Pin Squat Guide: Build Explosive Strength and Power

Master the pin squat with our expert guide. Learn correct form, avoid common mistakes, and build lower body power by eliminating momentum.

How to Perform

1. Set the safety pins in a power rack to a height that corresponds with the bottom or middle of your squat range.
2. Position the barbell on the pins and load your desired weight before stepping under the bar to establish a solid back-squat shelf.
3. Inhale deeply and brace your core while maintaining a neutral spine as you lift the bar off the pins to the standing position.
4. Lower the barbell under control until it comes to a complete, dead stop on the safety pins.
5. Maintain your tension and posture for one full second while the bar rests on the pins without relaxing your torso.
6. Drive upward aggressively through your mid-foot to return the bar to the starting standing position.
7. Reset your breath and core brace at the top before beginning the next controlled descent.

Common Mistakes

• Relaxing the core or back while the bar is resting on the pins.
• Bouncing the bar off the pins to use momentum for the upward phase.
• Allowing the hips to rise significantly faster than the shoulders during the drive.
• Setting the pins too high, which limits the effective range of motion.

Muscles Worked

Primary movers

• Hamstrings

Stabilizers

• Glutes
• Quads
• Lower Back
• Adductors

Related Guides

• 1 Leg Box Squat — Legs
• Abductor Machine — Legs
• Adductor Machine — Legs

Hamstrings · Legs