Today I want to chat with you guys about squats. Squats are, arguably, the most important lift in your arsenal. A compound motion working the entire body, it is often (and I think rightly) said that squats are the king of the lifts.

We all know that when squatting we need to use correct form, but what we need to also remember is that there is not only one way to squat. There are two distinct forms of squats

Slow controlled motions with depth should utilize nearly every muscle in the body. Video tape yourself squatting with your phone and study it. Selfies: Only 80% Vanity

which might seem to have a very little difference, but in reality have a huge effect on how things play out. The two types of squats, and people will argue this one versus that one to death, are high bar squats and low bar squats. Both will build strength and power and which one you chose to do will have more to do with your own personal anatomy, bio-mechanics and training goals. This is to say, from the start, there isn’t a wrong squat…just the right one for you.

The barbell back squat engages every major muscle in your lower body as well as your back and your core. It is a builder of mass and strength but also gives strength to the muscles involved with most other lifts, jumping, running, swimming and almost every athletic movement.

More than just building your quads and glutes, the squat is making your core stronger which, in turn, helps prevent back injuries and improves range of motion and over all health. Another very interesting benefit of the squat is that if done properly and frequently enough for enough

Tom Platz, one of the biggest advocates of squatting, mid set on his legendary 23 rep set at 525 pounds.

reps, boosts testosterone as well as growth hormone levels. A recent study but the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) shows that constant intensity and variable volume has a big impact on hormone levels. The spike in anabolic hormones, especially testosterone, leads to faster fat loss, faster muscle growth, denser muscle and more stamina for higher reps, more sets and heavier loads while the growth hormone and IGF-1 leads to faster repair and recovery.

So this brings up back to the question at hand. Knowing how important squats are and knowing that there are two primary variations in them, the low and high bar versions, which should you chose. Well, both have their positives and their negatives and both have reasons they work better for differently built people and for people with different goals.

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The argument, just so you know, begins with a difference of between 2-4 inches. That’s right, this huge source of contention in the bodybuilding world which has gone on for many decades is about the placement of the bar where the difference between the two is between 2-4 inches. Doesn’t sound like much does it? Wrong. The 2-4 inches difference in placement matter a lot as they result in a significant change to the joint angles of the hip, knee and ankle as well as to the trunk lever arm.

When it comes to high bar squats your quads travel a greater range of motion. Also, it requires you to keep your torso more upright and lesser hip flexion with more knee flexion compared to the low bar version. In the low bar version your hips move the greater ROM.

So, stripped down of most of the fancy jargon, high bar squats are more quadriceps heavy while low bar are hip dominant. Power lifters like the low bar squat because the nature of the movement allows for a 10-15% increase in the weight on the bar while bodybuilders often opt for high bar squats as it leads to more quad definition and core strength resulting in larger and more striated core muscles like the serratus.

When doing a high bar squat the weight is up on your traps and pushing down. The barbell is

On the left standard high bar squat motion on the right standard low bar squat.

just below the C7 vertebrae putting less stress on the lower back through the range of motion. A low bar squat places the bar 2-4 inches lower, off the traps, on the rear deltoid. This puts the weight on the spinal erectors and the glutes rather than the quads. The position with the high bar squats is much more vertical where the low bar squat forces the lifter to lean forward with the weight. The low bar is a favorite of powerlifters because it puts up heavier numbers.

So how does the form work. Well, let’s run through the form for each step by step.

High Bar Squat

• Barbell on the rack at chest level
• Position yourself under the bar and place it just above the bottom of your traps
• Use a narrow grip and keep your feet slightly wider than shoulder width
• Keep your gaze forward, keeping your head in line with your torso. If you have a mirror, make eye contact with yourself
• Leep your toes pointing straight ahead or only slightly out
• Squeeze the muscles of your upper back and unrack the bar
• Bring your chest forward and push your hips backwards
• Begin to squat  while keeping your core and back as tight as possible
• Bend your knees until your thighs are PAST PARALLEL to the floor
• Hold for a second or two and then SLOWLY return to the starting position
• Squeeze your glutes are you reach the top of the motion in order to reinforce the hip extension

While the high bar squat does limit the amount of weight you lift it also allows for greater depth which increases overall training load on the hip extensors and quads. One big downside to the high bar squat is that due to the anterior force it puts more stress on the knees. This means that without keeping your form very much on point you run the risk of knee injury and if your knee is prone to injury or pain it could be exacerbated.

Moving on to the low bar squat. The low bar squat forces your to move into a forward bend

I think this simple chart does wonders in clearly showing differences

which does create better balance and stability (better stability means less work for the core muscles). Because the movement is different your lifting technique will be different. Squats are not a lift to fuck around with. Do not go in to doing them if you don’t know what you are doing.

When you do a low bar squat the weight sits lower on the back so you need to use a much wider stance. The wider stance forces your hamstrings and lower back muscles to work harder when you are bringing your body back up to the top position. So if you want to move more weight for a slightly less of a range of motion with more stress placed on your hips and lower back rather than your knees and quads the low bar squat is for you. Here is how we do it:

LOW BAR SQUAT

• Position bar at chest level
• Grasp bar with pronated grip
• Place the bar against the back of your shoulders
• keep your feet wider than shoulder width apart
• Brace your core, unrack the weight and adjust your stance width
• Push hips backwards while squeezing your glutes
• Lean forward as much as is necessary
• Lower body in a slow controlled manner
• Squat until hip joints are parallel with knee joints
• Maintain neutral spine and keep knees out at bottom
• Using your hips, push your body back up

Like knee soreness in the high bar squat, one of the drawbacks in the low bar squat in shoulder pain due to increased pressure on the posterior chain.

So which is right for you? That is something only you can decide. First you want to do a bunch of both of them and see which your body is more naturally adept at. Different anatomies will perform differently. You absolutely want to prioritize working with your body rather than against it.

So, which do I use? I use a mix of the two. My go to for squatting is high bar for the increased quad work as well as the core work, for the increased range of motion which I always prioritize over heavier weight and simply because my body is more suited towards it. That said, on days when I use heavier weights I often toss one set of low bar in. I like to be complete and hate the idea of leaving any gainz on the table.

Grind on fellas, GRIND THE FUCK ON!