Originally Posted by
PVC
Torque: the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. The power-style squat involves a steeper back angle, which places more torque on the hip joint than a more upright back angle. With equivalent weights, the power-style squat places less stress on the lower back compared to the olympic-style squat because the weight is placed lower on the back, which decreases the lever length - the lever being the spine. However, the power-style squat allows more total weight to be used, which offsets this factor.