Adarq.org

Well you can have the strongest hips and quads in the world, if the calves give out and the tibia collapses forward when you apply all that upperleg power into the ground, you're going to lose all that power and furthermore, that power will be translated into your knees since they are collapsing forward.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4GTFWrXPcc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4GTFWrXPcc</a>

Well I see your point, and was expecting it... but again - even with me improving low bar squat 1RM by 20 kg or so... my high bar squat 1RM has remained at a the same grinding 140 kg if I'm lucky. And I feel like whenever I jump, off one leg or two legs, the amount of tension I get in those jumps at the knee level is the same tension I feel when I do high bar squats - they seem so specifically "connected" to each other. Oh, and it's the same tension or OVERLOAD should I say that I feel when I do half squats.

It's like I want to express the posterior chain strength that I have but I can't, because once that power reaches the knee level the quads can't stop it from going forward and collapsing. Combine that with my heavy bodyweight and calf weakness (as of late) - and you get useless posterior chain because it's like pushing in sand - the quads and calves give out and you lose all your "potential" power that the posterior chain is able to generate.

It's like pushing a ton of power on a pole in a pole vault but the pole is very weak at the middle and bends like crazy with no return of force... basically no stiffness whatsoever.

So despite the video that you put - I don't feel like my quads are doing substantial work out there at all - I just sink and control the descent in that squat using my glutes and hamstrings, where the quads are just pretty much isometrically "kinda" contracting.

I know how that sounds but that's what I feel. Can't describe it otherwise.

Again, to sum it up - the same overload I feel in the plant of a jump, regardless of technique, is the same overload I feel when I high bar squat. If I could work it out with the slower movement, which is the high bar squat - to make myself used to control that collapse that wants to happen - then that should translate into the jumps as well.

In the past I thought that maybe I'm just too quad dominant and training with the high bar squat is something that will make me even MORE quad dominant, and that the low bar squat would make sense in that situation - but now I'm starting to think otherwise.

If you look at any great two foot jumper - they all have their knees go way past the toes and the quad contribution in their jumps is tremendous. It doesn't mean I should be the same, but what it does mean is that I shouldn't have a problem getting in that position without collapsing. If I do, like I do now, then I just have sucky quads and they need to be improved.

You can just look at this as a learning experience, no need to stress too much about it.

I know what Lance said but I disagree. If that was the case, then two different squat styles would not even exist and the difference in poundages between the high and the low bar squat wouldn't exist either.

The thing with the low bar squat is it really depends MUCH more on the posterior chain, and the tibias travel far less forward (and thus requires much less ankle dorsiflexion to be available) and thus the quads get a much less loading effect.

Which is bad if that's the only thing you do for the quads.

If you were able to front squat and also do low bar squats, maybe it would make sense. But for someone in my position who can't do front squats, then a high bar squat makes more sense in my opinion.

my default squat is low-bar but quad-heavy. not much hamstrings.

It's probably similar to mine's... but a high bar squat feels SO much more different to me than a low bar squat. So much more "leg" involvement if you will... I consider "leg" when I feel the quads fire well.

With the low bar squat I feel like I'm neglecting my quads just because the posterior chain has been overblown so much on the internet lately: low bar squat for the PC, RDLs for the PC, leg curls for the PC, glute ham raises for the PC, hip thrusts for the PC, reverse hypers for the PC, deadlifts for the PC... OK OK... but what about stuff for the QUADS? What about that?

I mean I would be fine with all the posterior chain work in the world if I knew I had a 2x+ high bar squat and that my quads were strong enough to amortizate any kind of plant or landing... but even when I play ball, I'm scared to penetrate because I know I would be able to pass my defender but I wouldn't be able to stop or control the plant or landing that would follow that penetration.

So I'm limited to just be a passer etc. That can't happen. You can't pretend to squat 160 kg low bar and then say you have too weak quads to do anything useful with them.

At least if I had a 2x high bar squat I could say it's not the quads - it's something else and address it. But in this case, I can't, because they really are too weak.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apb3jObAwfg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apb3jObAwfg</a>

Well I personally have never felt any quad strength improvement whatsoever in the months and years of low bar squatting. And this is a big thing because I always collapse at the knee, in both the one-leg and two-leg jump.

I might squat 160 kg low bar but my high bar squat is still at the same level as it ever was in the last 5 years or so (and I believe it's a strength issue, not a movement efficiency one).