The Bar Path Rule: Eliminate Discomfort and Unleash Squat Performance For Your Clients

Not sure how to say this nicely, but, there’s nothing much uglier than…well…an ugly squat.

(Other than my Aunt Tracy😆🤫)

If you’ve been a coach for a hot minute, you’ve likely seen it all.

• High hips 
• Horizontal torso lean
• Knees caving in
• Stripper squat
• Butt wink
• Heels raising off the floor

While all of these things are often villainized…

None of them are inherently dangerous (this is a topic for another day)

BUT, these squat compensations will not only reduce your athletes' squat performance…

They can also create a ton of discomfort and pain as well. 

Creating fear around movement is just flat-out morally wrong.

Although, like the little angel you are, inducing fear is often done with the purest of intentions of keeping your athlete safe and pain-free, it is more likely to cause them to shy away from movement...

Ultimately harming them more in the long run.

With that said, if your athlete is struggling with any of the issues listed above, they just simply aren’t performing at their best.

Now, I want you to think about something for a moment… Your athletes need you to step fu*k up, be their friggin coach, and help them make improvements to these issues.

With the influence that fitness can have on confidence, pride, self-worth, and mental strength (among so many other things)

This might not be ONLY affecting them physically

But maybe it’s impacting them mentally as well.

Your athletes need you in a much bigger way than you might realize.

Letting them continue to compensate may be robbing them of more than just physical output.

It may also be taking away from how they feel about themselves as well..even if they don’t show that side of it to you.

Want to hear something glorious now?

It’s probably far more simple than you’re thinking!

Most of the time coaches will think something like:

• I have no idea why they’re compensating like this
• Must be ankle or hip mobility that’s the issue
• Where do I even start to try to improve this?

The simple answer - The Bar Path Rule (BPR).

In this article, we’ll chat about what the Bar Path Rule is, how it affects the squat and 3 practical tips for improved performance.

 And I may or may not throw in a few mobility exercises to consider playing around with to help as well 

Let’s dive in! 

Understanding the Bar Path Rule

The Bar Path Rule states that the barbell must travel through a path that allows the athlete to maintain the center of mass through the middle of the foot.

Following this rule allows the athlete to remain within the window of “proper form”, effectively engage their muscles, and generate the most amount of power possible. 

Alternatively, if this rule is “broken”, the athlete will not be able to transfer their energy to generate force and will attempt to reposition themselves in a way that allows them to reorganize their center of mass appropriately.

Now, to understand the BPR, we’ll have to get a lil nerdy for a second if you don’t mind (if we haven’t already).

Newton’s First Law Of Motion: An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

If you’re thinking “How the fu*k does this relate to what we’re even talking about here, Matt?”...

Hold up...I got you fam.

How a Misaligned Bar Path Can Affect The Squat

The human body will prioritize stability above all else.

We’ll do anything and everything necessary to avoid falling over

Keeping Newton’s first law in mind, if a barbell is moving in a particular direction that displaces the athlete's center of mass away from the middle of their foot, the athlete will naturally reposition their body in an attempt to keep it there (Fig 1).

This is often where the squat compensation comes from.

*slaps knee* SEE HOW SIMPLE THAT IS???

While it certainly could still be a mobility-related issue, and addressing these potential roadblocks is important, it definitely isn’t always the case and doesn't need to be overly complicated.

Getting your athlete back into an appropriate bar path, reducing their discomfort, and performing at their best might be easier than you initially thought.

So…how do we fix it? 

I thought you’d never ask.

Fig 1. Demonstration of how an athlete may reposition their body during a squat in an attempt to comply with the Bar Path Rule.

3 Practical Tips for Optimizing The Bar Path

As the coach, you want your athletes to feel like you are having a massive positive influence on their life.

You’re the guide in their hero’s journey.

You’re the Yoda to their Skywalker.

You’re the Gandalf to their Frodo

Know what I’m sayin'?

You’re the one that leads them to the ultimate victory.. self-confidence.

So, let’s dive into a fancy schmancy step-by-step guide to get your athlete back into an appropriate organization of their center of mass, so you can have them feeling like a savage under the barbell.

There are 3 main things that we can do to optimize the bar path

• Adjust The Squat Stance

• Reposition The Barbell

• Improve Squat Proprioception

1: Adjust The Squat Stance

An ideal squat stance for one athlete may look vastly different from another. 

Factors like their current mobility capacity, the length of their femurs and tibias, and the anatomy of their ankles and hips will have a large influence on how they feel within a given stance during the squat.

Playing around with different foot positionings can help you find where the athlete can shine their performance light the brightest and feel their most confident throughout the squat pattern.

2: Reposition The Barbell

After helping the athlete find their ideal squat stance, the next step is to understand that the positioning of the barbell may be counterproductive as well. 

The positioning of the barbell has a large influence on the mechanics of the squat (a complex topic that we cover in great detail in our Squat Mechanics Mastery course).

If the athlete is racking the barbell in a High-Bar back rack position, but has the lever length that would generally be more suitable for a Low-Bar racking position, following the Bar Path Rule will be far more challenging than necessary.

Try playing around with the barbell positioning to see if that helps the athlete feel like they are able to find the appropriate bar path more easily.

3: Improve Squat Proprioception

Proprioception - perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body.

It’s no secret that some people just suck at squatting.

No point in sugarcoating it, it’s just true.

Some people have yet to learn how to move well, and as usual, are attempting to rush the process.

Sometimes the athlete just needs to hear some squat cues that genuinely resonate with them and put in practice.

As the coach, get a sense as to whether the athlete looks confident and comfortable in their squat pattern, or if they are moving more like a dangly legged baby giraffe on ice.

If that’s the case, get them repping through their ideal squat stance, with the ideal barbell positioning.

They may just need more practice…

Ya feel me?

At the end of the day, the approach that is most positively influential will be completely dependent on the individual and their particular goals. 

These practical tips aren’t a one-size-fits-all to improve bar path.

They are simply ingredients within a recipe that you need to whip together depending on what the athlete has in the kitchen.

Did that metaphor make any sense?

Wait, are you a guide to the hero’s journey, or are you a chef?

Anyway, you know what I’m saying…

Whether you’re cookin' up a squat or you’re leading your athlete on a magical quest to movement dominance

You are the one that will save the day.

How Primal Mobility Can Help Master the Bar Path Rule

The goal is always to simplify the complex. To take a confusing topic, and make it so stupidly clear that you can take the concepts and bring them to your audience that may not know the first thing about movement mechanics, in a helpful way.

Just like you are the guide in your athlete’s epic story, we aim to be yours.

You are the one who is out there having a life-changing influence over your people.

Showing them who they really are as their strongest, most confident selves.

The more you understand about movement and mobility, the more you separate yourself from the average guide (coach), and the more you stand out as the go-to expert.

There are levels to this game.

If you stay superficial with your knowledge, then you’ll always be perceived as having superficial knowledge…

Want to elevate your skills even further and position yourself as a movement specialist?

Join Coaches Corner–our exclusive weekly email series for current and aspiring mobility coaches and fitness professionals! Click below to join for free!

Have any questions, or topics you want to suggest for future blog articles??

Feel free to email me here: [email protected]

Big Love!