Wassup, T-Men. I’ve run into a little complication recently and was wondering if any of youze had could drop some knowledge or comments on me. I just started doing barbell back squats again in the last couple weeks…yeah, bring on the criticism. I had been using either the Smith or a Safety Squat contraption. Why not the barbell? Well, my partner over the summer had a few years on me and convinced me that using the Smith for squats would be fine. Upon arriving at my new gym this fall, I switched up using the Smith and the Safety–a little on the cautious side without a partner. Anyway, enough excuses, I realize that I’ve missed out by not using the barbell. However, with the barbell back squat I’m not able to go “ass to the grass” like I would like or would have using the other forms of squats. I’m able to take them to nearly parallel, then I have to lean forward to go any deeper (and actually I’m not sure that I actually go “deeper” when I lean forward). I think the problem stems from a tight right tibialis anterior, as it seems to be sore lately and I’m almost certain that it is the cause of the problem. I haven’t done barbell squats for some time, but I don’t remember having this problem. I have been doing some stretching of my tibialis anterior and also placing a dumbbell on top of my foot and pushing against it, recruiting my tibialis muscles, then stretching them out. I was just wondering if any of you fellow T-Men have any suggestions or if you have found yourself in a similar predicament. I don’t think there’s anything comparable to the rush I get when I take that barbell of the rack…the other forms of squats just don’t seem to generate the same intensity…oooh, just thinking about 'em gets me stoked. Anyway, I think by compromising so much by leaning forward, I lose the integrity of the exercise and force more recruitment of my lower back, glutes and hams. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated, dawgs.
I think that if you haven’t squatted in a while, you may have forgotten that it is impossible to squat without some degree of forward lean. If you are trying to keep your back perfectly perpendicular to the ground, it is physically impossible to squat ass to the grass. I follow Ian King’s advice and squat as low as I can without the trunk leaning more than 45 degrees. That usually means full squats for me. I’m also careful to keep the bar above the middle of my feet. I hope this helps.
In reguards to your question about tibialis ant. flexibility and squatting. Yes, I think it’s important, although I’m not sure why. Let me explain: I first learned how to squat “ass to the grass” at a Poliquin seminar about 4 years ago. (I had been doing those “knees not traveling forward, thighs to parallel dork” squats before.) Anyway, one thing I noticed in while learning how to squat from Poliquin was my tib ant.'s on both sides were firing like crazy, I felt like I was pulling my toes up as I was going deep into the squat. When I asked him about this he said “you need to stretch 'em”, but didn’t expound on it any more. Me, being somewhat intimidated by him didn’t ask any further. The only thing I can come up with is that by stretching them, you weaken them temporarily. But that’s just a guess. At another seminar I asked Poliquin how much forward lean is acceptable in a deep squat…he said about 20 degrees. If you find yourself leaning more than about 20-30 degress, get yourself flexible. Calves, hip flexors, hamstrings, quads, lower back and glutes. Oh, and Tibialis anterior. Hope this helps.
It could be a tight TA, but you’ll have to evaluate your overall flexibility. The problem can also be hamstrings, adductors, lower back, hip flexors, and calf muscles. I would have to see you squat to determine what area. I seriously doubt it is solely the TA. I recommend you work hard on your overall flexibility.
First off, kudos for coming home to the land of the true squat. That being said, I feel that your foot positioning maybe of some blame in your described predicament. Using too narrow a stance seems to be a fairly common practice and squat depth can usually be improved immediately by widening you stance and externally rotating the toes to avoid stress on the MCLs. I’m 5’6", 204 and just put up 605 past parallel 2 weeks ago so I’m not just pulling your chain. Good Luck, T-Bro!!!
T-men, thanks for all the great responses. TapJG, yes it’s good to be back, bro, and congrats on your six o’ fiver, baby. That’s sweet. It’s a long way off for me, but I’ll get there, give me some time. All the knowledge you guys are dropping is awesome and I think it is all applicable to some extent. I have recently been doing Ian’s 15 Minutes to Freedom static stretching every other day at least (not before training, usually in the evening after training or on off days). Unfortunately, I hadn’t been doing much flexibility training prior to this, so overall flexibility might be a concern.
Hyok...I have been doing Ian's Limping workouts, so I am also trying to observe the 45 degree angle rule that he emphasizes. However, I do think that my back travels further forward than that.
Andrew…very interesting story about your TA and experiences with Poliquin (by the way I’m a little Poliquin wannabe). I would hesitate to say the same about my TA’s firing, as my toes often pull up. When you say you should lean forward more than 20-30 degrees, is that from perpendicular (the angle between thighs parallel to the ground and torso = 60-70 degrees), or do you mean the angle between your torso and thighs parallel should not be less than 20-30 degrees?
TapJG…I have widened my stance a little, as well as keep the toes pointed outward. This did prove to help somewhat.
Thanks, again, guys. Very valuable advice. I appreciate and respect your counsel. One thing's for certain, I'm going to work as hard on flexibility as I do in the weight room. If you think I should add any stretches (or methods: PNF, dynamic) let me know. Thanks a bunch.
A tight TA would limit ones ability to plantar flex the ankle. In the bottom of a squat the ankles are in a position of relative dorsiflexion and a tight TA is probably not the problem. If your feeling exertion in your tibs at the bottom of a squat it could be a balance reaction. We dorsiflex our ankles to prevent us from falling backwards. If you stand and lean back while keeping your legs straight you will feel your tibs work to bring you back to the balanced position. If you are squatting and are leaning back too far this reaction might kick to maintain balance at the bottom of the movement. Some more likely explanations of your squatting problem would be: 1) your structural make up (the ratio of the lengths of your femur:tibia:torso) If your femur is very long relative to your torso you will have to flex at the hip in the bottom position in order to maintain the bar over your feet otherwise you would fall backwards.
2)Tight hams and/or calves. The soleus would probably be the most likely culprit.
Hope this helps.
Mark C…thanks a ton, T-bud. That really helps out and could explain some things. I guess I was under the impression that a tight TA would inhibit dorsiflexion. Dorsiflexion of my right ankle seems to be the problem, as this range is not as good in my right as my left. However, tight soleus muscles might be the more likely culprit. I tend to do seated raises for the majority of my calf work, as well as quite a bit of walking on campus from class to class. The reason I was putting blame on my TA was because of the dorsiflexion issue as well as some slight pain. It seems pretty evident that I need to really work hard on flexibility. I don’t think it’s a problem with leaning back during the squat, though. However, I just stood up and leaned back, and the balance reaction that occured was interesting. My left ankle easily dorsalflexed but the right not as well, as I have described. Thanks, Mark.
20-30 degrees forward lead in the spine from perpendicular. It seems very upright and I have to admit I find it very difficult to squat that upright. I probably aquat between 30-40 degrees, any more than that and it hurts my lower back. I like what TapJG said about stance width, I find myself more comfortable with a slightly wider stance, and toes slightly turned out. MarkC has some good points too.
Andrew…yeah, that’s what I figured you meant. Damn, for me to be that upright, you’d have to shove something up…nevermind, bad similie. Yeah, quite a few good points were brought up and I really appreciate it. I’ll just give it some time and hopefully progress. Flexibility is definitely something I need to attack aggressively (hard to imagine at only 20, but I am on my feet a lot, walking around). The other thing I thought it might be is possibly something with a ligament in the front of my ankle. Thanks for all the input.