Hi, I have weight trained on and off for 5 years. I’ve been lifting 5 days a week for 15 months under the guidance of a trainer at my gym (just stopped with her last week due to money issues) I can’t squat properly and seem to have one hamstring and glute bigger than the other which is really noticeable in the squat position. One of my shoulders is always sore even after physio.
Anyways, I feel my trainer pushed me very hard and always said my form was correct or “corrected” it if it wasn’t but I can’t progress properly with these issues and huge volume of training. I’ve built up quite a fair amount of muscle and look good (except I am still about 23-24% bf) but things are going south fast I feel.
I want to start Bret Contreras’ Strong Curves. My glutes suck(flat ass big quads) and I just started being able to activate them only a short time ago.
Should I start out with the beginner exercises in the program to relearn proper movement? I’m terrified to lose all the gains I’ve made by going back to body weight and light weights. My boyfriend said my ass and hammies are just starting to look good and more shapely.
I think it could ultimately be beneficial to go back to a lower volume/intensity full body split, and keep the load high(er)
Take time to nail in the form. Take videos. Look at yourself in the mirror. But don’t drop the weight to negligible numbers. Give it a few weeks, switch it up, do variations.
Take it slow. It’s not a race. Consistency is the name of the game, and dial it all in.
Yes my diet needs more work for sure. I’ve only been tracking for the past 2 mths due to previous eating disorder when I first started exercising. Currently cutting out sugar treats due to bad skin reactions within hours of eating it now…seems I’ve built an intolerance
Also I am incorporating more single leg for sure. Just trying to get the right muscles working. The weaker glute and ham have a stronger quad than the other side that takes over.
Ok yes I definitely need to lose some of the volume. I’m burnt out. I’ll try more compound exercises and cool it with the excessive isolation work. I’ve never taken video of myself …just relied on my coach and other lifters but it’s probably time to take a real look for myself!
Yes I have been making hip hinge exercises a priority for around 8 mths now ever since we switched from 3 upper 2 lower days to 3 lower 2 upper. I felt my lower body was extremely lacking so I told my coach I needed more focus there. I’m really good with hip hinge movements.
Rdl’s, sumo deads, cable pullthroughs, glute bridges, hip thrusts, kettle bell swings, etc…but my glutes took sooooo long for me to figure out how to even activate them properly since I really never used them lol
Perhaps nobody wants to go here, but a lot of this may be due to your ‘trainer’. If you feel like you can’t squat properly after 15 months of direct guidance, that’s usually a problem. I can’t tell you how many times I see trainers not paying proper attention or harping on details when they’re with clients. It’s not always unintentional either - it can be quite annoying, as a trainee, to have a trainer tell you sixteen times about the same thing you’re doing wrong, so some trainers just let it slide to keep you happy, and let form slip to keep the weight/reps going up, so you don’t feel like you’re stalling - even though stalling is a natural part of lifting.
Post a video of your squat form or any other exercises you feel unsure about. There are a lot of really strong people here who can help you.
Sadly I’ve already begun to feel you are right…I had a couple gym employees tell me the training offered there is kind of structured to keep you as a client. I learned a lot from my trainer and do think she had good intentions and lots of knowledge etc but at this point after paying around 6000 not including my membership I’m slightly disappointed. Mind you my diet was far from perfect and she said that would really make or break me…but that doesn’t account for my poor technique
I was told I didn’t need to squat below parallel so not to worry about it but I barely get to parallel and that using an easier (for me) sumo type stance. I’ll definitely have to get a video posted
you don’t have to squat BELOW parallel. different people have different squat depths that they can achieve and not everyone has, or should go ass to grass. that’s absolutely fine. you should ideally get to parallel though, and your trainer should long ago have explained glute activation at the bottom of the squat. she was right about your diet, but that’s not under her control - your technique is.
THAT BEING SAID - don’t stress about the money. it’s gone, and you used it in an attempt to get healthy, plus you said you did build some muscle from it. plenty of people blow tons of money on useless equipment, steroids, or other products and never see any gains. You came to the right place for help, though.
Thanks and you’re right about the money. I guess I’ll just chalk it up as a learning experience and go from here. Do either of you feel box squats could be effective? I’ve gotten pretty timid about falling backwards at this point because I actually did fall side ways once onto the safety bars lol …at least no one was around to see!
Box squats are great. Just try not to lose tension in your body when you sit down. I really think goblet squats are where it’s at though when it comes to learning to squat. Still, I don’t really know where your deficiencies are, and that can determine what would be the best exercise to help you. Maybe you’re not sitting back enough, maybe your weight isn’t on your heels (box squats/goblets), maybe you’re not spreading the floor (band around your ankles), I don’t know if your elbows are under the bar (shoulder dislocations, band pull aparts), if you’re looking too far up or down, if your back is rounding (good mornings/seated good mornings), if your knees are tracking too far over your toes (squatting in front of a wall).
Yes sorry you are so right! Too many variables and since I haven’t even seen my true form there’s no way anyone can assess what’s best yet. I’ll try and get a video posted at the beginning of the week.
Try to get several videos with good lighting and different angles. Also, Youtube is a great resource filled with videos of people talking about form. There are many ways to squat so watching several REPUTABLE people teach and coach it (Dave Tate, Max Aita, Mark Rippetoe, Ed Coan, just to get you started) will help. There are principles to be followed but different people use different cues, so hearing several cues and explanations will help things click.
I’ve been squatting for a year and a half and I still suck at it. Part of the fun of lifting is practicing the technique, tension, and body awareness. Even people who squat 800+ will tell you they’re not done refining technique…
I will have to watch more videos but I find the info so overwhelming. It’s like everyone saying something different etc etc etc… I waited around for a squat rack today and eventually just ended up doing reverse hack, feet wide and pointed out. This works well but of course not the same
The easiest way to learn to squat properly is the goblet squat to box. Set a box for whatever height you can get down to with a neutral spine (if your back rounds it’s too low), goblet squat down until your ass is touching the box, then squat back up.
Don’t sit on the box, just tap it gently with your ass. Your mantra while doing so should be “knees out hips back.”
