The high-bar position lends itself to staying more upright when you squat, and that hits the quads harder and is more common among those who train Olympic lifts.(snatches and clean and jerks).
The low-bar style will have your torso bending forward more, but because the bar’s center of gravity is lower, you’ll be able to control it better and push your hips back farther while keeping your chest forward and not down—a key aspect of good form. You’ll likely also feel like using a wider stance with the low bar—slightly outside shoulder-width. Low-bar squatting hits the hamstrings and glutes better and allows you to lift heavier, so it’s more common among powerlifters.
Experiment to see which bar position you like best, and feel free to mix them up as your training progresses. Doing high-bar squats with lighter weights for a few weeks can help break plateaus in your low-bar squat because it will strengthen your quads more, while switching to low-bar squatting may be appropriate if you sustain a knee injury that high-bar squatting aggravates. Use ’em both!
Author Carmen Cheung
Post High bar squat vs. low bar squat
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