my squat is horrible compared to my other lifts. yesterday i was doing front squats for 5X5 and then did a 5X5 of split squats with added ROM (front foot on a red and green bumper plate) i was able to use more weight on the split squats. Anyone have any idea what kind of imbalance this could be?
Ive noticed my knees turn in on my squats so Im doing extra band walks and working hip flexibility especially in the piriformis (very tight). anyone know of anything else i could do to help this problem?
Im not sure what role muscle imbalances would have on this, i think it’s more likely a technique issue?
With regards to your knees coming in, I think its a case of spending time strengthening the adductors. Best way to do this is to make a deliberate effort to shove the knees out as you descend, then keep them there throughout the squat. Dont let them come in! You might need to spend a couple of weeks with a lighter weight, but it should remedy itself pretty quick. You’ll know if your getting it right cause the insides of you thighs will be sore as hell the next day.
If you have a partner or someone who could help you out with cues it would be good. So when you are coming out of the hole they can cue you with “knees” or “out” or “spread the floor” or whatever. Also, make sure you are only getting one cue per squat. I have trouble if I start thinking too much.
I’m no elite lifter, yet, but just work on technique and tons and tons of reps and you will jump up quickly. Remember, leave your ego at the door and do it right. Which is something I have to tell myself constantly.
Weak abs? My Front Squat was pretty shitty until I worked on heavy weighted abdominal movements.
Also, knees caving in is generally weak ABductors. As stated above, work on conciously keeping your knees pushed outward. This could be weak glutes or simply inactive glutes…tight hip flexors don’t help either. There have been more than a couple articles written on glute activation stuff, if you do a search.
The best way I’ve found for improving form and increasing weight in the long run is to every six months or so drop the weight and just simply concentrate on the mechanics of the squat. So watch some great squat videos, read about it to solidify what you have to concentrate on and then go through the motions to get the groove back.
I’ve found that by dropping weight (sometimes substantially) to go through this it’s generally let me blast through a bit of a plateau over teh course of a week or two.
Also some people don’t warm up properly for squatting movement. I’d do a couple of sets of bodyweight squats as well as some iso holds in the ATG position first to really loosen things up. I find this increases my ROM greatly. I think warm up sets are especially important for large ROM movements like squats.
Thank you for all the help back squat is better than front but still very weak for a 1rm it is usually a good 150lbs behind my deadlift. i get cues every now and then we have great coaches but also a lot of athletes so you only get so much time. ive been working on trying to push the knees out and the inside of my thighs have been hurting for days so i believe this is a good sign. ill probably just have to keep working at it and give it time. its a little hard on the ego to drop the weight but i guess you do what you have to do.