Quote (rlebar @ Oct 28 2015 11:17pm)
well flame away, but I actually know what he's trying to say, and I'd even go so far as to say for pure leg strength, high bar squat probably is a better exercise because it keeps the weight on the legs, and doesn't engage the posterior chain (particularly the back) like the low bar squat does.
Personally I'm a huge fan of the high bar. it's all I do in that I don't do low bar, but I won't speak against a lot bar squat. To each their own.
He is also right in saying, as far as I know in my very limited knowledge, that high bar is used far more for functional sport training on a pro or semi-professional sport level.
High bar is often better for actual leg strength/power/explosive development, and good depth is also really important for those same qualities
This, exactly.
How you squat should usually come down to what you are training for (specificity is ALWAYS key). There is a lot of variability in individual movement patterns and genetic structures such as lever length, joint angle, joint capsule, etc. With that aside, most don't have nearly enough mobility to do a high bar squat, and they can't squat as heavy that way, so they naturally gravitate toward low bar powerlifting squats.
With the high number of Olympic athletes I have been lucky enough to train with or train around in my sport, I haven't seen any of them do low bar squats. They are NOT powerlifters though, and their goal is NOT to lift as much weight as they physically can - their goal is to lift in a way that translate best to their sport. I would imagine that this is a foreign concept to a lot of people here though - the goal isn't always to lift as much weight as possible.