If these are fun for you, just keep doing them this way.
I can't low bar squat due to chronic low back issues, so let me get that out of the way foremost.
I think I'm doing two things wrong on high bar:
1) I think I'm squatting too deep, using momentum, not strength to get myself out of first part of the very bottom. I think there is a point where the momentum ends and the strength takes over on the way up, and you can probably see it pretty clearly because the bar speed slows. I think that is also jacking up my balance, which is why I start leaning as it gets harder and starts to look ugly. That I think I can fix.
2) Don't think I'm using hip drive, and I think that's for two reasons; Subconsciously trying to protect my lower back from taking any load, and I can't figure out how to use hip drive on high bar (I can do hip drive low bar, but at the expense of being crippled for about 4 days).
Any feedback is appreciated.
IMG 8839 - YouTube
If these are fun for you, just keep doing them this way.
Please read the sticky on filming criteria.
Proper depth for high bar is the same as proper depth for low bar. Crease of the hip below the top of the knee.
What's the chronic back issue that doesn't allow you to low bar?
Pete,
See below:
OVERALL LOSS OF NORMAL LUMBAR LORDOSIS.
L1-L2: NEURAL FORAMINAL NARROWING OR CENTRAL CANAL STENOSIS IDENTIFIED.
L2-L3: NEURAL FORAMINAL NARROWING OR CENTRAL CANAL STENOSIS IDENTIFIED.
L3-L4: NEURAL FORAMINAL NARROWING OR CENTRAL CANAL STENOSIS IDENTIFIED.
L4: ENDPLATE SCLEROSIS ALONG THE ANTERIOR AND INFERIOR ASPECT OF L4.
L4-L5: THERE IS TEARING OF THE POSTERIOR ANNULUS WITH CENTRAL PROTRUSION. THERE IS MODERATE NARROWING OF THE NEURAL FORAMINA. BULGING OF THE DISC IS NOTED. DISC DESICCATION IS NOTED. SMALL SCHMORL'S NODES AND REACTIVE ENDPLATE EDEMA IS NOTED.
L5-S1: THERE IS A CENTRAL DISC PROTRUSION. THERE IS MODERATE NARROWING OF THE NEURAL FORAMINA. RETROLISTHESIS OF L5 ON S1 IS NOTED. BULGING OF THE DISC IS NOTED SLIGHTLY FLATTENING THE VENTRAL THECAL SAC. DISC DESICCATION IS NOTED. SMALL SCHMORL'S NODES AND REACTIVE ENDPLATE EDEMA.
LUMBOSACRAL JUNCTION: MODERATE NEURAL FORAMINAL NARROWING IS NOTED.
How old are you?
Hey Rip,
I am 35.
This is not a description of your "low back issue." This is an excerpt from an MRI report. If you asked what symptoms most people with these findings have, the answer would be "none." Most MRI findings do not correlate with symptoms, so this report tells us nothing about your back issues.
What do you experience with your back, and what have you been doing to try to improve the situation?
He's been told by His Doctor that an MRI study such as this completely precludes squats, probably deadlifts too. Right, Dean?
Basically yes, but if I had no pain, I wouldn't care what the doc says. The problem is I do have pain after low bar and after deadlifts unless I pull perfectly. It presents mostly in the form of sharp pain in the lumbar region for a few days, and a dull ache down the hamstrings. Flexion is impossible when this happens until the muscles relax. Extension is fine.
I don't feel complete without squats or deadlifts, which is why I'm trying to find ways to do them without jacking myself up.
I would recommend watching this 3 part series on back pain and weight training that Will Morris made. It clarified a lot for me in relation to what common findings are on back MRI's, what you can and should train with, and when you shouldn't. I don't think I should have to clarify that he's referring to low bar squats in the talk, but he is, just in case you're wondering.
Weight Training with Low Back Pain (Part 1) | Will Morris, PT, DPT, SSC - YouTube
Weight Training with Low Back Pain (Part 2) | Will Morris, DPT, SSC - YouTube
Weight Training with Low Back Pain (Part 3) | Will Morris, DPT, SSC - YouTube