Low bar back squats can be an invaluable addition to your training regimen, particularly if you’re an Olympic lifter or powerlifter seeking strength gains. Olympic lifters or powerlifters commonly turn to this exercise when trying to increase strength.
Plant your feet shoulder-width apart and brace your core before lowering the bar to just outside your shoulders and squatting down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
Strength
Lower bar positions provide for greater quad loading, increasing potential squat strength. This is especially beneficial to lifters with hip or back issues that limit their ability to perform high bar squats but are still capable of performing low bar squats without issue (15).
When the bar is in its lowest position, your forward knee travel will decrease, shifting more of the stress onto glutes and hamstrings for greater squatting depth. Furthermore, moving away from feet also helps you squat deeper as bar is further away.
No matter the bar placement, squatting remains an effective exercise that targets major muscles throughout your body. Different bar positions have differing mechanics and outcomes that may be more suitable to certain lifters depending on their sport and training goals; to maximize strength potential and results for yourself and unique requirements.
Stability
The low bar squat allows lifters to force their hips back, creating a wider torso angle and deepening their squat. This increases gluteus demand which serves to stabilize hips and lower back when dealing with heavier loads in their back.
Low bar squats also help relieve pressure on knees, making it ideal if someone has any existing joint conditions that cause discomfort in them.
No matter which bar position you decide to use for squatting exercises, it is still beneficial to switch up between several bar positions during training sessions. Doing this allows your body to gain power from multiple sources simultaneously – an essential step towards becoming an all-around strength athlete.
Flexibility
Low bar squats require less hip and knee mobility than their high bar counterpart, yet still necessitate considerable shoulder flexibility to properly position the bar. Lifters may start the squat with too much hip flexion or fail to dorsiflex their ankles during descent, placing unnecessary stress on knees and lower back (7).
Low bar squats also allow lifters to maintain a more stable trunk position, which can be especially helpful for competitors and enthusiasts who seek to lift heavy loads. This holds particularly true during the eccentric phase, when barbells may tilt backward if a lifter does not properly engage their core.
As mentioned above, if a lifter intends to perform low bar back squats they should also do high bar work to ensure full body strength development and reduce imbalances. Alternating between them will also help avoid stagnation while providing insight into any inefficiencies or weaknesses within their current style of training.
Mobility
A low bar squat places less strain on your shoulders than its high bar counterpart, potentially relieving some shoulder discomfort in lifters who tend to round forward during movement.
Lowering the bar reduces moment arms between hips and knees, which may alleviate some knee pain from movement. If you suffer from chronic knee issues, low bar squat may be an ideal alternative to traditional high bar back squat.
There’s no single right way to squat, with both high bar and low bar squats having their place in training programs. Most lifters will find high bar more comfortable as they develop their strength and technique; however, switching things up from time to time may provide extra variety and challenge to your body in new ways. Expand your career prospects at the gym by earning your ISSA Personal Trainer Specialization completely online!
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