Barbell Low Bar Squat

Description

How to Do Barbell Low Bar Squat

1. 1
   Setup

   Position the barbell across your posterior deltoids, just below the spine of your scapulae, gripping it slightly wider than shoulder-width with elbows pointing down and back.

2. 2
   Setup

   Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes pointed slightly out (5-30 degrees), ensuring your chest is up and core is braced. Take a deep breath to create intra-abdominal pressure.

3. 3

   Initiate the movement by pushing your hips back as if sitting in a chair, while simultaneously bending your knees, allowing your torso to lean forward naturally to maintain balance.

4. 4

   Descend until your hip crease is below the top of your knee (or as deep as your mobility allows while maintaining a neutral spine). Keep your knees tracking over your toes.

5. 5

   Drive through your heels and midfoot, pushing the floor away as you powerfully extend your hips and knees to return to the starting standing position, exhaling as you ascend.

Tips

• Maintain a neutral spine throughout the entire movement; avoid rounding your lower back, especially at the bottom of the squat.
• Actively "spread the floor" with your feet, externally rotating your femurs to engage your glutes and keep your knees tracking outwards.
• Keep your elbows tucked down and back, pulling the bar tightly into your back to create a stable shelf and prevent it from rolling.
• Control the eccentric (lowering) phase, taking 1-2 seconds to descend, which helps build strength and improves proprioception.

Common Mistakes

• ×Rounding the lower back, often called "butt wink," can be fixed by improving hip mobility and reducing squat depth until flexibility improves.
• ×Letting the knees cave inward (valgus collapse) can be corrected by actively pushing the knees out and engaging the glutes throughout the movement.
• ×Not engaging the core properly leads to instability; brace your core tightly by taking a deep belly breath and holding it throughout the descent and ascent.