high bar neck issues

[CamBarratt]

Hi Rip, i had a conversation today with a friend, about the possibility of neck related issues with high bar squatting. Have you, in your 30 years of lifting/coaching, come across anything that would suggest that high bar squatting could cause any sort of neck issues such as pinched nerve etc?

Much appreciated.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Of course it can. Obviously. Eck-specially if there is already a neck injury in the C7 area.

[SamuraiMark]

Outside of injury, I suspect this is another case of "if you do it wrong bad things will happen." How many people have the bar just laying across their spine? High bar or low, you still need to flex them traps to give the bar a place to sit. A lot of people don't know this which is what leads people to use the sissy pad.

[drcube]

Outside of injury, I suspect this is another case of "if you do it wrong bad things will happen." How many people have the bar just laying across their spine? High bar or low, you still need to flex them traps to give the bar a place to sit. A lot of people don't know this which is what leads people to use the sissy pad.

Not to mention looking up at the ceiling the whole time they're squatting. That hurts my neck just to watch. I hope that isn't as common as youtube makes it out to be.

[kcc]

Not to mention looking up at the ceiling the whole time they're squatting. That hurts my neck just to watch. I hope that isn't as common as youtube makes it out to be.

If my gym is any indication, it's MORE common than YouTube makes it out to be.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Ask these people a question: How often when you move a load at work, or move a couch, or a bale of hay, or a sack of anything heavy, do you actually look UP while you do it?

[lewabbit]

They'd counter it with the perfectly valid riposte, that one almost never moves a load outside of the gym on their backs. It mostly lies on the floor, and is always a dead lift type movement.

[Mark Rippetoe]

But they want you to look up when you deadlift too. But it doesn't matter where the load is. Looking up throws the loading forward of the posterior chain. It makes every squat a front squat.

[kcc]

But they want you to look up when you deadlift too. But it doesn't matter where the load is. Looking up throws the loading forward of the posterior chain. It makes every squat a front squat.

To be honest, I think that's what most of the guys here are looking for. The people that train at the same time as I do seem to be primarily body builders - maybe stronger than average body builders, but their main focus isn't on lifting more weight. One dude does a pyramid - 45, 95, 135, 185, 225, 275, 315, 275, 225, 185, 135, 95, 45 - every Wednesday, getting between 4-6 reps at 315 and more as the weight gets lower. They're just looking to pump up their quads.