[quote]dt79 wrote:
Why insist on squatting high bar?
If your goal is to squat big weights you should use whatever is best for you to progress. If the goal is hypertrophy the squat may not be the best exercise for you if you are not built for it.[/quote]
I agree with you from a training point of view, high bar squats aren’t essential for any training goal, but if I think it would be wise to deal with some mobility issues anyway. If his mobility is already this compromised, how bad could it get in 20/30/40 years time?[/quote]
I agree. But the ability to high bar squat well is more dependant on individual leverages than mobility, which is what i’m trying to tell him.
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We agree again, it seems to be a habit. The OP has highlighted some mobility (not leverage) issues that I think he should be dealing with though
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Agreed lol. He should definitely deal with his mobility issues.
Hey, I know this is an old post but I’ve been searching for an answer myself. I do a lot of mobility work and i am currently trying to re-learn the high bar squat. I was wondering if you ever found a solution or a method of correcting this.
I’m pretty desperate at this point, I just want to high bar squat but CAN’T. I want to break my squat down and build it back up. I also have problems 1,2,3 and 5 that you’ve listed! Any help would be appreciated
MOST people can high bar squat well. To say not everyone can is very true, but most people can. To say you can’t is also saying you can’t perform lifts like the overhead squat and snatch as well-- since they both require the same mobility as a well executed high bar squat. So while not everyone has the mobility to do so, the majority of people can develop it.
The original OP’s issue on this thread, in my opinion, was not the bar placement but rather the execution of the lift. A true high bar squat does take more upright posture, however, you can still butcher the high bar by shooting the hips to fast and goodmorning the lift (I’ve certainly done this) like you see in a lot of low bar squatting. Someone can lack the mobility to low bar squat.
I understand the fascination with deep high bar squatting-- it’s legit, takes athleticism, and makes those low bar wide stance barely parallel squats look like something old people do in their aerobics class at 6AM at the YMCA. I started out low bar squatting and learned after several years that it was just a very gay way of doing it. Sort of like sumo squatting, bench shirts, squat suits, oxygen on Mt Everest, push-up bras, make-up, high heels, penis pumps, plastic surgery… you get the idea. (don’t get offended, I’m just joking around of course)
toekneelieu, in all seriousness work on squatting a kettlebell with a completely upright torso. Buy some heeled shoes. Perform the garland pose with a 15 lbs kettle bell in your hands to help you balance yourself and maintain an upright posture for up to minute. Most importantly, learn to overhead squat a broomstick, then a barbell, then weight on the bar. If you can learn to do overhead squats you can high bar squat with ease.
More stubbornness than anything. Its just something I want to be able to do, not necessarily have the strongest squat with high bar, but being able to perform it.
thanks evolv. Yeah, I just want to be able to develop the movement. I’ll definitely work on the kettlebells, I do have a lot of trouble keeping up right. I asked a few people at my gym to take a look at my high bar squat. My movement looks like more like a low bar movement (according to them)
fair enough, I mean it just seems kind of weird to me. Surely it’s best not to think in terms of high bar, low bar, whatever, and just do whatever squat variation feels most natural and suits your body type best?
I don’t have the mobility to really do any kind of back squat so I just front squat my ass off. It’s not that I think front squats are better, it’s just that they are the squat variation that feels most natural to me, so instead of wasting training time trying to do an exercise that I don’t really “need”, I can concentrate on just getting better at front squatting.
