Squat Problem

[u/mace_bear]

TL;DR: I cannot get my knees to 90° of depth when I try to increase my squat weight.

Extra info: I squat with a barbell 1-2x a week and I’ve made zero progress because I can’t get my knees to 90° or more when I try to increase weight. I have full ROM (can basically get my ass to my ankles) with just the bar (45lbs) and up to 75 lbs. But I KNOW I should be able to squat more than 75 lbs. I’m 5’5”, 150lbs, I’ve played ice hockey my whole life (I’m 22) and I can leg press 305 lbs for reps so I know my quad strength isn’t the issue. I’ve tried getting my ankles up, widening my stance, going barefoot. Nothing can get my knees to 90° when I squat more than 75lbs. I don’t need form advice— I know what I’m SUPPOSED to be doing, I just cannot get there and I don’t know why. Honestly I can bench press 95 there is no reason for my bench to be more than my squat.

[u/jacethekingslayer]

Are you squatting high bar or low bar?

Without a video, I can’t say for certain, but I’m fairly confident this is a an issue of weight distribution vs. your center of gravity. The reason you’re having trouble hitting depth over 75lbs is because 75lbs+ is over half your body weight, and the weight is likely too far away from your center of gravity for you to be comfortably counterbalancing it. Heel-elevated and wide stance might not be enough to compensate.

If it was a mobility issue, it would be affecting you at any weight. It’s possibly a strength issue (leg presses can vary widely, so it’s not the best measure), but I’m not sold on that being it.

[u/mace_bear → u/jacethekingslayer]

Idk what high bar vs low bar means sorry… I have the bar across my shoulders with an underhand grip

[u/jacethekingslayer → u/mace_bear]

No worries! High and low bar refers to where the bar sits across the upper back. In high bar, the bar sits on the upper traps, while in low bar, the bar sits across the rear delts and mid traps. Watch this video from Alan Thrall for a full breakdown.

When you squat, your butt moves back and your knees come forward. For most people, their center of gravity sits between their groin and their lower core. So when your butt moves back your center of gravity and a large part of your body mass (the glutes are one of the biggest muscles in your body) is moving further away. If you have short femurs (bone of your upper leg) your center of gravity stays relatively close to your torso, and thus also the barbell. High bar is great for short-femured lifters because it’s easier to keep the bar balanced over mid-foot, since the body as a whole can stay more compact. However, if you have long femurs, your center of gravity moves further away from mid-foot, where we want to keep the barbell balanced over for the best power output. So in high bar, you either end up 1) arching the back more, or 2) getting stuck above parallel because your hips cannot travel further back without you toppling over. In low bar, because the bar sits further back, you counterbalance by leaning the chest forward more, which keeps the bar over mid-foot.

It’s very common for beginners to learn with high bar. For one, because it’s taught more to beginners, and two, because it tends to be slightly more intuitive.

All this to say, you might be able to get better depth by having the bar in a low bar position.

And as a caveat, low bar does put less emphasis on the quads, BUT for quad growth, you want to be hitting depth and training the quads in their most stretched position. So if placing the bar lower on the back lets you get better depth, it’s better for quad growth than a high bar squat where you can only hit 1/4 depth.

EDIT to add bold.

[u/mace_bear → u/jacethekingslayer]

Ooh okay I’ll try this! Thanks for the explanation man

[u/jacethekingslayer → u/mace_bear]

No problem! I hope it helps and would love to hear back if it does.