Anderson Squat
How to Do an Anderson Squat
Set the safety pins or rack stops at the height you want to train. Lower positions target starting strength from deeper squat angles, while higher positions emphasize the top range.
Place the bar securely on the pins and load it evenly.
Get under the bar, set it on the upper back, place the feet in your normal squat stance, and create full-body tension before the bar moves.
Brace the abdominals, keep the whole foot planted, and drive the feet into the floor to lift the bar from the dead stop.
Extend the knees and hips through the available range while maintaining the same knee tracking and trunk position you would use in a normal squat.
Lower the bar back to the pins under control rather than dropping it.
Allow the bar to settle fully before resetting your brace for the next repetition.
Form Check & Technique
DO THIS (Technique Tips)
- Choose pin height based on your goal.
- Let the bar fully settle.
- Brace before the bar moves.
- Drive through the whole foot.
- Keep knees tracking with the toes.
- Control the return to the pins.
- Pair pin work with full-range squatting.
AVOID THIS (Common Mistakes)
- Bouncing the Bar Off the Pins — Fix: let the bar settle completely before beginning the next repetition.
- Using a Pin Height With No Clear Purpose — Fix: choose the height based on the squat position or sticking point you want to train.
- Getting Under the Bar Without Full Tension — Fix: set the feet, upper back, and brace before trying to move the load.
- Dropping the Bar Back to the Pins — Fix: lower under control to protect the rack, bar, and your position.
- Overloading a Partial Range — Fix: use weights you can control instead of treating the shortened range as permission to ego lift.
- Replacing All Full-Range Squats With Pin Work — Fix: keep full-range squatting elsewhere unless your program has a specific reason not to.
About Anderson Squat
The Anderson squat, often called a pin squat, is a squat variation performed from a bar resting on safety pins or stops at a chosen height. Starting from a dead stop minimizes the normal stretch-shortening contribution and lets you train concentric strength at a specific joint angle. Depending on pin height, it can target starting strength from the bottom, a sticking point, or the upper portion of the squat.
Anderson Squat Muscles Worked
The quads provide major knee-extension force, while the glutes and adductors contribute hip extension.
- The trunk and lower back stabilize the bar.
- Because the lift begins from the pins, the muscles must produce force without the same immediate rebound available in a continuous squat.
Sets & Reps Guidance
Technique / Learning
Technique: 3–5 sets of 3–5 reps with light-to-moderate weight while learning pin setup and tension from a dead stop.
Strength Focus
Strength: 4–6 sets of 2–5 reps from a consistent pin height with complete resets between repetitions.
Muscle Growth (Hypertrophy)
Muscle-focused accessory work: 3–4 sets of 5–8 reps at a lower load if the chosen pin height provides enough range of motion.
General training baseline. Need.fit automatically adjusts exact sets, reps, and working weight based on your individual fitness level, recovery, and progress over time.
Exercise Variations & Alternatives
Pause Squat
Full squat with a deliberate bottom pause while the lifter supports the load continuously.
Box Squat
Squat to a box that provides a depth target and a paused transition.
Barbell Back Squat
Full-range squat using a continuous eccentric-to-concentric transition.
Front Squat
Front-loaded squat that can also be performed from pins to target specific positions.
Goblet Squat
Learn proper goblet squat form, muscles worked, dumbbell or kettlebell setup, stance and depth cues, common mistakes, variations, and sets and reps.
Leg Extension
Learn proper leg extension form, muscles worked, machine setup and knee cues, common mistakes, knee-safety context, variations, and practical sets and reps.
Anderson Squat vs Pin Squat
The terms are often used interchangeably.
- In modern training, an Anderson squat usually means starting a squat from a dead stop on pins.
- Some coaches use 'pin squat' more broadly for either starting from the pins or lowering onto them before re-driving.
How to Choose Anderson Squat Pin Height
Set the pins at the joint angle you want to strengthen.
- Deep pin positions train starting strength from the bottom, while higher positions can target a lockout or sticking point.
- Strength gains are specific to the angles you train, so full-range squats should still appear elsewhere in the program.
Why Dead-Stop Squats Build Starting Strength
Starting from a settled bar minimizes the contribution from a rapid eccentric-to-concentric transition. That forces you to create tension and force before the bar moves, making the exercise useful for concentric starting strength.
Anderson Squat vs Pause Squat
A pause squat begins with a normal descent and holds the bottom position under continuous muscular tension.
- An Anderson squat starts from a bar supported by the pins.
- Both reduce the benefit of a quick rebound, but the setup and tension strategy are different.
Anderson Squat for Sticking Points
If your squat repeatedly slows at a particular height, setting the pins near or just below that position can let you practice generating force from the exact joint angles that are weak.
Anderson Squat vs Full-Range Squat
The Anderson squat should usually complement—not completely replace—full-range squatting. A partial pin squat can overload a specific range, but full squats still train the complete eccentric, transition, and concentric pattern.
How to Program Anderson Squats
They work best as a secondary strength exercise after your main squat or as a focused variation during a strength block. Low-to-moderate reps are usually appropriate because every repetition requires a deliberate setup and strong brace.
Sources & References
- [1]
- [2]