anybody got any ideas why the box squat is causing my IT band to lock up. am i using to low a box?
How low is the box on DE day? It should be about 1in below parallel. DE day is the culprit of many hip issues. Are you stretching the problem area? Also consider getting some lifting briefs if you are not already wearing them. The compression of the briefs does for your hips what knee wraps would do for your knees.
I wanna know how in the hell you know its your IT band. There is a lot of stuff going on in the hip area. It could be a million things. I had a pain in my ass that was being caused by my gracilis in the front.
how long have you been box squating…many people who jump into box squating start with abox that is to low…it takes time to build up the hip capacity to box squat wide even at parrellel…get some briefs and bring your box up to around 17 inches…and slowy work it down over time until you reach parrllel…bm
to answer goldberg’s question, i know its my IT band cause I had the same injury my senior year wrestling in college about 6 years ago. it locked up on me in the national semifinals and after the tournament I went to an ATC, a chiro, and a pt and they all said that’s what it was. the entire lateral surface of my right quad (which was my wrestling penetration leg) is one giant trigger point and flexion of the knee under load causes lots of pain in my right leg (even with shins perpendicular to the floor).you might be right to assume that the injury could be anything, it just feels exactly like when i hurt my IT band.
big martin, thanks for the reply, this is my first time box squatting in 14 years of lifting. I am absolutely paranoid of being called a shallow squatter and with this being my first time box squatting, you could be right in that the box is too low. i will measure it out next time (this friday actually is my next DE day). please forgive my ignorance in that i don’t know what lifting briefs are, would spandex shorts under my regular shorts do the same?
i also started stretching the area today and rubbing it out with self massage and oil. like i said earlier this is my first time ever box squatting so thanks for all the tips on the box height. i just got the westside seminar on tape last week and am performing the base program in the manual. i am going to dave tates seminar in new jersey april 24-25 to learn more about the westside method. i am currently in the second week of my westside program.
goldberg-congratulations on the meet, those numbers are awesome.
You have trigger points just above your hip socket and a couple inches towards your ass.
Ever tried rolling on the foam roller?
Check this site.
http://www.smiweb.org/guides/pdf/runners.pdf
Page 7 is where they show how to do it.
My ITB felt like it was ripping of my quad whenever I squatted sometimes even during my warm-up sets. Someone showed this exercise to me. It hurts like hell at first but does get better the more you do it.
Now I’m back to squatting without the ripping feeling.
I bought my foam roller at www.fitter1.com but there are other places.
M
Like Goldberg said, if you feel it in your IT Band, it’s likely the result of referral from another muscle around your hip.
My best guess:
If your knees ‘buckle’ inward and your femurs internally rotate, you need to stretch your short adductors and the other internal rotators of the hip, strengthen your glute med and learn the force couple between Glute Med and your VMO.
I believe Westsiders talk about pushing the knees out. A lot of squatters have trouble taking a wide stance and pushing the knees out because of the inherent tension in the muscles that internally rotate and adduct the hip.
Have a good look at your knees when you squat and if the above scenario holds true for you, then shoot me a PM and I can help more.
hey rob, super post, i dynamic squat on friday, i will give you an update. thanks for the foam roller suggestion, i have access to one in my gym. before me DE box squat on friday i will 1.check the height of the box towards big martin’s reccomondations 2. stretch out my adductors 3. really force my knees out and observe the position of my knees and hips as i squat. i hope that sounds like a good plan.
shank…briefs are pants plers wear to squat and deadlift in to support them and keep them injury free…they are failry cheap and very important…you can get a preety cheap pair of briefs from inzer advance designs…just do a google search for inzer advanced designs…but trust me if you plan on doing any serious box squating get a pair…bm
Just a thought, but do you have a leg length discrepancy? If you don’t know, you should get it checked. When I started doing sumo deadlifts, my IT band started acting up. Found out one leg was a little longer than the other one, got a heel lift for my shoe, never had another problem. The heel lift may or may not be what cured the problem, but it’s something to consider.
patman…had a pt check my legs out, same length, i think its on my right side cause that is my penetration leg from 12 years of wrestling in high school and college grad/post grad.
to rob, you were right on the money. i started stretching my adductors out with an indian sit position and within 1 minute my IT band felt better. I did it every day up to my DE squat workout tonight and didn’t have any pain with 215x2x10 until the 9th and 10th set. when the IT band started to hurt, i did the indian sit stretch and my right leg (the painfull one) was noticibly higher. i stretched it during the rest break and was able to complete the workout. thanks again for the super post.i will keep stretching those adductors. the plan also involves foam rollering the IT band and really forcing the knees out when i squat. going from a 13 inch box to a 16 and a half inch box also helped.
sincerely,
mike cruickshank
shank…greta job with the box height…mow over the next month or so slowy work the box down as your hips get stronger and more conditioned to a parrellel box…parrellel usually is between 14-15.5 inches for most people 5’10-6’3…bm