Alan Thrall made a video, 5 min a day. Let's say what ever time a day and the progress is inevitable. "Evolution" is a story, like all religion. WE ARE MASTER ADAPTERS. Mobility = muscles Kneesovertoesguy I think SU made a video with him.
Try to arch your upper back hard and keep it firm during the whole squat. This will also make your lower back stay arched. Also don't forget to stretch your hamstrings...do it after squats mostly and little/not exaggerated before...just my 2 cents
I used to go butt to the floor. Until about 30 years ago, when a trainer taught me to stop JUST BEFORE the butt-wink. She taught me that lowering beyond the butt-wink puts unnecessary strain on the lower lumbar and, due to the high weights I was pushing, risked injury due to compression. Stopping the eccentric motion just before full-bottom kept the pressure on the glutes, quads, and hammies, and off my back. Now I squat well below parallel, but about a foot from the ground. Of course, I'm 55 and am not training for a clean competition. And even then, while I was training more as an athlete than a bodybuilder-more "go" than "show"-I was way being my varsity years so had different objectives. PS. She corrected my form with 100-pound Goblet Squats... very light for me. We did that for a full 6-week cycle, 12-15 reps, until I had the muscle memory and we went back to the barbell. I was soon back to my old tricks and my squat strength began to climb.
I had the same experience. I used to go butt below the floor level. Until she corrected my form with 200-pound Goblet Squats... very light for me. Then I was back on track and became even stronger. You are so right.
Each version of the Squat has a purpose and an importance. The one that suits you best is the version that is most specific to your sport. But if you’re someone like me who just loves to train in all forms of weightlifting, Olympic and Powerlifting, the sky is the limit on your specificity. Matt Wenning says it all the time: “overuse creates mileage”, and eventually your body will break down if you stick to the same stimulus. Train them both. They’re both great. You can never be too strong.
I’ll tell you now as a man worth 32 million….lifting heavy is a waste of time. I had an industrial tenant that had trophies all over his storage room in his shop. He was older and dead now and died pretty young. He actually died last year. He regretted wasting his life lifting and he was weak and broken. I offer you golf and pickleball and just machines. I squat 245, bench 225 and can do dozens of pull-ups and I bang chics on call and am married to a hotly that luvs me. Don’t be a clown. I also surf and slalom ski and dive..I enjoy life. Did triathlons for 10 years. Point being don’t be a low iq non athletic gym clown and then die.
Peace, I uploaded a video of how to actually squat. These guys are missing a big part of it, the forefoot. You shouldn't be standing on your heel, it compresses your joints and disengages your muscles
Thanks to this video I finally realised that I've been doing low bar squats all this time! No wonder trying to squat below parallel felt so uncomfortable and I always felt my low back trying to take over. Since I could easily do ass-to-grass front squats I knew it wasn't a mobility issue. I honestly never intended to do low bar; it just felt more comfortable for me to place the bar on my rear delts. 😅
yup same here. i was squatting a ton of weight using low bar. then after knee surgery decided to focus on high bar. or even atg low bar. mobility and quad strength became my priority over just tonnage movement (I had big/strong hams)
Imagine if there was some kind of global communication and media sharing tool where you could literally watch the top squatters in the world squatting and/or coaches giving detailed guides... Hundreds of thousands of hours of it.. be great wouldn't it?@@myshrm1
I had an incident as a child that injured my knee so I try not to put too much pressure on it at extreme RoM, which is why I only do high rep Bodyweight/Kettlbell Squats for Ass-to-Grass, but Low Bar Barbell Squats to Parallell At the Knee. The key thing is to do both and mix things up to have a good range of strengths.
This just allowed me to piece together a problem I've been having with my squats since the day I started lifting. I've always been a low bar squatter. I settled into this squat form before even knowing there were different bar positions for the squat. After I found out about bar position though, Ive never been able to high bar squat. I was never quite sure why, I just assumed it may be because of genetics. Either my pelvis socket was too deep or my leg to torso ratio was such that the high bar squat didnt work for me. After stumbling on this channel and further, this video, it was really eye opening to have the angle of the ankles pointed out in both lifts. After attempting to get in that position myself, I've noticed that I can barely shift my ankles forward past a 90° angle with my feet and to actually get in that upright position I need to lift my heels a large amount in order to compensate. This made it clear that Im lacking enormously in ankle mobility. If I want to improve my squat it would be super beneficial for me to wear weightlifting shoes and do ankle mobility exercises.
I didn't realize that low bar squats limit your bottom range of motion. Here I was having problems getting lower than parallel with the low bar. I have been working on mobility to get to parallel. Low bar just feels more comfortable to me. I'll try high bar also so I can get that lower range. My end goal? Being able to Asian squat without tipping back and get out of the hole with weight
@@Vitamin.Z I've always wanted to lift heavy with squats, but I've more been envious of people that can go into the Asian squat position and just stay there comfortably for a while. It would be so useful to me since I hate kneeling for a long time or kneeling on something that isn't comfortable (like when I'm gardening). Also, there is the longevity portion. I'm middle age now and am realizing that hitting 315 on a back squat isn't as neat as feeling athletic and loose. I love lifting heavy, but now that I'm doing yoga and athletic style workouts, the way my body moves and feels is much better than when I was just focused on strength.
squats are my worst of the big lifts, so I just don't look forward to doing them - yet that makes them the one thing I really need to make sure I don't skip every week. I loved this fair balanced tutorial. I like to perform both styles, with very little weight, which happens to be all I can do!! :D
Did low bar for years, now high bar and go for that massive depth. Never felt better, plus I can now squat my low bar max with complete control. Anyway, goodluck everyone!
