Low bar position

[lionize]

There seems to be two types of low bar positions in terms of where the elbows end up, in some places (Starting Strength) the elbows are told to be "up" so that they're horizontal as possible, while in other places (Westside gym videos) the elbows are vertical, right under the bar.

Does anyone know if there is a reason for this difference? and also, I don't think I could hold a low bar position without my elbows being "up" as the bar would slide off of my back, is this because of the lack of muscle and fat around that area?

[lovestolift]

Both require you to pull the shoulders back to form a shelf for the bar, they just go about it differently.

[ricepower]

I think people following the westside programme squat however they want, I have not read much about their programme but from the videos on your tube it seems many of them are doing high bar squats and also with a super wide grip.



This type of grip offers very little stability for the barbell and puts your shoulders in a vulnerable position.

I do low bar squats in the starting strength/stronglifts fashion. Narrow grip as possible with elbows that inevitably turn upwards & back. This seems by far the most secure way to hold a barbell but lately as my working loads having been getting heavier I am getting a lot of strain on my elbows. This might be the reason why these advanced lifters lifting big weights prefer to have a wider grip and allow the weight to be taken by neck area.

[eLvarouza]

it seems many of them are doing high bar squats and also with a super wide grip.

They aren't using high bar. Look where the bar is: it's on the shoulders. They use a wide grip because it doesn't require as much flexibility.

[lionize]

Yea, that too.. I've tried going wide just to see how it feels and the bar starts sliding off.

[eLvarouza]

They also have much bigger shoulders than any of us do. An untrained, skinny guy probably can't get away with using that wide of a grip because he won't have as much to put the bar on.

[lionize]

Yea, that's pretty much what I thought for a lot of the other grips, I just wasn't competely sure. What makes it possible for them to do that probably makes it quite awkward to get a closer grip like most of us here. Maybe sometime soon I will be more trained and less skinny xD

[guru]

They also have much bigger shoulders than any of us do. An untrained, skinny guy probably can't get away with using that wide of a grip because he won't have as much to put the bar on.

Another thing to add here is that they have so much meat on their shoulders & back that it is simply impossible for them to bring the grip closer together. That's the reason they use the cambered bar many times.

[ricepower]

People use cambered bar when they have a lack of flexibilty & rotation of the shoulder. I refuse to believe any of these people have too much 'meat' on their backs. Too much meat will just mean you take a wider grip, but you can still use the shoulder blades together/tight and elbows back & up type technique suggested by rippetoe.

Just look at Boris Bachman, he is one big dude:

[Leot]

As a skinny without much meat on my shoulders, this is no cause for having difficulty squatting low bar. Just get the bar in the right spot (just behind your shoulders is the spot I like) and push your elbows as high as you can.

This is what I look like from the back.

[Rockfella]

So whats the deal? Low bar pojition as stated in SS by Mark????? best way to go?

[ricepower]

So whats the deal? Low bar pojition as stated in SS by Mark????? best way to go?

Yes. Even if you cam maintain barbell stability, wide grip puts your shoulders in a very vulnerable position. I have unstable shoulders so feel this to an exaggerated degree. Putting my arms in that wide grip causes immediate shoulder subluxation and/or severe painful impingement.

[Rockfella]

Clearing all doubts then! Click on the pics for greater explaination.

So whats the deal? Low bar pojition as stated in SS by Mark????? best way to go?

Yes. Even if you cam maintain barbell stability, wide grip puts your shoulders in a very vulnerable position. I have unstable shoulders so feel this to an exaggerated degree. Putting my arms in that wide grip causes immediate shoulder subluxation and/or severe painful impingement.