To answer the questions above regarding style, elbows etc.
I use the IPF Classic (Raw) competition as examples because it is the closest to what you guys will be squatting normally in the gym, for whatever goals: raw, without suits or wraps, deep enough etc.
In the IPF, you need to squat below parallel, meaning hip crease below top of knees. The rule says you stand erect (less than 15 deg forward lean) awaiting the squat command, then descend to below parallel and return to the top position, awaiting the rack command.
Nowhere in the rule it says you have to squat in a certain style. It is entirely open to the lifter to choose whichever style makes him the strongest.
Most lifters choose to have the bar placement in the low bar position, however this does not mean they squat low bar the way you may know it from Starting Strength. In fact, if you go through those competition videos, you'll find that they do a kind of athletic squat that is rather different to what Rippetoe teaches. Hardly anyone squats like SS in classic competition. There's a reason the USAPL National coach teaches his lifters this IPF way when they compete for strength... The SS style is a bizarre unnatural squat that makes no sense.
With this kind of IPF squat, you aim to stay as upright as possible despite the low bar placement, so that you channel all energy directly up, utilise the legs better, put the back at a more favourable angle and the hips closer to the bar. Very similar to how the deadlift is set up, if you remember from the Deadlift Clinic.
Think about it this way: if I tell you guys to squat down and jump up as high as possible (producing maximal force against the ground in the opposite direction of gravity - same as a squat!), would you squat down like a low bar Rippetoe style (that'd be so much lolz) or would you squat like one of those IPF lifters? You may get your muscles very sore, but you're channeling energy all over the place instead of straight up. It's like swimming: you can get very sore splashing water around but not move much forward.
In order to stay more upright, you will need those elbows down, because if the elbows are up, you're basically pushing yourself into the good morning position. If the bar is in the high bar position, the elbows will be pretty much vertical. Less so if the bar is lower. It's like a lat pulldown behind your neck like the squat setup video says.
RexImperator: if you have long arms, use a wider grip, and perhaps don't have the bar too low.
If you notice, most of the raw classic squatters adopt a narrow to medium stance. It's because sans equipment which protects your hips and provides a massive rebound, that's the best stance. Same as if you were to jump up as high as possible, would you stand really wide or adopt a narrow to medium stance?
Of course there are raw squatters who go really wide to cut dept, but that is a very risky thing to do for your hips and very often they get redlighted for depth anyway in the IPF.
How do you find the stance for you? Squat down below parallel and jump up as high as possible. Find the stance that allows you to squat then jump highest comfortably.
I will answer the other questions later.
I use the IPF Classic (Raw) competition as examples because it is the closest to what you guys will be squatting normally in the gym, for whatever goals: raw, without suits or wraps, deep enough etc.
In the IPF, you need to squat below parallel, meaning hip crease below top of knees. The rule says you stand erect (less than 15 deg forward lean) awaiting the squat command, then descend to below parallel and return to the top position, awaiting the rack command.
Nowhere in the rule it says you have to squat in a certain style. It is entirely open to the lifter to choose whichever style makes him the strongest.
Most lifters choose to have the bar placement in the low bar position, however this does not mean they squat low bar the way you may know it from Starting Strength. In fact, if you go through those competition videos, you'll find that they do a kind of athletic squat that is rather different to what Rippetoe teaches. Hardly anyone squats like SS in classic competition. There's a reason the USAPL National coach teaches his lifters this IPF way when they compete for strength... The SS style is a bizarre unnatural squat that makes no sense.
With this kind of IPF squat, you aim to stay as upright as possible despite the low bar placement, so that you channel all energy directly up, utilise the legs better, put the back at a more favourable angle and the hips closer to the bar. Very similar to how the deadlift is set up, if you remember from the Deadlift Clinic.
Think about it this way: if I tell you guys to squat down and jump up as high as possible (producing maximal force against the ground in the opposite direction of gravity - same as a squat!), would you squat down like a low bar Rippetoe style (that'd be so much lolz) or would you squat like one of those IPF lifters? You may get your muscles very sore, but you're channeling energy all over the place instead of straight up. It's like swimming: you can get very sore splashing water around but not move much forward.
In order to stay more upright, you will need those elbows down, because if the elbows are up, you're basically pushing yourself into the good morning position. If the bar is in the high bar position, the elbows will be pretty much vertical. Less so if the bar is lower. It's like a lat pulldown behind your neck like the squat setup video says.
RexImperator: if you have long arms, use a wider grip, and perhaps don't have the bar too low.
If you notice, most of the raw classic squatters adopt a narrow to medium stance. It's because sans equipment which protects your hips and provides a massive rebound, that's the best stance. Same as if you were to jump up as high as possible, would you stand really wide or adopt a narrow to medium stance?
Of course there are raw squatters who go really wide to cut dept, but that is a very risky thing to do for your hips and very often they get redlighted for depth anyway in the IPF.
How do you find the stance for you? Squat down below parallel and jump up as high as possible. Find the stance that allows you to squat then jump highest comfortably.
I will answer the other questions later.