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If the SSB back squat wasn't hard enough, flip the bar around and enter the SSB front squat. This variation will smoke your quads and help those who (because of injury, lack of mobility, or discomfort) can't do front squats with a regular barbell. The front load also forces you to have a stronger contraction of your abs and it's a great option for those who struggle to control their anterior pelvic tilt and lower back extension when squatting. – Michael Sirani

This may be the hardest quad-dominant exercise that you ever do. Lifters spend most of their time moving weights "fast" and getting into the hole quickly. Make yourself slow down and control the tempo of your lift, even if it means your 400-pound squat becomes a 185-pound one. Tempo squatting is a great way to stimulate hypertrophy in your slow-twitch, type-I fibers that are often neglected in the gym. So here's how to do it:

1. Set up with the weight considerably lighter than you'd do for your regular squat.

2. Set a timer for 40-60 seconds and keep constant tension in your lower body by pulling yourself down into the hole and not pausing at any point during the lift.

3. Count 3 seconds up and 3 seconds down throughout the entire minute, and you'll feel a quad burn like never before. – Michael Sirani

You can easily make a safety squat bar using a set of straps. Simply take two lifting straps/wrist straps, loop them onto the barbell, space them an equal distance from the center knurling (similar to the setup used for front squats with wraps), and voila, you have your safety squat bar. This makeshift safety bar squat setup can easily be employed on good mornings as demonstrated by NFL defensive tackle, Lawrence Virgil. In fact, I've found that many of my larger athletes prefer this setup for good-mornings as it doesn't require that same degree of shoulder mobility and flexibility as standard good mornings do. Many lifters are unable to keep their shoulders retracted and depressed when performing good mornings, which not only makes them ineffective for taxing the posterior chain, but they also become exponentially more dangerous on the spine, shoulders, and neck. However, the neutral shoulder position reinforced by the makeshift safety squat bar eliminates this issue. As a result they're much more effective in keeping ideal spinal positioning and postural alignment, not to mention being highly effective for crushing the glutes, hamstrings, and spinal erectors. – Joel Seedman, PhD