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Thread: Lowbar Squat advise

  1. #1
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    Apr 2019
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    Default Lowbar Squat advise

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    Dear fellow lifters,

    I have recently attempted to transition over to lowbar back squats after both front and high bar squats lead to an irritation of my knees. However, it seems that I have exchanged knee pain for shoulder / arm / biceps / elbow pain: After every work out (sometimes right after squatting sometimes the next day) I get pain in the aforementioned places, which leads me to assume that something is not quite right with my grip / bar positioning. It might be worth mentioning that this pain started only after I worked myself up to 100 Kilos (currently I am working at 130 KG). Unfortunately I do not always work out with other people and when I do I tend to forget to have them record me. The video that I posted here was recorded after my work sets (and my deadlift) which is why it's only 110 KG. Nevertheless I think for the issue at hand this might be a sufficiently heavy weight to assess my bar positioning.

    Thanks in advance for your comments,

    Alceste


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    North Texas
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    These squats are above parallel, do not post videos of above-parallel squats on this forum. Your grip is almost certainly too wide, causing you to extend your shoulders to hold the bar up.

    Squat Grip Correction | Mark Rippetoe

    Fixing the Squat Grip | Mark Rippetoe

  3. #3
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    Apr 2019
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    Thank you very much for your reply. I watched the videos you linked under your reply and I am somewhat confused - I do know that the grip should be as narrow as possible. However with the bar that low I feel like I can't grip narrower. This is why I would like to know whether the bar is set correctly with respect to its position on the back - if it is too low I can narrow my grip, if it isn't I will probably have to stretch.

  4. #4
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    The bar is not too low.

  5. #5
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    Jun 2018
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    Toronto, ON, CA
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    Have yous seen this one?



    Also, you're reverting to high bar mechanics at the bottom of the squat, getting more upright and sliding forwards into your knees. Make sure you're keeping your eye gaze down (looks like you may be peeking in the mirror), staying bent over, and sitting back for your last bit of depth. Maintain that bent over back angle as you drive your ass up out of the hole. You're leading with your chest, high bar style.

  6. #6
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    Apr 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    The bar is not too low.
    okay thanks for that verification - then it's stretching time; I tried to fix the grip today following the advise from your videos, but with no success. my elbows automatically raise up.

  7. #7
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    Apr 2019
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    Hey Dillon, somehow I didn't see your reply last time I came here. Anyways I am aware of the highbarish lowbar squat - I'm still acquiring the technique; I guess I was so focussed on the grip issue I automatically went back to my old highbar / frontsquat instincts. I know the video you posted and I have been doing that more ore less regularly. I will integrate that on a regular basis now while resting a bit wrt. lowbar squats so that the pain can go away; I am about to get back to 70 KG on OHP (I had been sick for quite some time at the beginning of the year and it took me a lot of effort to get back to my old OHP stats) and I don't want to miss out on that just because I fucked up my shoulders trying to lowbar squat. Once the pain is gone I'll get back to squatting and posting videos. Thanks!

  8. #8
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    Apr 2019
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    I had to take off a couple of weeks for health and work related reasons. I have returned to the gym now with the intention to continue working on my lowbar squat. I am doing the shoulder stretches with no significant improvement so far, I guess it just takes more time. Nonetheless as I took from the comments before I have plenty of other things to fix in the meantime. So I tried to adress the depth problem. What I found though was that when I attempt to go deeper that I will start shooting my knees forward and rounding my lower back which I understand is not considered good form. Today I tried to fix this by using the TUBOW method (I used a blackroll though) and I would like to hear your criticism / tips to further improve my squat. ( i lowered the weight to 80 KG today because I realized that I won't be able to improve my form with such heavy weights and also to do away with the belt in order to see better whether my lower back is rounding):

    YouTube

    One last word with respect to the shoulders: I realized quite a while ago that my shoulders look asymmetrical when I get into position (sorry for the serious face ^^):

    IMG_20190812_204708.jpg

    Is this problematic?

  9. #9
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    did I violate any forum rules or is it simply that no one has found the time to respond yet?

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Hey Alceste
    The TUBOW is causing you to squat on your heels now. Get rid of it for now.
    Get your eyes down on the floor at a point about 1-1.5m in front of you and keep them there on a target. It will help with keeping the chest down and with balance. Lean over and send your ass back away from your feet as you descend. Stay leaned over as you hit depth. Drive your hips up out of the bottom.
    You have to learn to feel for and stay midfoot throughout the movement, while getting to proper depth.

    Most everyone I've coached has some type of asymmetry somewhere. Unless it's causing pain or preventing you from doing the movements properly, I wouldn't worry about it.

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