Squats - Grip

dioltas

Hi,

Just wondering when you squat do you wrap your thumb around the bar, grabbing it, or keep your thumb on the same side as your fingers and just hold the bar against your back?

I know that's not explained very well so I've drawn a crude diagram.

I've always gripped the bar with my thumb wrapped around. But I heard / read somewhere what the other way was the proper way.

kevpants

If you are trying to get the bar further down your back the thumbless grip is much easier on your wrists, elbows etc. What is your bar position like? Are you squatting high bar or low bar?

dioltas

Low enough. I might try a thumbless grip so next time and see how I get on. Thanks.

Colm_OReilly

If you're doing a low bar squat for general strength, you'll be using a thumbless grip.

sunnyjim

Prime opportunity for me to ask, what's the difference between having it high, or low? Aside from the fact that having a bit lower is a lot harder!

Pugsley

sunnyjim wrote: »

Prime opportunity for me to ask, what's the difference between having it high, or low? Aside from the fact that having a bit lower is a lot harder!

Always wondered this myself.
I'd always use a high bar with a thumbless grip for squats.

kevpants

sunnyjim wrote: »

Prime opportunity for me to ask, what's the difference between having it high, or low? Aside from the fact that having a bit lower is a lot harder!

Having it lower is actually a lot easier. IT can be hard to get the shoulder flexibility to get the bar down onto the top of your scaps but once you get that you're sorted. Shoulder stretches are important when warming up to squat.

The reason it's easier is that the bar is closer to the hip joint, therefore the leverage is better. Think of it like this, imagine you had a 20ft bar and were trying to tip over a big rock. Say you used a barrel as to prop up the bar so you could pull down at the opposite end and tip the rock. If you position the barrel far way from the rock but close to where you're pulling it will be very hard to tip. However if you position the barrel near the rock, far from the end you'll be pulling, it's easy. The same logic applies to the squat. The rock is the weight and the barrel is the hip joint. If you were some kind of freak who could get the bar right down to your lower back, squats would be a piece of piss!

brianthebard

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

If you're doing a low bar squat for general strength, you'll be using a thumbless grip.

Out of interest would there be a reason for using a thumb grip?

Hanley

kevpants wrote: »

If you are trying to get the bar further down your back the thumbless grip is much easier on your wrists, elbows etc. What is your bar position like? Are you squatting high bar or low bar?

+1

Squatting wrecks my wrists regardless, but thumbless is less sore!

Colm_OReilly

brianthebard wrote: »

Out of interest would there be a reason for using a thumb grip?

If I'm doing Olympic Back Squats - i.e. with an upright torso, high bar position, hips close to the feet, limited hamstring engagement - I find it easier to use a thumbed grip. Just checked Greg Everett's book there and Aimee has her thumbs round the bar in the pictures.

Prime opportunity for me to ask, what's the difference between having it high, or low? Aside from the fact that having a bit lower is a lot harder!

A low bar is a stronger lift, allowing for the use of the hamstrings/adductors/glutes in a more mechanically advantageous position at the bottom to aid in hip extension. The low bar squat, generally owing to flexibility issues, will generally be shallower than a high bar squat (assuming they're both done correctly, that is)