Your spine should never be sore after squats. So regardless of what you read online or how you’ve originally been taught, you should move the barbell around to see if there’s a reduction in pain, even if the position is somewhat counter-intuitive or the opposite of what’s considered a ‘best practice’. Intro: 0-4:52High Bar: 4:52-8:32Low Bar: 8:32-13:35Depth Rant: 13:35-18:15Why you can't squat low: 18:15-23:45Back Pain: 23:45-end As you can see, the decision on whether to perform a low bar squat vs. high bar squat will highly depend on one’s training goals and current symptoms. When doing a high bar squat, the bar should be placed on your traps. Stand up to return to the starting position. A post shared by Jim Benson (@warriorelite49) on May 18, 2015 at 11:35pm PDT. You don’t have to accept that your neck will always hurt while high bar squatting. So how do you fix high bar squats hurting your neck? Your neck will only tense up if you move it. When learning the squat, lifters are building the base of a strong squat. In addition, if you’ve recently sustained a neck injury and you find that squatting can be a trigger, then reducing squat frequency will almost guarantee that you recover faster. Does the squat bar hurt your neck? You could also try increasing hypertrophy of your upper back muscles, reducing your squat frequency, or tucking your chin/finding a neutral head position while squatting. When doing a high bar squat, the bar is placed on the “shelf” of your traps. What this means is that squatting hurts your neck because of the position you’re in, but it’s not the position that originally caused the pain. If you received neck pain from a strained neck, it is not a common experience for squatters. The high-bar squat has the bar lay on top of the shoulder, just below the C-7 vertebrate. Pain In Right Middle Side Of Back Low Grade Fever Pain In Back Missed Period But I Had A Tubal Ligation Low Back Pain After Hip Replacement. Furthermore, you reduce the risk of the barbell sitting on any vertebrae in your neck, which could cause nerve compression. The feet are shoulder-width apart with toes pointed slightly outward. The next step is to get the bar into the correct position on your back. You can get neck pain while high bar squatting when the pressure from the load compresses the tissues of your traps and back. That’s the next question you need to ask yourself. To overcome this, you should start to train upper back exercises more frequently within your training program. This is one reason why you may see many lifters opting to use the bar pad when doing squats. If you’re lower in bodyweight and don’t have much upper back musculature, the barbell may start to hurt the neck under heavier load. Read my article on the top 9 squat cues to improve strength and technique. Once the pain is gone, I will return to squatting but a most likely stick with my high bar squats unless someone has a better suggestion. Elbows— Another common error occurs when the lifter proceeds to roll the shoulders forward and jack the elbows up high, even after establishing a tight bar position out of the rack. There is a range of technical errors that will cause neck pain while high bar squatting, including not engaging the muscles of your upper back, having the barbell move while squatting, and not placing your head in the correct position. Therefore, you need to adjust your expectations accordingly. What is likely happening is that you are moving your neck while you are squatting. It’s not uncommon for elite-level powerlifters to get bruising on their back from the pressure of the barbell. With that, they need to correct inefficiencies. Increased weight and higher volume sets increase the likelihood of excessive lumbar flexion with each rep. If you are trying to blame spinal compression for your pain, it can be the reason. Again, beginners are usually the lifters that are impacted. If you’re interested in how powerlifters train back then check out my article that gives you a sample routine. This site is owned and operated by PowerliftingTechnique.com. It could be anywhere from 2-4 inches lower than where it currently sits. If high bar squats are giving you trouble, there is no shame in switching stances for a couple of days and revisiting the high bar squat. However, if you have a history of neck issues, especially around your C7 nerves, which are responsible for straightening your elbows, you may get some more lingering neck pain when performing high bar squats wrong. After one can successfully front squat pain-free, the high-bar back squat can be initiated. What you want to avoid is a situation where the barbell is sitting on relaxed muscle that hasn’t created any tightness. Usually, inexperienced lifters will invite these injuries to come due to issues with strength, form, and stability. ... and previous history of pain and dysfunction. If you’re worried about not getting enough squat training in while you’re injured, you could consider a variation of the high bar squat that doesn’t require as much neck stimulus, such as safety bar squats, front squats, or leg press. By not squeezing your traps, the barbell is allowed to rest on relaxed muscle, which can compression on certain bone, nerves, and muscle. You shouldn’t just loosely place the barbell on your back with relaxed muscles. Any extra movements will waste your energy. Back Pain Decompression Upper East Side Lower Back Pain 35 Weeks Womfy Ear And Neck Pain Relief Back And Side Sleeper Pillow Review. With bad form, many lifters are deterred from doing high bar squats due to neck issues, etc. I like to coach my athletes to ‘tuck their chin’ while squatting. One of the easiest fixes to alleviating neck pain while squatting is to experiment with where the barbell sits on your back. In most cases, if you’re experiencing neck pain, the barbell likely needs to be a bit lower than where they originally think. It’s not normal for your neck to hurt while high bar squatting. When you have neck pain, it can distract you from thinking about other components of your technique, or applying maximum force to the barbell. Any slight movement of