The squat style most powerlifters compete with. The bar sits lower on your back than in a high-bar squat, across the rear delts just below the ridge of your shoulder blades. To keep it balanced over your feet you lean further forward and use more hip bend, so the hips and glutes do more of the work. Most lifters can handle somewhat more weight this way. In a meet, depth means the hip crease drops below the top of the knee.
Rack it low
Set the safety pins just below where the bar will be at the bottom of your squat. Check it with an empty bar first. If you miss a rep, squat down onto the pins. Never throw the bar off your back.
Put the bar on the shelf of muscle at your rear delts. The ridge of your shoulder blade (the spine of the scapula) is the top edge of that shelf. That is about 2 to 3 inches lower than a high-bar squat. Lift your chest and squeeze your upper back to make the shelf.
the bar sits in a groove of muscle and your back holds it, not your hands.
Take the narrowest grip your shoulders allow and keep your wrists straight. A thumbless grip (thumbs on top of the bar) is the usual choice. Wrap your thumbs if your shoulders or forearms won't let you get set. Keep your elbows pinned toward your sides. If you feel the weight in your hands, the bar is too low or you're too loose. Re-rack and set it again.
Take a big breath, about 80% of a full one, and brace your whole midsection before you unrack. Hold it through the rep and breathe out after you stand up. Walk the bar back in a few short steps.
Set your heels about shoulder-width apart with your toes turned out. Low-bar coaches commonly use about 30 degrees. Pick the angle that lets your knees track in line with your toes.
Sit back & down
Send your hips back and bend forward as you go down. You will lean further forward than in a high-bar squat. That lean keeps the bar over the middle of your foot. Keep your lower back in its natural, slightly arched position. Bend at the hips, not the spine.
hips travelling back, chest angled toward the floor, pressure spread through the whole foot.
Push your knees out so they stay in line with your toes, and keep your weight over your midfoot. If your toes start to lift or you rise onto the balls of your feet, your balance has shifted off the midfoot.
Go down until your hip crease is just below the top of your knee. That is the competition depth rule. Stay tight at the bottom. Don't relax or bounce out of the hole.
Drive up as one piece
Drive your hips straight up out of the bottom and hold your back angle. The bar and your hips should rise together. If your hips rise while the bar stalls, your chest is dropping and the squat turns into a good-morning. If you throw your chest up first, your weight rolls onto your toes. Stay bent over for most of the way up, then stand tall with your hips and knees locked.
hips leading the bar up and the back angle holding steady out of the hole.
Feel it
The bar locked into your upper back, with your hands just keeping it in place. Even pressure through the middle of your feet. A strong push from your hips and glutes out of the bottom while your back holds its shape. If your wrists or elbows ache, your hands are carrying the bar. If your knees ache, your weight has probably moved onto your toes.
Fix-its
- Hips rise but the bar doesn't (good-morning) Your chest is dropping as your hips come up. Brace harder before you descend, and drive your hips and the bar up together while holding your back angle.
- Weight on your toes, knees sore, bar drifting forward Your balance has moved off the midfoot. Bend over more on the way down so your hips go back and the bar stays over the middle of your foot. Push through the middle of your feet, and don't throw your chest up first on the way up.
- Wrists or inner elbows hurt Your hands are holding the bar up. Squeeze your upper back to build the shelf, keep your wrists straight (not bent back over the bar), try a thumbless grip, and use the narrowest grip your shoulders allow. If tight shoulders stop you, stretch for a few weeks, or widen your grip a little. If pain continues, stop and get it checked.
- Lower back rounds at the bottom (butt wink) It shows up more often in the low-bar squat. Brace hard and stay tight at the bottom, and keep pushing your hips back. If it continues, squat only as deep as you can keep your back's shape and build depth with lighter weight.
- Cutting depth short Film from the side. Your hip crease has to go below the top of your knee. Use the depth-marker drill below to learn where that is.
Drill
- Shelf practice: with an empty bar, find the spot below the ridge of your shoulder blade, set a narrow grip with straight wrists, and check that your back holds the bar when you loosen your hands.
- Shoulder prep: if you can't get a narrow grip without strain, do a low-bar position stretch for a few weeks before loading heavy.
- Depth marker: put a box or stack of plates about 4 to 6 inches behind your heels, set so touching it puts your hip crease just below your knee. Most men need about 12 to 14 inches. Touch it without sitting, pause, then drive your hips up.
- Film your sets from the side. Check your depth, that the bar stays over your midfoot, and that your hips and the bar rise together.
Sources
- Glassbrook DJ, Helms ER, Brown SR, Storey AG — A Review of the Biomechanical Differences Between the High-Bar and Low-Bar Back-Squat, J Strength Cond Res (2017)
- Glassbrook DJ et al. — The High-Bar and Low-Bar Back-Squats: A Biomechanical Analysis, J Strength Cond Res (2017, accepted manuscript)
- Wretenberg P, Feng Y, Arborelius UP — High- and low-bar squatting techniques during weight-training, Med Sci Sports Exerc (1996)
- Myer GD et al. — The back squat: a proposed assessment of functional deficits and technical factors that limit performance, Strength Cond J (2014)
- Greg Nuckols, Stronger by Science — High Bar and Low Bar Squatting 2.0 (c. 2015)
- Art of Manliness (Brett & Kate McKay, with coach Matt Reynolds) — How to Low-Bar Squat and Common Problems (2020, updated 2021)
- Barbell Logic — Elbow Pain While Squatting? Fix Your Squat Grip (accessed 2026)
- Barbell Logic — Important Barbell Safety Tips and Complete Guide (accessed 2026)
- USA Powerlifting — Rulebook v2026.2, section 4.1–4.2 (2026)
Last checked 2026-10-26.