Great video! This has really helped me improve my squat technique. I've been using the @squatdrop squatting gauge to perfect my depth and it's made a huge difference in just four weeks. Not only has my technique improved, but my legs have also become much stronger. In fact, my maximum lift went up by 30%! Thank you so much for sharing this excellent content. I can't wait to keep improving my squat with the help of your videos.
The left one if stay there for a long time is making more work, because the right one is sitting on her structure, but when they lift the weight again the left has less way to go than right, so less work to do. It depends on time.
This is tough. I’m not a fan of sitting back. I know many do that, but that tends to be more for equipped lifters. Knees should be allowed to break with the hips. Just pushing the hips back can lead to excessive forward lean. Also, it can be much harder to maintain the proper bar path when you don’t let you knees travel forward and out.
I agree. I practiced sitting back for years but a few years ago I learned to break at the hips and knees simultaneously and it feels a lot stronger. I don't have a lot of forward knee travel but it's certainly not vertical shins.
I’d also add that squatting low bar, high bar, SSB, or a front squat all change the angles. Plus, each person is unique based on size, limb length, mobility and other factors. I’ve taught many people to squat, and some it takes a few days, others months. Fitness has gotten to the “10 second to greatness” idea. Squatting - deadlifting - cleans - benching are all dynamic movements. The focus should always be in mastery before weight. Hope this helps.
Low bar you forgot about one of the biggest additional contributors. The adductor magnus inclusion in the wide stance with the knees pulled out is a major contributor compared to the glutes that are shortened with the width
Great video! I'm going to have to try this out. One of the biggest things that has helped me build muscle has been a custom meal plan from Next Level Diet. I use it every week and I love it!
To be honest now I’m confused more than before. You put out many videos where you say, squat like your anatomy. In my case. In have long femurs, a little shorter Torso, I learned here: make knee over toes and it’s no prob to have a more pronounced leaning forward to keep the weight above midfoot. By the way my mobility allows only parallel squatting. Now you describe everything purely from a low- or highbar perspective. My individual positioning is now exactly in between low and high bar. I have the bar positioned on my back as for low bar, my depth is like low bar but my knee is obverse toe like highbar. Do I need to worry? What I learned on this channel is, squat as your anatomy, everything else does not matter. Now I learned it’s all dependent if you low or high bar squat. BTW, most natural and healthiest feeling I have with Zercher-and zombie squats because of the upright position. My Zercher is as strong as my back squat what shows I’m not made for back squats ( 140 kg for 5 reps with 95 kg bodyweight)
“Squat for your anatomy” doesn’t mean you can’t both high-bar and low-bar squat. One might feel more natural or comfortable for you, but you can still do both, even if one is less ideal for your anatomy, mobility, or sport-specific training.
And the stupid 'trainer' at my local gym made me believe that pushing the knees outwards is a wrong form! I'm just a casual gym goer,so I'd rather go with the high-bar form. Thank you guys for clearing the doubts. Much respect from India.
I've practically given up on the high bar squat. I truly believe my ankle mobility would only be fixed with some kind of surgery. It's a shame, I find Olympic weight lifting to be a really insteresting sport, but I guess I'm gonna have to stick to deadlifts and low bar squats.
I compete in low level strongman and never actually tried the powerlifting stance when it comes to squats, always seemed like more of an ego move than strength
i'm the only one who does highbar backsquat in our gym. some people knew this and don't stop me, but one day someone ask me if we can us the smith machine together so i told it was ok. was doing my squat and he keeps interupting me and telling me to go winder stands and don't squat deep or i will break my leg. like bruh? been doing highbar backsquat for more than 4months now. and he is the only person who interrupts me on my set. his interuption is way more dangerous since i can't focus on my form and technique.
I like high bar to keep me more upright and to keep my shelf more stable. Low bar is apparently easier with load distributed at glutes and Hammy's but I love my high bar squat.
I actually do ass to the grass for my warm up sets before putting on enough weight so that I can only do just below parallell for a 5x5 workout. So I get the best of both worlds.
Which version would you say is better for athletes looking to develop speed or jumping ability? Most sprinters or football players use high bar from observation but I don't know of that's just convention.
If you can train BOTH train highbar full ROM to get maximum musclewise and train quarter squat for best carry over to jumping. Dont train lowbar if you are trying to jump or sprint train highbar and quarter squats.
@@AinsleyVarvel Interesting. Would you not say front squats are better then both then. Also I think for sprinting some myself would argue the glutes are key and taking the emphasis off off them and placing it more on the quads is might not be more beneficial.
