Form Check for Low Bar Squat

[Tigif158]

I'm having a hard time find a painless low bar squat position for my shoulders.

I'm having an epic amount of difficulty getting into a comfortable low bar squat stance regarding my shoulders. Ive played around with grip width a bit, but can't find the right zone where discomfort is minimized and the bar feels secure.

After I rack the bar and come out of the position, i feel extremely tight, and hurt in the front of my shoulders going down into my arms.

Ive included a video for reference. I'm doing the starting strength approach to an LB squat.

https://youtu.be/5Ab4gLK3wEY

You can see in the video that the bar placement is, from my knowledge, correct. I can also see my right wrists breaking, which causes some discomfort in my wrist. Feels like carpel tunnel? I use a computer mouse all day so i suspect this is it.

I'm looking for some ideas to try out to relieve the discomfort and still be able to get into the low bar position.

Thanks all.

[t_angeiras]

From the video, I didn't notice anything remarkably wrong. I have the impression that I put the bar a bit lower, where there is actually a small "meat shelf". Almost like the bar would stay there without hands, if light enough.

That said, if you can't find a combo of bar height and grip width that suits you, you can always try high bar. Check "Bar Placement" section here: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-squat/

[Tigif158]

Thanks for the feedback. I am open to high bar squatting, albeit as a last resort. I want to explore more mobility work options before writing off the LB Squat, but it's honestly discouraging seeing that the docs often have the take that stetching is a useless exercise.


Before resorting to HB, is there any more mobility to be gained? Or am I essentially stuck in the box that I'm in?

[ericjspencley]

Tigif158 I had this EXACT same pain while learning the low bar squat. It happened when my LP was stalling but I was trying to over-milk the training procedure around 250lbs. The pain would carry on and RUIN my bench. I recall that I filmed my depth and realized I was going too low, relaxing my back, and the bar was being directly supported by my arms. Once I corrected my depth and made sure my arms were not carrying the load, I have not experienced any pain during the squat.

If you could provide us a better video in which the shot is taken directly from the side and shows the entire lifter, I could provide more help. My only guess is that you are holding all the weight in your arms instead of your back