the barbell can cause irritation on your skin, or worse, muscular strain because of the increased stress at the level of your neck. Check out my article on the best bar path for squats. In addition, it should be pulled back, not forward. But if you are high bar squatting, it does not make any sense to not take advantage of using your traps. In a high bar squat, the bar is placed high up on the shoulders and the torso remains more vertical. Some strength coaches have commented about possible nerve issues that can arise if you are doing high bar squats incorrectly. You can achieve this by retracting your shoulder blades first, and then elevating them moderately to activate your upper back. Make sure you are not placing the barbell too high on your neck. Make sure to learn from your mistakes and to know what you were doing wrong that was causing you neck pain. Another common error is having ‘miro movements’ on the barbell while squatting. However, if you are avoiding high bar squats because of muscular weakness or bad form, it is better to check your ego and learn how to do a proper high bar squat. If you’ve tried some of the fixes above, and several months have passed and you’re still not finding the high bar squat is feeling any more comfortable, you should switch to a low bar squat position. A cue often used for low-bar squat placement … One possible explanation for why you are experiencing neck pain from high bar squats is because you are placing the bar too high. Then, I’ll dive deeper into these fixes so you can start working your way toward pain-free squatting. Limited ankle flexibility could mean your knees won’t be able to travel forward in your high bar squat, which will put tremendous strain on your lower back. The difference between high bar and low bar squats For low bar squats, the bar is 2-3 inches farther down your back. If you squat more than once per week, depending on how much volume/intensity you’re doing, your neck might not have yet adapted to the stimulus. If you are looking up, this may explain why you are experiencing neck pains. Your traps should create a shelf for the barbell to rest on. This is especially the case around the C7 nerve root, just above the base of the neck, where you’ll feel a slight ‘zapping’ sensation when the bar is on your back. When doing a high bar squat, the bar should be placed on your traps. With a high bar squat you get the benefit of a more upright torso. When you stand, you are already compressing your spine. If you have back pain it’s typically best to do a high bar squat. Most often, the fix is simply moving the bar a bit lower on your back, engaging your upper back muscles prior to unracking the barbell, and making sure your head is in the right position. | All Rights Reserved. In a low bar squat the weight has to be carried by the scapula versus the [high] bar squat that benefits from the weight being carried by the shoulders. This is a position where the barbell is placed at the bottom of the rear delt and has been shown to generate greater levels of max strength when compared with other types of squat positions. Strengthisfirst This is where you can fatigue yourself and cause pain. If I watch you squat from the side, I should be able to see the neck in-line with the upper back, i.e. A high bar squat is a back squat where the bar is placed high on the trapezius muscle across the top of the shoulders. If you are a squat beginner, we suggest you to start with low bar to achieve better leverage before you can lift more weights with the high bar. Neck pain can be traced back to the lifter’s inexperience and lack of muscular development. Bad posture can cause shoulder pain. In particular, reverse dumbbell flys, wide grip seated rows, pull-ups, and barbell shrugs. Perfect squat form is rare. While getting bigger traps is one way to fix neck pain while squatting if you don’t have a lot of upper back musculature to cushion the load, there are several reasons why you might be getting pain in the first place. If this is the case, you’ll need to address the problem from multiple angles, which may take slightly longer to correct. Your upper body should not even move at all. The most common technical error is that you haven’t engaged the muscular of your upper back prior to unracking the barbell. Keep your neck in line with your thorasic spine. Due to moving the bar from the front rack position to the upper traps, the high-bar back squat will require more forward lean to center the barbell over the midfoot. Your head should be positioned neutral, not tilting up or down. Make Sure The Barbell Isn’t Sitting Too High, top 9 squat cues to improve strength and technique, where the barbell should sit on your back, How to Fix Losing Tension At Bottom of Squat (8 Tips). a straight line. For example, if you have knee pain with front squats, try switching to a low bar squat for 4-6 weeks to allow the knee to calm down. To avoid pain, remember to retract and depress the shoulder blades, in other words, put your shoulders into your back pockets. If you are, that is why you are experiencing neck pain. Pull yourself under the bar and trap it tight against your tops of your shoulders and back of your neck. For a lot of lifters, high bar squatting will just always feel slightly uncomfortable on the neck/traps. This is not a good habit to retain and should be corrected immediately. Barbell Back Squat (High Bar Position) Place the bar on the Trapezius muscles. This normally happens when you’re first learning to squat, and the tissues of your upper back haven’t yet adapted to this pressure. On a personal level, I’ve been dedicating myself to the world of powerlifting for the past 15 years, having both competed and coached at the highest level. This is fairly common for lifters who place the barbell ‘too high’ on their back. Keep in mind, if you squat in a low bar position, your torso will naturally lean a bit more forward compared with a high bar squat. The bar should be set around chest height. I bring this up because while the fixes may be simple, the timeline might not be quick. 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