Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - Says You! The High-Bar Squat Is Better than the Front Squat

Episode Date: July 22, 2022

Is the high-bar squat more effective than the front squat for targeting your quads? Or does the front squat beat the high-bar back squat? What does research say about these variations of the squat and how they affect muscle activation? I’ve written and recorded a lot of evidence-based content over the years on just about everything you can imagine related to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy. I’ve also worked with thousands of men and women of all ages and circumstances and helped them get into the best shape of their lives. That doesn’t mean you should blindly swallow everything I say, though, because let’s face it—nobody is always right about everything. And especially in fields like diet and exercise, which are constantly evolving thanks to the efforts of honest and hardworking researchers and thought leaders. This is why I’m always happy to hear from people who disagree with me, especially when they have good arguments and evidence to back up their assertions. Sometimes I can’t get on board with their positions, but sometimes I end up learning something, and either way, I always appreciate the discussion. That gave me the idea for this series of podcast episodes: publicly addressing things people disagree with me on and sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . “The high-bar back squat is better for targeting the quads than the front squat.” --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Which of my books is right for you? Take my quiz and find out: www.muscleforlife.show/bookquiz 2:37 - What is the high bar back squat? 4:13 - What is the front squat?  5:27 - What are the benefits of front squat? 8:31 - What are the key takeaways? --- Mentioned on the Show:  Find the Perfect Mike Matthews Book and Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/bookquiz

Oh, hello there, and thank you for joining me today. I'm Mike Matthews. This is Muscle for Life, and this episode is a new installment in my Says You series, where I ask people primarily on Instagram, but sometimes this is via email, to share something they disagree with me on, and then I pick ones that are particularly interesting or that I haven't already beaten to death and I address them here on the podcast. And so in this episode, I will be tackling the claim that the high bar back squat is better for targeting the quads than the front squat. Before we sink our teeth into it, if you like what I'm doing here on the podcast and elsewhere,

then you will probably like my award-winning fitness books for men and women of all ages and abilities, which have sold over 2 million copies, have received over 15,000 four and five star reviews on Amazon, and which have helped tens of thousands of people build their best body ever. Now, a caveat, my books and programs cannot give you a lean and toned Hollywood body in 30 days, and they are not full of dubious diet and exercise hacks and shortcuts for gaining lean muscle and melting belly fat faster than a sneeze in a cyclone, but they will show you exactly how to eat and exercise to lose up to 35 pounds of fat or more if you need to lose more or want to lose more and gain eye-catching amounts of muscle definition

and strength. And even better, you will learn how to do those things without having to live in the gym, give up all the foods or drinks that you love, or do long, grueling workouts that you hate. And with my books and programs, you will do that. You will transform your physique faster than you probably think is possible, or I will give you your money back. If you are unsatisfied with any of my books or programs, the results, anything, for whatever reason, just let me know and you will get a full refund on the spot. Now, I do have several books and programs, including Bigger Leaner Stronger, Thinner Leaner Stronger, and Muscle for Life. And to help you find the one that is right for you, I created a short quiz that asks about your goals and

circumstances and then recommends the book and program that will help you the most. So to take the quiz, go to muscleforlife.show book quiz muscleforlife.show book quiz. So first, what is the high bar back squat? Well, it is a back squat where the bar is placed high on your back. The bar rests on your traps versus the low bar position where it rests on the shelf created by your back muscles. And for what it's worth, I much prefer the low bar position in my squatting. I'm stronger in that position. Most people are stronger in that position. And the high bar position is less comfortable. Not that that's a major reason to not do it, but it's just a fact similar to the front squat, actually. So the front squat is quite uncomfortable at first, and then you just get used

to it. But I very much like the front squat. Do not like the high bar back squat as much as the low bar back squat, mostly because you have to use less weight because you are not as strong in the high bar position as the low bar position for no major advantage. Yes, the high bar position is a little bit easier on your back than the low bar position, but the low bar position doesn't bother my back. And if I want to do a more back friendly squat, I'll just front squat. And also many people find myself included that they are less stable. They feel less stable in the high bar position. They find it harder and I find it harder to maintain the right torso position and to prevent my back from rounding. And that's not because I have a weak back. It's just a limitation of the high bar position. So anyway, coming back to the matter at hand here, the high bar back squat versus the front squat.

So I just described the high bar position in the front squat. The bar sits in the front rack position as it's called. So that's resting on your front delts and supported by your hands. And the bar needs to be up against your throat. And yes, that sounds uncomfortable and it is uncomfortable at first, but you do get used to it. You don't have to front squat for more than a few weeks before you just don't really notice the discomfort anymore. And I've been front squatting every couple months or so. I will switch from the back to the front squat, and I've been doing that for years. And I've front squatted fairly heavy in the range of 275 to 295 and experienced no pain,

maybe minor discomfort, but nothing unusual, nothing that you wouldn't experience with any heavy exercise of any kind, really. So in the case of the front squat, because the bar now is balanced over your midfoot, that means that you have to maintain a more upright posture when you're squatting. Whereas in the back squat, high bar or low bar, you have to lean forward more. And as an aside, research shows that that difference in the front squat, the difference in the posture because of where the bar is, that results in significantly less compressive forces on the knees, as well as less stress on the lower back. And that makes the front squat a great option for people who have lower back or knee issues. Not everyone with those problems can front squat

