Back Squat Geometry Part 1

When I perform low bar back squats it forces me to bend over more at the hips. When I perform high bar back squats I can stay more erect when I descend to the bottom position of the squat. This means that the torgue about the hip is less when performing high bar back squats. This is the opposite of what Mark Rippetoe states. Also, when I perform low bar back squats I get pain in my elbows from the greater stretch that is needed to hold the bar lower on the back. What am I doing wrong?

During this discussion, Mark should have mentioned the effects of the hip sled machine that you find in virtually every gym in America. When performing the hip sled, the back is perpendicular to the legs, which means the lower back is seeing almost all shear forces. I routinely see average people performing the hip sled with more than 500 pounds. Then they complain about their lower back hurting.

Brad hopefully this helps. When you place the bar farther down the back as to where Mark says it is to be placed, you are actually placing it farther away (posteriorly) from that imaginary midline ( which he descibed for several lifts). This measurement is very minimal, but when considering the distance from the bar to the hips, it is a good percentage. When you bend at the hips, your upper body has to compinsate for this change by leaning forwad more. Take a look at the drawing he has on the chalk board and imagine that bar, represented by a circle, sliding down the back. If that drawing was life size, you would see that it moved a couple of inches behind the pre-existing midline. Your upper body would instinctivally lean forward to compensate for the additional weigth placed behind it. An example Mark gave is during a front squat. The bar would then be placed in front of the existing midline, and would cause the spine to be placed in a more upright position. In this examply, your spine would be more upright(leaning back farther) in order to compensate for the additional weight placed on its anterior side.