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Comment by js2 | Hacker News Reader

As my coach would say, stop over-thinking it. Just pick up the damn bar and put it down. Either or both are fine. The overhead squat is also excellent, but vastly more difficult.

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"Just pick up the damn bar and put it down" is a great way to get injured.

This post is true yet uncharitable. The post explicitly mentions a coach, which would lead a reasonable person to assume proper form. Yes, have proper form, but if you're not doing any kind of squats, doing either front or back properly is better than not doing anything.

All I meant was, you can get stuck in analysis paralysis with weight lifting just like anything else. Of course you need proper form. Front squat vs back squat, which is what I was specifically addressing, probably doesn't matter. Either is better than neither, though I think most people would find the back squat easier and a better place to start. The front rack position can be uncomfortable, and the mechanics of the front squat I found generally more challenging. There's also a debate about high-bar vs low-bar back squat which may be as heated and silly as emacs vs vi. Ultimately, getting under the bar, getting below parallel, and standing back up (all with proper form) is the important part, not which style of squat it is.

Aside: the Olympic snatch is an amazing feat of strength, agility, form, athleticism, mechanics, balance, all of it. It's really a thing of beauty to see done well.

Just watch this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL1T-jKdTqo

Starting at 4 minutes. Pyrros Dimas is competing in the 85kg (187 lbs) category. He lifts 178 kg (392 lbs) over his head there. 392 lbs. Most people couldn't pick that bar up off the ground, much less get it over their head.

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