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07-08-2007, 05:51 PM
| #1 (permalink) |
| Rank: Member Experience: 2-3 Years  Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: FL
Posts: 60
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Gender:  |  Bar Position w/ squat? Hey guys, recently i have read that the positioning of the bar on ur traps can affect ur squat. Like either mid range of the trap or above or below. Whats the best position then? I dont really pay much attention to that but i think mine is more mid-range. Will this help my squat? |
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07-09-2007, 10:01 AM
| #3 (permalink) |
| Administrator Rank: Lightweight Experience: 3-5 Years  Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Midwest
Posts: 1,238
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Gender: | I think a lot of it depends on your body type and what type of squat you are trying to accomplish. Personally when I do my A2G squats I keep the bar in a high position at the base of my neck, this higher position allows me better movement when I go lower through the squat. Here is some nice examples of bar positioning: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/glen23.htm |
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07-09-2007, 10:04 AM
| #4 (permalink) |
| Moderator Rank: Light Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years  Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: CA
Posts: 4,017
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Gender:  | Yeah, the bar placement for me depends on which squat I'm doing. I wear the bar as high as possible for olympic (full) squats. Midtrap for everything else. |
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07-09-2007, 03:55 PM
| #6 (permalink) |
| Moderator Rank: Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,476
Country:
Gender: | Basically like the others said for full squats the bar is higher and for parallel or whatever the bar is lower. I think exact bar postioning is up to the individual but whatever position the bar is in the biggest thing that will be affected is torso angle. A higher up bar will mean a more erect torso and a lower bar will mean more forward torso angle. Your body in a properly performed squat (one without big deficiencies) will tend to keep the bar over the middle portion of the foot...thus the changes in body angle. Biomechanically this just needs to happen because of the center of mass. If you want to see this effect do a front squat with a good bit of weight (for you). The torso angle will be more erect than either high or low bar back squats. Even though the bar is very high the center of mass is more in front of you so in order for the bar to be kept over the center of your feet the torso remains more upright. If you look at the bb.com article you see rules about 45 degree angles and such. Such things are biomechanical nonsense. The center of mass will determine the torso angle. Trying to force you body into a postion that causes this cener of mass to be offset will result in a failed or a slowed lift until the weight can be brought back into the proper position. Proper form is as much a matter of body learning and the maintenance of movement patterns as it is an adherence to "rules". You can see the effect of the "rules" vs. body by using a weight that is too light to learn how to squat and deadlift for instance. Now a lot of us will say you need to start with a light weight to learn but of course it needs to be heavy enough to actually require proper form to be lifted correctly. If the weight is too light you can basically lift it with a form that would not achieve success at a heavier weight. Of course a too heavy weight would mean not being able to overcome the weight in a biomechanically sound way and so similar problems (with perhaps more dire results). |
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