High Bar 🏋️‍♂️or Low Bar🏋🏻‍♀️ squat??? Do you feel HIGH? How LOW can you go😁😁 ?

joejoe

Author

First, let's look at the difference between these two.
 The difference between these two is the position of the barbell. 
With high bar, you carry the barbell at a high position, while with low bar, you carry the barbell at a low position.
 With high bar, you place the bar at the base of your neck or around your trapezius muscles, and then bend down from that position.
 On the other hand, with low bar, you place the bar on your shoulders or around the posterior deltoids (behind your shoulders), and then bend down from that position.

joejoe

Author

The center of gravity of the bar is different in high bar and low bar.
The only difference between high bar and low bar is the position of the bar on your shoulders, but this difference results in a different center of gravity. How does changing the center of gravity of the bar affect your form?
When squatting, you need to control the bar so that it doesn't go outside your body. When squatting, you support your body with your feet.
If the supporting foot and the center of gravity of the bar are in a straight line, you can support your body well, but if the bar deviates from that straight line, gravity will affect your body and cause it to rotate forward or backward, and you will need extra force to stop it.

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joejoe

Author

In the case of high bar, when you are standing, the center of gravity of the bar is exactly above the supporting foot. Therefore, by squatting while raising your upper body as much as possible, you can stabilize your posture and squat without using unnecessary force

joejoe

Author

On the other hand, with low bar, the bar is carried behind the shoulders, so when standing upright, the center of gravity of the bar is behind the supporting foot, and if left like that, you will fall backwards. For this reason, your starting position will be slightly leaning forward.

joejoe

Author

When squatting down from there, if you try to keep the center of gravity of the bar directly over the supporting foot, you will end up sticking your hips out and squatting forward.
Holding the bar in a different position changes the position of the bar's center of gravity, and in order to keep your center of gravity directly over your feet, your squatting position will change.

joejoe

Author

Changing posture changes the muscles used
So far, we have discussed that the position of the center of gravity of the bar is different between high bar and low bar, and that with high bar, you keep your torso upright, while with low bar, you squat down by leaning forward, so you can keep the center of gravity of the bar directly above your feet.
When you change your squatting posture, the muscles used also change. In conclusion, with high bar, the front of the foot, such as the rectus femoris and quadriceps, is trained, while with low bar, the sole of the foot, such as the hamstrings and gluteus maximus, is trained. So why does this difference occur?

joejoe

Author

With high bar, you squat down while keeping your torso upright, so the distance between the center of gravity of the bar and your knees is larger. On the other hand, with low bar, you squat down by leaning forward with your butt sticking out, so the distance between the center of gravity of the bar and your knees is smaller.
If you hold a dumbbell in each hand and slowly raise it to your side with your elbows extended, you can feel it. The further the dumbbell is from your body, the greater the force on your shoulders.
In the same way, the greater the distance between the center of gravity of the bar and your knees, the greater the force required to straighten your knees, that is, the force exerted by your quadriceps. In other words, the quadriceps are mainly used in high bar exercises.

joejoe

Author

With low bar exercises, the distance between your knees and the center of gravity of the bar is shorter, so the distance between your hips and the center of gravity of the bar is greater. Therefore, muscles such as the gluteus maximus and hamstrings that extend your hips are mainly used.
When you hear the terms high bar and low bar, you might think that the only difference is where you hold the bar, but the muscles used are different, which affects the training effect.
If you want to train your thigh muscles, but you've always carried the bar behind your shoulders, or you've never paid attention to where you hold the bar, it may seem like a small thing, but try to be a little more conscious of it.

joejoe

Author

https://youtu.be/BUIu720DQH4?si=2ysNJcRuatXpjtXR

Useful video for reference