how 'bout that?
you can use your elbows to push your knees out.
my knees are FAAAAR from being aligned with my feet…I think its called fallen arches(as BG said) or big q-angles as Cal talks about…squatting wide helps.
Yes BG! Get a log up!! I’d love to see your training!
Aw Frenchie! It’ll come to you girl - persistence is key. And believe me, I totally understand your frustration.
Love that the hubby got it right away. lol! Isn’t that always the case? Any aspirations to get him training with you?
Meanwhile, I have to tell you that I always think of you when I back squat these days - I remember you had to pretty much start from scratch to fix your squat so you could hit ATG. Well, that’s where I’m at now, and let me tell you, it is damn humbling. You’re my inspiration!
Kill it tonight ma chere!
I know your coach is big on wall squats and good on you for following instructions. My feeling on doing them is that they make your wall squat better and not a damn thing else.
BG: knees pushed out. yup. or at least trying. should I be squeezing my butt going down as well as up?
alex - squating from front view camera is on my to do list for ya. and thanks for the vid - I’m giving that move a try today.
Maschy- I try to light a fire under him, brought him to my PL gym for my comp and such but he’s not into it. I try to encourage without nagging to just be moving (any sport, any activity) but he doesn’t want to hear it. Fine wait until your 50 and diagnosed with some health issues, idiot… If I can be an inpiration for something it’s persistance, I’ve been working on different aspect of my squat for over a year. hence the frustration.
Joe - I know what you mean but I refuse to be that girl who gives up cause she’s no good at it.
Knee cave-in is an issue for me as well, but only my left knee. It was a real issue when I first learning how to squat and at that time, I was told to do single-leg work like lunges. After awhile, after doing lots and reverse lunges in addition to all my other mobility stuff, I did notice the knees didn’t cave in anymore. Now, I have started doing more lunges and single leg exercises.
Incidently, when I do glute activation exercies, I have trouble getting my left glute to fire up. I’m not sure if it’s all connected or not. Apparently, this is an issue I just have to keep addressing.
[quote]Whysper wrote:
Knee cave-in is an issue for me as well, but only my left knee. It was a real issue when I first learning how to squat and at that time, I was told to do single-leg work like lunges. After awhile, after doing lots and reverse lunges in addition to all my other mobility stuff, I did notice the knees didn’t cave in anymore. Now, I have started doing more lunges and single leg exercises. Incidently, when I do glute activation exercies, I have trouble getting my left glute to fire up. I’m not sure if it’s all connected or not. Apparently, this is an issue I just have to keep addressing.[/quote]
So sorry about all my spelling and grammar errors. : (
I’ll show you my funny knees!!
(yours are cute by the way!)
There’s not a thing funny about any part of your legs, mademoiselle. Nope, not one single thing…
I know what you mean, that’s my beef with hack squats.
But this is the fun part of the journey, having something to improve. I’m sorry you’re having difficulties with it though ;(
[quote]Nikki9591 wrote:
I know what you mean, that’s my beef with hack squats.
[/quote]
BB hacks? Try starting with a shorter ROM, so put the bar on some boxes or steps, or even do it in the rack. That’s what I did when I first tried 'em and my ass got in the way.
Practice x a lot Mainy, you’ll dominate those wall squats in no time. Just keep it up!
knees are funny in general (as are elbows) but i don’t see anything particularly funny or odd about your knees.
chinese foot binding, nikki… if you bind the feet from a very early age they grow up very small (because you have cramped the bones). it is meant to be a sign of nobility. a woman with such deformed feet must clearly be valued by powerful men. i mean, she can hardly walk so she can’t do much of anything for herself. high heels initially started out as a similar thing - a ‘well heeled’ woman was obviously incapable of navigating the european streets of the time. someone was coming to fetch her in a carriage.
we grow up learning to ‘keep your knees together’. pushing them out is a fairly unnatural movement for most women. a lot of women think they are pushing their knees out hard - it isn’t until they clasp their hands together and push their elbows out against their knees that they realize ‘oh - thats what you mean by pushing the knees out’. be prepared for a massive groin stretch! i’m hoping that that will be the case for you, nimain. some kind of realization that they really can go out a lot more than you thought and that yes, that is what you are aiming to do. fingers crossed, anyway, because that would be an easy fix.
(of course you want lumbar curve too, but one aspect at a time…)
I hear you guys - basically I have no excuse is what you are saying.
Whysper - don’t worry about the spelling - lord knows I make plenty myself.
MIM- if I show you more will you show me moar 
Kristophe - you are a sweetie.
Nikki - this dogged pursuit is what puts us ahead of the pack right? at least, that’s what I tell myself.
INk- you know how I love it when you drop the word “dominate”
alex- you always bring well thought posts to the discussion. I will work those stretches into my homework. Thank you for the help!
so I spent 30 minutes trying to convince myself to not go to the gym tonight. I would have loved to simply pop open a cold one and veg at home. Somehow I managed to pull on my sweat gear and head out the door. bonus points for me.
Squats:
warm up bar x12
115lbs 1x3
135lbs 1x3
150lbs 1x3
accessories:
light squats
95lbs 2x5
85lbs 2x5
65lbs 2x8, 3x5
-somehow managed to fall with the 65’s - a weight I can freakin curl for god’s sake!! a couple of peeps had to pull the weight off. shame face
Bulgarian split squats 8kg kettle bells 3x8
Pull throughs orange band 3x12.
Tomorrow I head to the PL gym early for the strongman contest!! should have a nice eyefull of meaty men. yum!
[quote]nlmain wrote:
side view[/quote]
I see part of a butt cheek!!!
[quote]nlmain wrote:
Pull throughs orange band 3x12.
[/quote]
Are those the EFS bands? I’m so mad they changed the colors. I’ve always referred to my bands by color and now the colors aren’t standard any more. Being the stubborn person that I am, I will continue to call them greens, purples, and blues regardless of what color they are. No one will know what I’m talking about and I will not know what anyone else is talking about, but I won’t have to change my terms.
Anyway, back to the knee issues…
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I wouldn’t really say “squeezing you butt” you should be keeping tight and they should feel “activated”. I’ve had issues before with glute activation, thought they were working just fine and then my Chiro started giving me little exercise assignments. Between the activation work and a training cycle dedicated to improving them I began experiencing muscle soreness in places that I didn’t know muscles existed. Low back pain was reduced too.
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From the picture it looks like your feet are kind of flat. I’m not sure what you’re squatting in (Chucks?) but it might help to add some arch support. Stronghold had an issue with knee cave and that did the trick for him. It was like his feet would flatten out as he squatted and this lead to his knees coming in because he couldn’t successfully “spread the floor”. I don’t know if this is a common problem for people, but its something else to think about.
On the bright side, I’m glad that talking about the knee cave issues has got you to show some leg. Hawt.
ooh! strongman contest!!