Low bar or High bar?

Both are excellent for overall strength building. Neither will make you better at BJJ.

Low bar squats involve more hamstring recruitment, but how effective that is at building hamstrings is debatable. Low bar squats can be tricky if you have shoulder issues.

High bar squats will not allow you to squat as heavy as low bar, but many people think they feel more natural (myself included). High bar squats can be tricky if you have ankle or hip flexibility issues.

Try them both and see which you prefer. Either one is preferable to not squatting at all.
 
According to Louie Simmons low bar power style squats transfer better to athletic performance.
Also according to him, becoming stronger at low bar will make your high bar stronger, whereas the opposite doesn't have as much carryover..

I'm actually giving low bar squats a try, for the first time in my life, so I'll get back to you
 
I only ever do low bar (and overhead, and front squats), never high bar.
 
Miiiiiiighty said:
According to Louie Simmons low bar power style squats transfer better to athletic performance.
Also according to him, becoming stronger at low bar will make your high bar stronger, whereas the opposite doesn't have as much carryover..

I'm actually giving low bar squats a try, for the first time in my life, so I'll get back to you
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And there are also many well-known squat gurus who will tell you the exact opposite on both points. Ask Eric Lillibridge if training high-bar carried over to his low bar squats in competition.

My opinion on the matter is this: If you're interested in olympic style weightlifting, train high bar. If you're interested in powerlifting, train low bar. If you're not interested in either, do whichever you feel most comfortable with/agrees with your body mechanics. As a general and very, very oversimplified rule, those with a long torso and short femurs tend to be better suited to high bar, whereas short torso + long femurs lends itself to low bar. High bar is also more demanding on hip and ankle mobility, provided you're doing full depth. Either style will make you stronger.
 
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Arbitrary line in the sand.

I prefer and coach something more like a mid-bar, IE racking the bar straight across balled up traps.
 
If your build is more suited to one than the other, go with that one.
If neutral, do what tickles your fancy.
 
Short torso, absurd femurs, high-bar brah-crew checking in.
 
CosmicOsmo said:
those with a long torso and short femurs tend to be better suited to high bar
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I've only recently realised just how short my femurs are relative to everyone else (I'm in my late 30's and think of myself as pretty observant so it's a bit of a surprise). It wouldn't be unreasonable to call it a deformity.

*for what it's worth I do find high-bar squatting easier.
 
Dan O said:
If your build is more suited to one than the other, go with that one.
If neutral, do what tickles your fancy.
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Inevitably the squatter falls into something that just works. There's no point forcing someone into a technique he'she cannot do. However that being said, there are certain aspects of the squat that must be upheld when teaching it reagrdless of type
 
Dan O said:
If your build is more suited to one than the other, go with that one.
If neutral, do what tickles your fancy.
Click to expand...

NurseKnuckles said:
Dude. Just pick a squat.
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JauntyAngle said:
Doesn't matter that much. Pick the one you like and get better at it.
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NurseKnuckles said:
Inevitably the squatter falls into something that just works. There's no point forcing someone into a technique he'she cannot do. However that being said, there are certain aspects of the squat that must be upheld when teaching it reagrdless of type
Click to expand...

Basically what these gentlemen said.
 
JauntyAngle said:
What suits high bar? Long torso?
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Just from observation...
Short torso, long femur, LB
Short femur, HB

I just switched some of our CF team people to lowbar due to their build and they hit nice squat PRs. But I usually try HB first.
 
I rarely worried if my squat was considered high bar or low bar. Do whatever is comfortable. I'm not even sure I could accurately say if I'm going high bar or low bar. It's somewhere in between I think.
 
I squatted with the bar low for my first two years squatting. Wasn't until I started carrying it higher that squatting finally clicked for me. I carry it between the top of my rear delts, just below the traps or just on the base of my traps. No idea if it would be classified as high bar or not.
 
I just saw a video called hybrid squat vs olympic squat or something, that basically says if you take a little wider stance on a highbar, you'll get a stretch reflex at or just below parallel instead of ATG. That's how I've been squatting for a while.
 
the bar rest on the shelf of my rear delts. No idea if this is low or hybrid or middle. I just know it feels fine there.
 
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