@@maxpowers4436 Yeah but even if you do quarter squats you still have to choose a bar position. Currently I train ATG front squats with lighter load and high volume then half squats/ quarter squats to a 90 degree angle with lowbar because high bar used to be uncomfortable. So I'm already doing something that is somewhat similar to what to what you suggest.
@Actual Random well I may be a little out of my depth here. I have a lot of lifting experience but I'm no kinesiologist. Anyway, I agree with you that glutes are very important, though certainly less explosive than quads. You still work both groups in both movements but I think allowing the quad to move all the way through its full range of motion in a high bar Squat would replicate the action of sprinting best. That being said, I love low bar squatting and would recommend it generally for developing massive strength and stability. As far as a high bar Squat vs front Squat, I would say yes front Squat would be super beneficial, assuming you have the mobility to do it correctly, but the reason a coach might recommend back Squat instead is because it's more simple to perform and more importantly, you will be able to lift bigger weights which means more strength gain theoretically.
How can I learn to squat properly without a coach/trainer etc, please help me I'm willing to learn but it seems a awkward just watching videos like this. Thankyou in advance great video.
Please do a video regarding knee movement/tracking during the squat, .i.e. do the shins stay vertical and knees no longer move once the hips are above parallel during concentric portion? My knees are usually always sore (above and to the outside of the kneecap. quad tendon area). I feel this is because I'm knee dominate and they take over once the hips are above parallel on the concentric portion.
Question I am 47 and I recently got into lifting. I have been doing a parallel squat. The exact way you just explained it, the exact way I do it. With that being said my knees have been bothering me. I tend to push through the front of my feet, but I have been getting better with pushing with my heel. Here is my question. Why are my knees bugging me ? Is it I just need to work through it and they will eventual be fine. Or am I lifting wrong ?
Hi Doc. As always thank you for your content! It’s always spot on. I’ve been powerlifting for a couple decades and not moved Into strongman. Every so often I’d “tweak” my low back on the right side. Long story short after finally doing it worse then ever I went to my ortho to see if I finally damaged something. I found that I have sacralization on the right side on the L5 to sacrum. Any suggestions for adjusting my squat/deadlift form to minimize the added pressure on my L4-L5 disk? Finally knowing the source has me hoping I can find a preventative solution. My orthopedic doc was no help. I need a squat pro. Happy to discuss details offline if you prefer. Thank you!
I’m no doctor but I did have damage to my L3 C2 C3 C4 I found that the way I had less pressure on my spine was to wrap the bar with athletic tape, I also would put chalk on my back for my squats. I also focus on strongman movements
Great instructional video of both movements. My question is I have arthritis in both knees bone on bone should I do a deep squat or stop at 90°. Oops, I've always done more of an upright squat I have good mobility in my ankles.
I highly recommend you check out KneesOverToes guy for knee health! And he always encourages going as deep as you can without pain. Eventually the goal is always full range of motion on every lift.
@@AinsleyVarvel thank you my brother I have to get back to that routine I did it before I was just a little hesitant because I have bone on bone in both knees great job
For absolute numbers - use powerlifting technique. For hypertrophy- use bodybuilding technique. They are literally opposite. The “truest” squat is a front squat. A low bar squat is near the middle of the squat-hinge continuum.
Some need to squat toes forward, some need to squat toes out, some need to stop around paralles, some need to squat really deep, some need to squat really wide. Some coaches like squat university understand squat depth and technique are based on an individuals anatomy, mobility, injury, history and goals. Matt Wenning is not one oft hem. Good coaches don´t make statements that everyone should squat the same way because some simply can´t and shouldn´t attempt to. Good coaches understand how to analyze those factors to find the best squat for the individual while alos giving them tools to work on to enhance their lifts and find whats most optimal in the long run. This dude sitll believe that there is one size fits all, shins straight, over arched back and so on. Embarassing in the year of 2023
Any chance you have a article or upload on uneven rib flare? I noticed on a lot of lifting movements that my left rib cage flares out quite a bit more than my right and could be due to an imbalance. I've been working on strengthening my hip flexors, with seated weight knee lifts for a 10 second hold at the top and controlled on the way down. Not sure if I'm being optimal with just doing that though.
In the back squat videos, you emphasize that depending on the femur to body ratio, some can lean more than others. Does it also work with front squats, i.e., is it ok that my elbows go down because I lean a bit on a front squat due to my long femurs?
It may be a silly question but is there a hybrid ie: low bar with a narrower stance and knees over toes? Or is that just the worst of both worlds and not the best…
@Filitsino That's interesting. I can see that though, yesterday I went back and forth between high and low bar. Can't really figure out which I wanna stick with.
Hey, i have this problem where when i squat without weight my hip doesnt hurt, but when i put on weight starting even at 115, and when i get deep and push, the front of my hip hurts bad. My hip doesnt hurt going down to the squat but only when i push up heavy weight.
Way more load in the knees on a high bar Squat. The primary driver in a high bar Squat is the quad muscle pulling against/through the knee. In the low bar, your glutes/hips take more load.