pain-free or without major problems, but many people who have trouble with any type of back squat can front squat successfully. Anyway, so changing that back angle in the front squat, it also slightly alters muscle activation in your legs. So studies show that both the high bar and the low bar back squat and the front squat, that all of those exercises activate the quads, hamstrings, and glutes to a similar degree. They are practically speaking almost the same, but the front squats do train the quads slightly more than the hamstrings when compared to the back squat. And the back squats do involve the hamstrings a little bit more than the front squat. And that's true of the high bar and low bar position. And you are going to notice that

even more in the low bar back squat, you're probably going to feel your quads working a little bit harder in that high bar position, and then a little bit harder still in the front squat. Now, something else I like about the front squat compared to high bar and low bar back squats is research shows that you can achieve similar levels of muscle activation with the front squat compared to the back squat, but with a lighter load. In one study, for example, participants used more than 20% less weight on the front squat than the back squat, but achieved similar levels of muscle activation. And so what that means is you can get the same training stimulus for building muscle, for gaining strength from front squatting with less weight

than you can with the back squat. And that doesn't mean that you shouldn't back squat, but I mentioned earlier that I like to alternate between front and back squats. And one of the reasons I like to do that is the front squats are a little bit easier on my body. They are a little bit easier on my joints, on my back, on my knees, on my hips. One, because of the difference in posture. And two, because I don't have to use as much weight. I front squatted today, for example, I did four sets of four with 225. And in my fourth set, I had, I'm trying to remember, I have to look at my training log. I had one or two good reps still in the tank. And to do that with the back squat, to do four sets of four, ending the fourth

set with one or two reps still in the tank. Oh, I would probably have to load anywhere between 315 and 335, which is not a bad thing, but that is a lot more weight that puts a lot more stress on the body. And so anyway, the key takeaway here is the high bar back squat does train the quads a little bit more than the low bar back squat. The low bar position involves the hamstrings a little bit more and the front squat involves or it trains the quads even more than the high bar back squat. But practically speaking, if we are looking at muscle activation levels in the key muscle groups that we are trying to train when we squat, when we do any kind of squat, all three variations are more or less the same in terms of muscle activation. So if you like the high bar position more than the low bar position, and some people like the high bar position more simply because the low bar position is very uncomfortable for them.

For example, some people don't have enough shoulder mobility to comfortably get into a proper tight low bar position. And so they prefer the high bar position, even if they have to use a little bit less weight, that's totally fine. You don't have to low bar squat just as you don't have to high bar squat or front squat find which of those variations you like the most and stick with it. Now, I do like alternating between the back squat and the front squat. I don't like to do either one of those for too long. I'll do one for three or four months and then I will do the other. And the reason for that is I've found that I make the best progress that way while also avoiding repetitive stress injuries. So when you get stronger and you are doing the same exercise, the same movement pattern for long periods of time, six, seven, eight plus

months, and you're doing an exercise that involves a lot of weight, at least relative to your body weight, the chances of developing a repetitive stress injury go up. Chances are something will start bothering you. Maybe it's going to be your back or your hip or your knee. And then when that happens, the only effective way to get rid of the RSI, the repetitive stress injury, is to basically stop doing whatever is aggravating it. You have to bring the aggravation level down to maybe a one or a two out of 10. If you are consistently doing things in the gym that are, let's say at a five or six out of 10 or worse, then the RSI not only doesn't go away, it actually usually just gets worse. And so what that means then is, let's say you are back squatting for a year

straight and now your knee is kind of just hurting all of the time. You might have to take a couple of months off of back squatting for your knee to stop hurting. And you might not be able to front squat depending on what's going on with your knee. The front squat, for example, might not be a viable option because it hurts your knee too much. So you might have to just stick with, let's say, the leg press or the belt squat or the split squat or lunge or whatever. Not that there's anything wrong with those exercises, but that might not be optimal for your goals. It might not be optimal to do those exercises for several months while your knee recovers. And chances are that you will have to use a bit less weight than you normally would on those exercises if your knee is hurting, for example. And so then one of the ways to prevent that from happening is to change up your exercises every couple of months, change those movement patterns and the movement patterns that you are switching from and to can be very similar,

but just not the same. Think back squat to front squat, similar, but not the same. Enough of a change though, that it could prevent that previous scenario that I laid out. And so lastly, I'll say some people do like to vary between the high bar and low bar back squat and front squat. So they will high bar back squat for a couple of months, and then they will low bar back squat for a couple of months, and then front squat for a couple of months. Some people like to throw in the safety bar squat. I like that variation as well. And I think that's totally fine. That approach works. I don't do it that way only because I just don't like the high bar squat. The low bar squat feels great to me. The high bar just never did. And so I skip it. I go from low bar back to front or to safety bar

and then back to low bar back. Well, I hope you liked this episode. I hope you found it helpful. And if you did, subscribe to the show because it makes sure that you don't miss new episodes. And it also helps me because it increases the rankings of the show a little bit, which of course then makes it a little bit more easily found by other people

who may like it just as much as you. And if you didn't like something about this episode or about the show in general, or if you have ideas or suggestions or just feedback to share, shoot me an email, mike at muscleforlife.com, muscleforlife.com, and let me know what I could do better or just what your thoughts are about maybe what you'd like to see me do in the future. I read everything myself. I'm always looking for new ideas and constructive feedback.

So thanks again for listening to this episode, and I hope to hear from you soon.