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High vs Low Bar Placement

The main difference between these exercises is where you put the barbell on your shoulders. The high bar squat places it on top of your traps at the base of your neck, while the low bar squat typically puts it further down your shoulders on top of your rear delts.

There are also differences in how you hold the bar. For example, most people use a narrower grip on the high bar squat. Because squeezing your shoulder blades together creates a pad of muscle that prevents the bar from resting on your spine. And it also helps you keep your chest up during the squat.

With the low bar squat, most people have to use a wider grip since the bar is further back and harder to reach. You may also need to rotate your elbows up and back to create a shelf on your rear delt.

With both variations, the weight should rest entirely on your back and not in your hands.

Body Mechanics & Muscles Worked

Changing the bar placement by just a couple of inches shifts your center of gravity, resulting in different mechanics during the squat. That’s because your body must move in a way that keeps the bar roughly over the middle of your foot to maintain balance.

On the high bar squat, the weight is closer to the front, resulting in a more upright torso. As you squat, your knees travel forward past your toes, and your hips drop almost straight down.

Conversely, the low bar shifts your center of gravity to the rear, requiring more forward lean to stay balanced. Your hips push back while your knees stay above your toes at the bottom of the squat.

These body mechanics result in significantly different muscle activation.

The deeper knee flexion of the high bar squat emphasizes the quads. Meanwhile, the hip hinge movement of the low bar squat targets the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

If we compare these to other exercises, the high bar is knee-dominant, like a front squat or hack squat. In comparison, the low bar is hip-dominant, like a leg press.

Pros and Cons

Each type of squat has benefits and drawbacks. The table below shows some of the pros and cons of high bar squats vs low bar squats.

The high bar squat maximizes quad activation, which is excellent for hypertrophy training. An upright body position also takes most of the strain off your lower back. Plus, it’s generally easier to hold the bar in this position.

On the downside, the high bar technique puts more stress on your knees, which can be painful if you have joint problems. However, this type of movement can actually strengthen your knee if you gradually increase the load over time.

High bar squats also require a lot of ankle mobility to reach full depth with good form. If your knees can’t go past your toes, your heels will come off the floor, or your back will round forward at the bottom of the squat.

By comparison, the low bar squat requires very little ankle flexibility because your shins stay more upright. This variation also engages more muscle groups, allowing you to lift heavier weights.

The downside is that it can put more strain on your lower back. The low bar grip can also put a tremendous amount of stress on your arms, and many low bar squatters develop bicep tendonitis as a result.

A few years ago, I switched from high-bar squats to low-bar squats. Not long after, I developed severe pain in my outer bicep, which I thought was caused by my arm workouts.

Only after I switched back to high-bar squats did the pain subside, and I realized the low-bar grip was the culprit! The root cause was most likely a lack of shoulder mobility, which caused my arms to bear some of the load.

Which One to Use

So, how do you know which bar position is best for you? The answer depends on your training goals, body proportions, and mobility.

If you’re a bodybuilder or training for muscle gain, high bar squats are excellent for building the quad sweep and teardrop shape. Low bar squats are not ideal for bodybuilding because they generally build thick upper thighs that taper off at the knee.

It’s important to note that while exercises can affect muscle shape, it is also somewhat determined by genetic variables such as muscle length and tendon insertion points.

In addition, Olympic lifters will benefit more from high bar squats since they have the most carryover for clean and jerk exercises. The high bar also transfers well to sports that involve knee extension in the form of jumping or juking.

On the other hand, low bar squats are king when it comes to moving heavy weights. This is why the majority of competitive powerlifters use the low bar technique. In addition, building the posterior chain muscles translates well to increased deadlift strength.

Another factor to consider is your body proportions. Some people have longer legs and a shorter torso, while others have a longer torso and shorter legs.

Long femurs require more forward lean to maintain balance, making high bar squats challenging. At the same time, short legs allow a more upright torso, and this body type is perfectly suited to high bar squats.

The final factor is mobility. If you can’t do high bar squats due to a lack of flexibility, you can use the low bar method while you work on mobility.

For anyone struggling with high bar squats, I recommend elevating your heels to reduce the ankle mobility bottleneck. This also helps people with longer limbs squat deeper with a more upright torso.

Click here to see my detailed guide on heel-elevated squats.

Conclusion

The high bar squat is the more versatile variation for building muscle and improving athletic performance. At the same time, the low bar squat is the heavy hitter for strength athletes and powerlifters.

But remember, bar placement is only one variable in the complex movement that is back squats. In fact, foot placement also has a big impact on form and muscle activation.

So check out my related article on wide vs narrow stance squats to learn how to optimize your foot position for better squats.