Your low bar squat depth should ultimately be limited by your body's maximum hip flexion. If you try to go lower than this depth it can only occur through more flexion (and a loss of tension) in your knees, ankles, lumbar spine, and/or thoracic spine (usually most or all of those).
For Low Bar Squats, the bar rests on the top of the rear deltoids instead of the traps. The bar should not be excruciatingly lower than it was for High Bar; the difference is relatively slight. Settle the bar on the tops of the shoulders, pull your elbows slightly “up”/”back,” and focus on squeezing them together.
The proper depth for a squat is lowering down to the point where the crease in the hips is a bit lower than the tops of the knees. Put another way, the tops of the thighs should be parallel to the ground, or a little lower.
As you squat down the crease where your upper thigh and hip joint together should temporarily break below that line (the top of the knee). Here is a pic to illustrate: Note how the crease at the hip (the arrow) temporarily breaks below the top of the kneecap. That's a legal squat.
For illustration of what just below that would look like, USA Powerlifting Rules state: "the lifter must bend the knees and lower the body until the top surface of the legs at the hip joint is lower than the top of the knees."
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Low bar squats will hurt your low back when technique is subpar or errors are being made. The low back shouldn't be overloaded when performing low bar squats with good technique. If you are particularly sore the day of or the days after your squat session this is a sign.
A: Low bar squatting allows the athlete to lift more weight and activate more muscle. This results in increased absolute strength and muscle mass.
Eye Gaze—Looking too far down or up can also cause improper head and back angle, which in turn causes the bar to move and the lifter to lose thoracic extension. Your eye gaze should be 4-8 feet in front of your feet.
As squat depth increases, the compressive load on the patellar tendon also increases. This can certainly aggravate the tendon, so it is worthwhile modifying squat depth for a certain period of time while completing your rehab exercises if you have a patellar tendinopathy.
Try Mixing it Up
The high bar position is very good at building quadriceps strength and can help manage fatigue on a low bar squatter. A low bar may help increase posterior chain development (glutes, hamstrings, and back) and express top-end strength.
A proper squat has the crease of your hip below the top of your knee. I found the best way to train proper depth is with an object on the floor that you reach for with your ass. Similar to a box squat, but you are not looking to sit down on it.
Hand placement. The width of your hands on the bar in a low bar squat dictates a lot of your set-up. If you're too close in you'll place unnecessary tension into your pecs and most likely have shoulder discomfort.
When discussing good squat depth, the standard measurement is getting the thighs below parallel or the hip crease past the knee joint. This term originally came about in the sport of powerlifting. Since then, this term has grown to become the standard for all lifters.
At the bottom of your squat, just like with spotter arms, keep your chest up, core tight, and eyes up slightly so you can roll the barbell off of your back and walk away. Stay calm, in control, and you'll be able to bail out of your lift and be just fine.
This is a relatively simple process. Stand upright and look at the proportions of your body. Do your legs seem like they're really, really long when you compare them to your torso? If your answer is yes – then your femurs are probably long.
The rack height is the first thing you set up when preparing to low bar squat. A good height is 2″ below the top of your squat when in the correct stance.
A common mistake many make when transitioning to the low bar squat style is drastically lowering the barbell's position on the torso. However, we recommend only lowering the barbell as much as necessary to allow for a slight lean in the torso and increased trunk engagement.
When you execute the low bar squat correctly it should not hurt your knees at all. In fact, with correct progression and technique, no squat variation should hurt your knees.
Going too far down in the squat.
While you should get low in your squat (ideally at least a 90-degree bend at the knee), getting there by curving your spine increases that spinal compression, which could lead to a disc or muscular injury. Only go as far down as you can while still maintaining a neutral spine.
Squatting 500 lbs is a milestone many lifters aspire to reach. While it may seem daunting, with the right approach and understanding, it's a goal that can be achieved. Here's a breakdown of what it takes to reach this impressive squatting milestone.
The Texas Method is a three-days-per-week training regimen that emphasizes volume on Mondays, active recovery on Wednesdays, and intensity on Fridays.