. Cue 'spread the floor'. Heels coming up — usually ankle mobility issue. Use 5-10mm lifters or work ankle mobility. Forward dump (chest collapses) — usually weak upper back. Slow the eccentric, fix by adding rows. Cutting depth — limits glute/hamstring recruitment. Better to drop the weight and squat full range.
Progression / Regression
Pause squat (3-second pause at depth) once form is dialed. Builds bottom-position strength for skating starts.
Goblet squat with kettlebell. Easier to keep upright posture, builds the pattern with less spinal load.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Strength/neural
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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