High Bar Back Squat, Finally……
My intention with this blog post is to create some clarity surrounding the High Bar vs Low Bar conversation. If you look it up on the internet you will see that the adherents to each view point are as polemic as the Liberals and Conservatives in our political arena. But on closer inspection it is clear that both bar positions have value.
When people go through our On Ramp Program we teach them to use a Low Bar position when back squatting. This means that the bar is placed below the upper traps on the rear deltoids, and held in place by squeezing the shoulder blades together, reaching the elbows back, and pressing forward with the palms of the hands. In order to to create a stable bar you have to hold that tension in the upper back, WHILE YOU MOVE. We believe that being able to HOLD tension while moving is a fundamental skill, and that is why we have had you practice the low bar position over the last few months while we worked on Linear Progression.
Today we introduce you to the High Bar position. The bar will sit on top of your upper traps, you will wrap your hands around the bar instead of pressing forward with the palms, and you will be able to keep your chest more upright while getting deeper into a squat. What matters to your coaches, at this stage of the game, is that you are able to maintain that tension (that you practiced weekly with the Low Bar) in the upper back. Should you be unable to hold tension, we will gently remind you….. In addition, don’t be afraid to return to that previous bar position should you need more practice creating and holding tension while you move.
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Winston Churchill said that if you are not a liberal when you are 20 you have no heart, and if you are not conservative by the time you are 40 you have no brain. Hence, all positions have their time and place!
-Beth
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Thursday’s WOD:
Intro of High Bar Back Squat
Find 1rm (look to be around 90% of LBBS set 4/9)
After 1rm, reduce weight to 75% and complete a set of 20. NO RE-RACKING THE WEIGHT. If you need to rack the weight in the middle, you are finished.
For Time:
50 Pull Ups
50 Box Jumps (24/20)
2013 04 17