Are there mechanical advantages to choosing either high bar or low bar depending on the anthropometry of the lifter?
Could you be more specific?
Does a person, say with long legs, long arms and a short torso, benefit more from one squat variation over another (High bar over low bar or vise versa)?
“Benefit” how?
I’m not trying to be a pain in the ass with these questions. Both trying to get a sufficiently specific question, and to make you think more.
Oh no please, no need to apologize. I’m clearly the one being a pain in the ass asking stupidly vague questions, though it’s not my intention. I appreciate your patience.
I’ll try again…
Does the anthropometry of a lifter have any bearing on mechanical advantage in either the high bar or low bar squat positions? Or is this irrelevant/not a real thing?
In lifters whos hips are higher than their shoulders during a conventional pull, sumo is a better option… it’s what made me wonder about squats and if someone’s anthropometry was more suited, ie there was a mechanical advantage, ie able to lift more weight because their body’s own personal leverages were being exploited to their fullest potential (if that’s even a real thing), to using either the high bar or low bar squat position.
Yes, it’s certainly a “real thing” that the anthropometry of a lifter can affect their ability to lift more or less weight from a given position.
The part where your question was a bit vague was when you asked about “benefit” – in other words, would one benefit more from a high bar or low bar squat … which I think is a trickier question to answer.
I think that, regardless of anthropometry, if the low bar squat activates more muscles during its execution, you will “benefit” more from it than from squatting with a higher bar, no matter how your leverages are. Does it make sense?
Oh, I see. I suppose I meant “benefit” as in “able to express strength outcomes better due to mechanical advantage based on anthropometry places in either squat variation”. Sorry for being so vague lol
Do you think theres an answer to that question/is the question a legitimate one?
If by “express strength outcomes better” you mean lift more absolute weight, then we’d argue that people tend to lift a bit more weight with a low bar squat compared to other styles.
Ok cool. Thanks Dr Baraki for your time
How about this hypothesis: Lifter A and lifter B are at same age, height and weight, with same level of training progress. A has a long torso and short legs. B has a short torso and long legs. Imagining this anatomical difference is the only difference between the two lifters, who would perform better (lift heavier weight) with a low-bar squat? Who would perform better with a high-bar squat?
You couldn’t tell from this data who would lift more weight or have better training outcomes. We are more complex than that.
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