A Case for the Upright Squat
Jon Gilson
9 Comments
The upright squat—hips under the shoulders, back arched, weight on the heels—requires tremendous strength, stability, and motor control. It’s less-than-upright cousin, the powerlifting squat, requires the same, although it puts the hips behind the shoulders and the torso at a forward angle.
There is no question that the powerlifting squat allows athletes to move greater loads. Simple observation adequately proves this point. The end goal of the powerlifter—to put up the biggest total possible—is borne out again and again using this method.
Given our goal of developing athletic power, it is not enough that my athletes possess the ability to move large loads. They must also be able to move them long distances extremely quickly. In addition to maximizing strength, we seek to maximize speed and range of motion. For this reason, we do not practice the squat as an end in itself, but rather as a steppingstone to the high-power Olympic lifts.
Proper execution of these lifts, in which maximal loads are moved from the ground to overhead in mere seconds, requires a rock-bottom squat and a vertical torso. Due to the dynamic nature of these lifts, any forward lean unacceptably exacerbates the torque around the hip, increasing the possibility of failure.
Again, observation adequately proves the point. Snatches and cleans are caught atop upright squats and brought to standing. When the athlete is unable to bring the spine under the bar with the hips directly below the shoulders, the weight inevitably hits the platform.
While a debate on the relative merits of powerlifting and weightlifting is beyond the scope of this discussion, the former does not develop many of the qualities we want in a well-rounded athlete. Flexibility stands first and foremost. An upright squat, especially in combination with the rack position seen in a proper clean, demands and develops flexibility in the legs, back, shoulder girdle, arms and wrists. This full-body flexibility is a prerequisite to successful gymnastics—muscle-ups, kipping pull-ups, planches, straddles, and hip pullovers all require pliable body parts.
Add to this the accuracy, agility, and balance components of the Olympic lifts and their transferability to nearly any sport, and it’s easy to see why our athletic journey progresses beyond the powerlifting squat.
Squatting style is an individual decision, predicated entirely on the reason for squatting. If maximal strength is the goal, irrespective of speed, the powerlifting version is the wise choice. If the athlete is striving to move beyond strength, into the realm of speed, power, and wide-ranging athletic competence, the upright squat serves as the gateway.
Nicole demonstrates a fully-transferrable air squat at CrossFit Boston. Picture courtesy of the author. For a tutorial on obtaining an upright squat and additional reasons for doing so, check out Fixing the Squat on our Mic’d Instructor page.
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Reader Comments (9)
Nice article. Personally I think there is a need for both. The hip power derived from the low bar or powerlifting squat has tremendous carryover into the the very same lifts and movements we are trying to develop. I think both movements have merit. However with the barbell lifts the front squat and overhead squat adequately develop the upright torso. Meanwhile the backsquat can be used to train for more pure strength.
However, having a good high bar back squat is also necessary for doing a lot of assistance exercises (sotz press, snatch balance, behind the neck push jerks, jump squats).
Therefore I say learn both.
Agree with Keith W.. (we have to quit meeting like this) We use the one to develop strength and the other to develop for the O-lifts. As long as the athletes know why, that solves the problem.
Also, The front squat and OH squat answer this nicely as argued by Coach Rip and Keith W. The Low-bar back for Strength and the Front Squat for O-lift development, with the high-bar back squat mostly left in the dust bin as it confuses the movement patterns of the athlete using two styles of back squatting. I do not fully subscribe to this as, we do both, but EXPECT different results in max load. Which I think it is in the spirit of Coach Rip's point. Understand why you are doing something and get the athlete to know as well.
This follows Louis Simmon's similar approach of using different variants of lifts with different bars on ME days so that you become brutally strong regardless and keep Neurological fatigue minimized.
For this reason, we recently bought a Safety Squat Bar in order to give us yet another option on ME days, as the bar balances the weight differently.
Good discussion Jon, glad you brought the discussion up and did not ignore the minor rebukes from the discussion boards. Good Stuff.
The sum of all angles in both methods is the same! If you move to an upright torso/hip angle, then the shoulder (for o/h squats), ankles and knees adjust accordingly as does joint stress.
The key to increasing load and reducing injury is to maintain natural spinal curve: hips tilted forward and chest up. Body type, flexibility and comfort should take care of the rest. Watch the differences in Oly lifters. One size does not fit all.
I and several clients have found that an "upright" torso creates more severe ankle and knee angle resulting in more shear force and knee pain. By increasing the angle in the hips (less upright torso), I can increase load while decreasing shear force on my knees - eliminating knee pain.
well said
there may be times when the greatest loads are the only concern. for every other time, upright is functional.
You should send a copy of this to Louie S. Great article. As far as transferability for the Olympic lifts there is nothing better than an upright torso position during the execution of the squat. I would also add, pointing the elbows down will also add to the transferability.
Hey Joey good to see you again. :)
Thanks for bringing this topic up for debate, Jon.
As I get ready for the barbell cert this weekend I've been doing a lot of low bar squats but today I think I 'll change it up and try some high bar squats just to reinforce my point that we should be able to do both.
Thanks for the response, Jon. As one extra note to potentially confuse things further, I've noticed that Rip seems to coach the OHS as being performed with a forward lean similar to his low-bar BS (if the lifter has the shoulder flexibility for that rearward of an angle). We don't seem to see this used often as the receiving position of the snatch, perhaps because elevated weightlifting shoes make it mostly impossible -- a vertical torso is rather unavoidable with elevated heels -- but one wonders whether it would be a viable possibility. I certainly tend to OHS with a greater lean when going for max weight than I do when I'm snatching, so there does seem to be a certain appeal.
Brandon,
I'll talk to him about it this weekend. In my experience, a forward lean during the OHS puts all the strain on the shoulder girdle, and creates a tremendous torque on the hip, making failure very likely. Unless he makes a very good case for this, I'll remain skeptical...
Best,
Jon
Nice article. This seems like an endless debate. If you want to excel at the OL's then your squat should mimic the reguirements of that sport. Torso should be a in vertical/receiving position. If your goal is to lift alot of weight, then widen your stance, carry the bar low on the back and viola! It's pretty simple. If you are not specializing in the OL's then who cares- utilize a conjugate method and mix up your narrow stance high bars with wide low bars, or low bar with a narrow stance with chains..etc.. I see both sides of the issue (Rip- Everett- Gilson) but I have to agree that Optimally...high bars benefit the OL's more so that the lowbar version.
Personally I have always sucked at high bar squats. I have squatted 600lbs in drug free comp @ 198 and I have won a state OL title without high bar squatting, but everytime I got up to heavy load on the high bar's...boom! I got injured- could not maintain my lordotic curve with high bar load. I could get away with a lowbar narrow stance squat, so that is what I used when OLing.