High Bar Vs Low Bar Squat (LEARN THE DIFFERENCE!)

today we're going to talk about the difference between a high bar and a low bar back squat hey guys thanks so much for stopping by squat University today we want to talk about one of the most common questions people have when it comes to squatting what's the difference between a high bar and a low bar back squat which is most optimal let's settle the debate today in today's video so first off what is the difference well the term high bar versus low bar just comes from the position of the barbell on your back now here's an example whenever I get under a barbell if I have that barbell sitting on top of my trap muscles right here that is a high bar back squat anything lower technically would then be low bar and there's a couple different positions but most commonly people will pin that bar over the middle of their shoulder blades your scapula is on top of the spine of your shoulder blade so that position right there would be a low bar back squat now what I'm going to do today is talk about how the difference in position of that barbell on your back then influences and changes your squat mechanics how does that influence the movement of the squat or talk about not only what that does for how much power you can generate how much torque is placed on your knees force your back in your hips but also if you're dealing with an injury we're also going to talk about what variation might be right for you now no matter what type of squat you're performing an efficient squat will always have the barbell positioned over the middle of the foot during the descent and the ascent this leaves your body imbalance and allows you to use your muscles efficiently often sports scientists will analyze and compare squat techniques at a parallel position for this high bar squat we can freeze frame it and zoom in to measure the angles of the joints we can then measure moment arms which is the distance from the vertical line of gravity pulling down on the barbell to the joint in question in this case you can see the moment arms for the knee hip and low back connection to the pelvis the longer the moment arm the more torque that will be generated at that joint during the squat now if the same person is to use a low bar position you can see the change in bar placement created a more forward lean in order to maintain the bar over the mid foot which a relatively more closed hip and back and more open knee position this then creates a longer moment arm for the hip and low back and decreases the length of the knee moment arm here's a comparison to show the two basically a low bar squat places more torque on the hips and low back while the high bar squat places more torque on the knee joint typically Olympic weightlifters will use a high bar squat as the more upright trunk position in depth possible during the high bar more closely mimics the positions of the claim lifts on the other hand typically power lifters like Blaine Saunders shown here will use a low bar squat this is because the longer moment arm creates more leverage about the hips allowing some to lift more weight overall but at the end of the day it all comes down to what feels best which is why 2019 World's Strongest Man Martines Alisa's still uses a high bar squat and is able to lift big weight all right so now that you guys understand a little bit more about the mechanic differences between a low bar and a high bar back squat let's pluck injury considerations because a low bar back squat places a longer moment arm in there for more torque on the loeb are on the spine compared to a high bar back squat with the same amount of weight we can say that if someone's dealing with back pain generally speaking a high bar back squat may be a little bit more optimal for that person in the short term switching to a high bar back squat may take some stress off the spine allowing that person to squat continue training while they fix their back pain now that's generally speaking sometimes just shifting mechanics doesn't always fix the problem but it can allow some people to Train what they can't rank while they fix what they can fix so let's talk about knee pain because a low bar back squat requires less knee overtones Latian in order to stay balanced there's less torque placed on the knee joint compared to that of a high bar back squat for the same amount of weight what this means is that some people who are dealing with knee pain might find that a low bar back squat takes a little bit of that pressure and stress off the knee joint allowing them to continue squatting while they fix why the pain is there in the first place so those are two injury considerations and how manipulating joint angles can actually take stress off the body and allow you to continue training in the short term for a healthy athlete without injury one is not better than the other a low bar back squat is not more harmful for your back than a high bar back squat a healthy athlete using good technique optimal movement patterns good core stability should be able to safely use either joint visit or either high bar or low bar without fear of injury so that's the big team to understand so after all of today's video you now know a little bit more about the differences mechanic lies between a high bar and low bar back squat you know the injury considerations or how you can deal with those in the end it all comes down to personal preference really finding the one that you feel works best for you at the end of the day is what it's all about well more power lifters probably use a low bar back squat than a high bar there's plenty of power lifters that still use a high bar back squat while most Olympic lifters often use a high bar back squat it's not out of the questions to say you can't use a low bar back squat it just may not be the norm it's all about what your body feels like it can move the most amount of weight in and feel comfortable in at the end of the day so I hope you guys like today's supply university video on the differences between high bar low bar back club if you have any other questions let me know in the comments section before below and again share this video with other friends and family members that may have questions on technique especially when it comes to the squad thank you guys so much for watching these videos and if you're enjoying the content that I'm sharing and the value that I'm bringing you please subscribe to my channel it would mean a lot to me until next week guys happy squatting they say that and then she flows where attention goes so I pay no mind why waste my time with all these negative cats so caught up in their egos his people

Channel: Squat University

Views: 80,906

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Keywords: low bar vs high bar squat, low bar vs high bar squat powerlifting, low bar vs high bar squat mark rippetoe, low bar vs high bar squatting, low bar vs high bar back squat, high bar vs low bar, high bar vs low bar squat, difference between high bar and low bar, high bar vs low bar position, high bar or low bar, back suqat, how to back squat, low bar back squat, high bar back squat, how to low bar back squat, how to high bar back squat, squat university

Id: BUIu720DQH4

Length: 6min 18sec (378 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 17 2020