TacticalBarbell.com

Hope everyone is doing great. Couldn't find a technique topic anywhere as a sticky so I decided to start a new one. If this post needs to be closed or reposted elsewhere just let me know.

Today I spent some time playing around with paused squats in the Low Bar and High bar position with sub max weight as i'm trying to nail which form works best for me. Im 6ft 2in and tend to get some cranky knees if I do a lot of squatting throughout the week. I want to nail my form down so I can train and be healthy going forward. Below You will find 3 videos. Low Bar at 135 for 3 with a 3s Pause, Low Bar with 185 for 3 with a 3s pause, and high bar for 3 at 185 for a 3s pause. I read a lot and watch a lot of videos and can describe what to look for in a great squat but just always feel mine isn't where it should be. I have only recently started squatting again about 2 weeks ago. Thanks in advance! One thing I really like about this forum is how informative it is with out people jumping down each others throats or acting like keyboard warriors. Lets keep up the intelligent discussions! Thanks again guys.

Low Bar 135
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzlSDsSzzJA

Low Bar 185
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_uQp7Ptszw

High Bar 185
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cynZpVcJCEs

Your low bar technique looks very good. The bar path is vertical over mid-foot, the knees aren't too far forward, and the depth is good.

The high-bar is also technically sound, but in order to keep the vertical bar path, you have to bend your knees more, and if you look, the knee position is more forward in your high bar technique.

I suspect that the high bar will be harder on your knees, for that reason.

P.S. Low bar back squatting improved my knee, hip and back pain. Eliminated it, basically.

WallBilly wrote:P.S. Low bar back squatting improved my knee, hip and back pain. Eliminated it, basically.

Forgive the newbie question, but what exactly is a high bar/low bar squat and what are the pros/cons of each? Should one be doing both for some sort of muscular balance issue?

Mug Costanza wrote:

WallBilly wrote:P.S. Low bar back squatting improved my knee, hip and back pain. Eliminated it, basically.

Forgive the newbie question, but what exactly is a high bar/low bar squat and what are the pros/cons of each? Should one be doing both for some sort of muscular balance issue?

I thought one of the more experienced lifters would chime in, but since not . . . .

Low bar
-----------
Can squat more weight, generally.

Hits the hips, hamstrings and glutes harder.

Hits the "core" harder.

Rippetoe says "if you can do only one exercise, make it the low bar back squat." It really does stress the entire body.

High bar
------------
Hits the quads harder.

Must have a more vertical back position and further-forward knee position (with a sharper angle) to remain vertical over mid-foot. This is why it hits the quads harder, and may be harder on some people with knee issues.

Is easier to do for people with limited shoulder flexibility.


Here's a couple of decent summaries:

http://startingstrength.com/articles/squat_rippetoe.pdf

https://www.t-nation.com/training/compl ... ell-squats

WallBilly wrote:

Mug Costanza wrote:

WallBilly wrote:P.S. Low bar back squatting improved my knee, hip and back pain. Eliminated it, basically.

Forgive the newbie question, but what exactly is a high bar/low bar squat and what are the pros/cons of each? Should one be doing both for some sort of muscular balance issue?

I thought one of the more experienced lifters would chime in, but since not . . . .

Low bar
-----------
Can squat more weight, generally.

Hits the hips, hamstrings and glutes harder.

Hits the "core" harder.

Rippetoe says "if you can do only one exercise, make it the low bar back squat." It really does stress the entire body.

High bar
------------
Hits the quads harder.

Must have a more vertical back position and further-forward knee position (with a sharper angle) to remain vertical over mid-foot. This is why it hits the quads harder, and may be harder on some people with knee issues.

Is easier to do for people with limited shoulder flexibility.


Here's a couple of decent summaries:

http://startingstrength.com/articles/squat_rippetoe.pdf

https://www.t-nation.com/training/compl ... ell-squats

And...
http://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-squat/

Barkadion wrote:
And...
http://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-squat/

Holy crap . . . a 97 page document on the squat

Thanks, I've got that linked for later consumption.

WallBilly wrote:

Barkadion wrote:
And...
http://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-squat/

Holy crap . . . a 97 page document on the squat

Thanks, I've got that linked for later consumption.

And another one by the same author for the difference between both squat : http://www.strongerbyscience.com/its-ti ... squatting/

WallBilly wrote:

Barkadion wrote:
And...
http://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-squat/

Holy crap . . . a 97 page document on the squat

Thanks, I've got that linked for later consumption.

Greg Nuckols teamed up with Omar Isuf to produce a 6 part Lifting Lyceum video seminar - 1 seminar for each of the big lifts, 2 on programming and 1 on work capacity (i.e. conditioning). The write-ups are summaries of the video seminar, in which they go into greater detail.

I got the video seminar first, but the write-ups are good for refreshers. The video seminars are very technical, and I'd recommend it if you want to delve deep into technique.

Disclaimer: I purchased the full seminar and found it useful myself. I am neither associated with, nor do I receive any remuneration from either Greg Nuckols or Omar Isuf.