30 DAYS OF SQUAT! (Day 20) - "Sit Back"

I made the following video a while back because I kept hearing people giving the cue "sit back" to people who were squatting with a high-bar position. For most people, unless they have a relatively very short torso, this is going to make it very difficult to maintain posture (lumbar curve).

It should be obvious that, if you have an exaggerated hips-back squatting style, your upper body has to lean forward to compensate and keep the weight centered over your foot. Simple physics dictate that (unless you are on a Smith machine) you will not be able to maintain an upright upper body position without falling on your butt.

If you are going to squat with the hips back and (consequently) a lot of upper body lean, then lowering the barbell on the torso will be a much more advantageous position for almost everyone (mobility permitting).



So, what if I CAN'T handle a low-bar position? The options, as I see them, are to develop a more upright (sit-down) position which may necessitate more hip and hamstring mobility work, or continue to sit back and strengthen the crap out of your posterior chain to compensate for the position of weakened leverage.