Hip drive in high bar squat

[Mick1984]

Hi Mark, I have a question regarding the high bar squat

This is something that seems to have mixed opinions both on here and everywhere else I've looked. When doing the high bar squat, should any hip drive be used at all? I'm aware hip drive greatly deminishes due to the lack of hamstrings and more use of the quads, but from videos I've seen, some people seem to use whatever hip drive they can and others sit up and down with the hips moving in a straight vertical line. Is a squat without hip drive non efficient and less than optimum?

Thanks

[Mark Rippetoe]

Look at this video Frank Rothwell's Olympic Weightlifting History Botev,Nerlinger, Kurlovitch 1990 EWC - YouTube 1:47 -- 1:50, and tell me what you see.

[Tiedemies]

If I understant your point, even in the front squat you can see the hip actually leading the squat. It looks like that to me, but what do I know.

What I started wondering this weekend when squatting is that when things get heavy, why do people react differently in employing the hip-drive? What kind of weaknesses are mostly at play? For example, for me, an absolutely near-failure squat seems to come up with way too much leading with the hips, i.e., the back angle tends to be more horizontal when it is touch and go. I've never seen this problem (at what point does it become a problem?) with high-bar squats.

-H.

[Mark Rippetoe]

What I started wondering this weekend when squatting is that when things get heavy, why do people react differently in employing the hip-drive? What kind of weaknesses are mostly at play?

Bar position on the back (mechanics), and the extent to which you have been taught that hip drive is not important are the primary factors influencing the differences. Watch his hips:

Scott Cartwright 1025 Squat - YouTube