For the majority of people we coach at Adaptive Strength, I can build strong legs, strong hips, a strong trunk and a very capable body without ever putting a barbell on their back.

That doesn't make the training easier.

It doesn't mean we are afraid of heavy weights.

It means I think the exercise should suit the person.

The Back Squat Has Become Bigger Than the Goal

So why does the back squat still dominate so many strength programs?

Partly tradition.

“This is what strong people do.”

Partly ego.

Let’s be honest — putting more plates on a bar and talking about your squat number feels good.

And sometimes it is simply coach bias.

The coach likes back squatting.

The coach became strong through back squatting.

So everyone they train back squats.

But the program is supposed to be about the person being coached.

Not the coach.

We shouldn’t back squat because gym culture decided decades ago that strong people back squat.

We should choose the exercise that best helps the individual in front of us become stronger.

I Don’t Care How Much You Back Squat

Unless your sport is powerlifting, the number itself means very little to me.

If someone has strong legs, moves well, can hike, run, play sport, carry things, get off the floor, train hard and do everything they want to do…

I’m not particularly concerned that they don’t have a back-squat number.

What’s the Problem With Automatically Back Squatting?

The problem is not that the back squat is inherently bad.

The problem is automatically deciding that everybody needs to do it.

The back squat has relatively high technical, mobility and loading demands.

For some people, that works beautifully.

For others?

It is a lot of effort to force one particular exercise when I have several other ways to build extremely strong legs.

Injury Potential Still Matters

Heavy lifting has risk.

That is not unique to the back squat.

But heavy spinal loading, poor technique and years of “just getting the reps done” can add up.

If the back squat is clearly the right exercise, great.

Use it.

If it isn’t?

Choose something else.

People Are Built Differently

This is another part of the conversation that gets overlooked.

People are built differently.

Yet somehow the fitness industry decided they should all put the same bar in the same place and perform the same lift.

Some people look beautiful when they back squat.

Others have long femurs and naturally lean much further forward.

Some have limited ankle mobility.

Some have had previous knee or back problems.

And I have coached people whose shoulder external rotation is so limited that they can barely get their hands around the bar.

They end up holding it with their fingertips, twisting themselves into position and compensating somewhere else just to perform an exercise they supposedly “need” to do.

There are plenty of other options.

Front-Loaded Squats Make a Lot of Sense

For many of the people we coach, I prefer front-loaded squat variations.

The Goblet Squat is one of our favourites.

It is relatively simple to teach.

The load is in front of the body.

It encourages a more upright torso.

It challenges the trunk.

And it gives us plenty of room to work on squat strength and movement without needing to place a bar across someone’s shoulders.

Then we can progress to a Double Kettlebell Front Squat.

Now we can load the legs heavily.

Challenge the trunk.

Build strength.

And still avoid many of the positioning demands of the back squat.

Can you eventually reach a point where loading these exercises becomes harder?

Of course.

But for the vast majority of normal people, we have a lot of strength to build before that becomes a serious problem.

Being Strong in More Than One Position Matters

I also think a lower-body program built almost entirely around the back squat is incomplete.

Life doesn't only happen with both feet perfectly planted underneath you.

Neither does sport.

That is why we use:

Not because bilateral strength is useless.

We use bilateral exercises too.

If We Want to Lift Heavy, We Have Other Options

There is also this idea that if you remove the back squat, you somehow remove heavy strength training.

You don't.

We can use:

And plenty of other exercises that become very challenging when programmed properly.

You can train incredibly hard without ever putting a barbell across your back.

The Goal Decides the Exercise

This is the part that matters most.

If you are a powerlifter, back squat.

Your sport literally asks you to back squat.

If you love back squatting, move well doing it, tolerate it well and want to get better at it — back squat.

I have no problem with that.

There are dozens of ways I can make you very strong.

Strength Is Bigger Than One Lift

At Adaptive Strength, we are not trying to turn everyone into powerlifters.

We are trying to build people who are strong, capable and physically resilient.

For some people, that may include a barbell.

For others, it might be kettlebells, dumbbells, trap bars, carries, split squats and a dozen other exercises.

The important thing is not whether the exercise looks impressive.

It is whether it is helping the person in front of us.

That is what individualised programming should actually mean.

Because the person is different.

Their body is different.

Their history is different.

And their goals are different.

You Don’t Need to Back Squat to Be Strong