heyy
So Ive always heard you can go heavier and deeper blah blah with low bar squatting but I keep trying to get comfortable with it but it is painful for me to even get in position with an unloaded bar.
Would I still be able to maximize my numbers doing high bar or should I work on being able to low bar squat?
What shoulder mobility drills would be good for me to sit in this position
When you do a contest, no on cares about where you put the bar. I wouldn’t worry about it.
[quote]IKWC wrote:
heyy
So Ive always heard you can go heavier and deeper blah blah with low bar squatting but I keep trying to get comfortable with it but it is painful for me to even get in position with an unloaded bar.
Would I still be able to maximize my numbers doing high bar or should I work on being able to low bar squat?
What shoulder mobility drills would be good for me to sit in this position[/quote]
You may squat more weight on a low bar squat? Probably yes
You can go deeper? No. high bar is better for depth.
Can you still be able to maximize your numbers? Eric lilliebridge squatted 955 lbs raw (434 kg) RAW and “HIGH BAR”
About shoulder mobility, shoulder dislocation may be the best exercise.
[quote]kalb wrote:
[quote]IKWC wrote:
heyy
So Ive always heard you can go heavier and deeper blah blah with low bar squatting but I keep trying to get comfortable with it but it is painful for me to even get in position with an unloaded bar.
Would I still be able to maximize my numbers doing high bar or should I work on being able to low bar squat?
What shoulder mobility drills would be good for me to sit in this position[/quote]
You may squat more weight on a low bar squat? Probably yes
You can go deeper? No. high bar is better for depth.
Can you still be able to maximize your numbers? Eric lilliebridge squatted 955 lbs raw (434 kg) RAW and “HIGH BAR”
[/quote]
Eric Lilliebridge - 955lbs Raw Squat w/ wraps 23 y/o @ 284lbs - YouTube Sorry. But I would hardly call this high bar… Nearly no advanced powerlifter squats with a highbar squat.
[quote]IKWC wrote:
heyy
So Ive always heard you can go heavier and deeper blah blah with low bar squatting but I keep trying to get comfortable with it but it is painful for me to even get in position with an unloaded bar.
Would I still be able to maximize my numbers doing high bar or should I work on being able to low bar squat?
What shoulder mobility drills would be good for me to sit in this position[/quote]
Based off your post, I see a lot of “hearing” and “thinking” and not a lot of “DOING”…
get after it. No one is good at shit when they first start something. it takes work and practise. “Low bar” tends to take more advantage of the posterior chain muscles. "low bar is really a misnomer. The bar should be “back on the back” as in you have huge rear delts and yoke and can get the bar back on this huge “shelf”. If you do not posses this “shelf” it’s really a moot point. Put the bar at the rear dlt / medial delt crease and carry on.
In the end it doesn’t matter where the bar is. Do what affords you the most weight and comfort.
[quote]IKWC wrote:
I can’t low bar squat[/quote]
Good. Don’t try. Just keep high bar squatting and getting strong.
[quote]Mr_T wrote:
Sorry. But I would hardly call this high bar… Nearly no advanced powerlifter squats with a highbar squat.[/quote]
You’re right Eric didn’t do his 955 high bar; he did it low bar. However Eric did hit 905 high bar before he ever even tried low bar squatting. It was after this that he decided to try and transition to low bar, and it netted him another 50+lbs on his squat within the year, which at that level is almost unheard of.
[quote]Mr_T wrote:
[quote]kalb wrote:
[quote]IKWC wrote:
heyy
So Ive always heard you can go heavier and deeper blah blah with low bar squatting but I keep trying to get comfortable with it but it is painful for me to even get in position with an unloaded bar.
Would I still be able to maximize my numbers doing high bar or should I work on being able to low bar squat?
What shoulder mobility drills would be good for me to sit in this position[/quote]
You may squat more weight on a low bar squat? Probably yes
You can go deeper? No. high bar is better for depth.
Can you still be able to maximize your numbers? Eric lilliebridge squatted 955 lbs raw (434 kg) RAW and “HIGH BAR”
[/quote]
Eric Lilliebridge - 955lbs Raw Squat w/ wraps 23 y/o @ 284lbs - YouTube Sorry. But I would hardly call this high bar… Nearly no advanced powerlifter squats with a highbar squat.[/quote]
You’re right, he’s placing the bar fairly low in that video but he used to high bar squat for a long time
Thanks everyone! Love all the advice from the tnation gang 
[quote]IKWC wrote:
Thanks everyone! Love all the advice from the tnation gang :D[/quote]
I had a lot of trouble squating low bar until I got into more weight and built some muscle in my upper back. Now that I have some muscle in my upper back I squat low bar and dont even think about it. I squat 360 now. A year ago I was having trouble with the bar. now it is all good. I still get some elbow pain but who cares, it goes away.
I’m in the same boat. Low bar feels as if the bar is going to roll off my back and rip out my shoulder. But, on warm up sets, all the sets up to the heavy set that is, it feels much, much easier on the actual squat, but much, much harder on my shoulder / elbow. Generally, I have been trying the transition and this is what happens:
all sets of 5 for example
225
275
315
365
all low bar, then i’ll do 405 high bar because it feels like the 405 is going to fall off. But, all the warm up sets feel much easier than when done with a high bar.
Had the same problem when I started transitioning to low-bar, a little rear delt work went a long way for helping create more of a shelf and getting some back meat to make it more comfortable. For shoulder mobility, try doing a few sets of just unracking the bar with a bit wider of your grip and gradually working your hands in. This helps me personally when my shoulders are a bit tight, if you need a lot more mobility I’d agree with kalb to do some shoulder dislocations with a broomstick/ pvc/ whatever.
I just started to try low bar squatting a couple weeks ago. When you first start, it’s hard to find where the bar sits right and feels comfortable, even the unloaded bar feels awkward and cumbersome. Your shoulders and upper back hurt a little, for me it wasn’t an “I’m hurting myself” pain just a “this is new” pain, my body wasn’t used to it. I kept doing it, and a few weeks later, it feels pretty natural. When I re rack the bar it feels like I just stretched, not pain. If you don’t feel like you’re causing damage, keep at it, everything you’re doing in the gym felt foreign at one point. I also noticed that it’s still a bit weird doing the empty bar, but once I add weight, it feels more natural, I hit depth more easily, everything just settles down.
So it is shoulder pain?
Shoulder flexibility is something that various books and experts say comes pretty quickly. Just do a grip that is comfortable and then move your hands in slowly over time.
Shoulder dislocations cannot hurt your case either. You can get a broom handle or dowel rod/pvc pipe at Home Depot. If you cannot do them with a broom handle, then you can use a mini band. I personally do both and have seen not only progress with my shoulder flexibility, but also recent PR’s in my bench and overhead press. Be careful not to over-do the stretching though. Just do it lightly.
When I set up, I have to literally force my upper body under the bar some days, because that is not a natural position for my upper body to want to be in.
You could always try unracking a larger weight than you can squat and just holding it to get a stretch.
There is nothing wrong with high bar squatting though if you cannot do it, or you have a shoulder injury or something like that. Just do what you can.