Squat help

[Excder]

ok, i need some advise on..uh....squat safety? lol

well first off every time i squat when i get under the weight there is a lot of, well it feels like unnatural stress on my back(mostly upper back). I rest the bar more on the bottom of my neck/upper traps. I kno i can lower the bar to rest on my mid/lower traps but(not so sound ****y) but im if-y about rest ing like 400lbs in that lower position. i dont want no "slippage" lol

Today for some reason my entire work out there was a mild, mild pain in my upper back all day. It was that feeling like i need to crack my back real bad and im guessing its from my squats.

Any body had this problem or that feeling? and whats the best place to rest the bar in opinion..

 

[FunctionalTrain]

I wouldn't feel safe about having a bar that low either.

I'm wondering if you've recently gone up in weight on the squat, and if this affects your form? Have you tried to do front squats to reduce the onset pain? Also when you say at the top of your neck, does the bar rest on top of your shoulders, or a little bit below? A little bit below the shoulders (but not the lower traps) would be with safety limits.

 

[tic]

Try doing the machine Hack Squat or leg press for leg workout alternative.

 

[goergen1]

more on the bottom of my neck/upper traps

When using a high bar squat like that make sure you are not resting the bar on your spine. The weight of the bar should be on the traps only.

but im if-y about rest ing like 400lbs in that lower position. i dont want no "slippage"

There is not risk of slippage on a low bar squat. You are locked in a lot tighter and the stress of the bar is placed across a greater portion of your back. This is a good thing for changing up the high bar squat.

Disclaimer - there is more risk of slippage if you have little or no upper body thickness. The low bar squat style does require some amount of upper back and rear delt thickness to have the most benefit.

On another note -

Just mixing up squat styles will help reduce the specific stress of any one style. Squatting the same way every time puts you at a higher risk for overuse types of injury. Doing the same type of squat all the time also increases the chance of over training the exercise.

Your best plan is to squat with a high and low bar squat and use different bars. (I do not know what you have access to) safety bars, cambered bars, buffalo bars will all put less stress or different stress on your body as well as reduce the chance of over training the squat.

 

[Excder]

I watched those SquatRx vids on youtube, pure gold by the way. And after watching the one about bar positioning i am guilty of resting the bar too high on my neck. I think thats is the #1 reason for the discomfort

And Goergen1, when you say i should mix up the "styles" should i do any different rep/set or weight difference too? I mean i will use the highbar for near max/75%+ lifts, but should i get to where i can do that with the low bar as well or use the low bar with lighter weight?

 

[goergen1]

I mean i will use the highbar for near max/75%+ lifts, but should i get to where i can do that with the low bar as well or use the low bar with lighter weight?

There really is no reason not to alternate the use of both styles when going both heavy and lighter. The high and low bar styles change the length of the lever arm of your squat between your hip and the weight. So you hips and legs will get a different training effect from each.

Once you get used to the low bar style it really is the style where you will make your biggest lifts. Simply because the lever arm is shorter.