I have problems with getting the bar into position with the back squat due to tight shoulders/lack of mobility. Any specific suggestions on how to stretch/cure this problem? I have been trying several different methods, but I don’t know if they are the most effective…
thanks
Afaik, the fundamental shoulder mobility work are shoulder dislocates and scapular wall-slides. Google them up. There should be articles on T-Nation that talk about scapular wall-slides and shoulder mobility in general.
I personally don’t like doing dislocates with a stick. The first time I did it, I was simply not flexible enough to do it even with my grip at the absolute widest it can get. So instead I did them with my judo belt (anything that is very long and has a bit of a stretch to it will work fine; most people use bands). Both shoulder dislocates and scapular wall-slides HURT when you do them the first time. Honestly, the first time I did wall-slides I almost felt like crying from the pain. Something about trying to undo 24 years of utter shit all at once just hurts. Just a warning if you’re actually incapable of getting into proper squat bar placement, because that must mean you have some rather bad shoulder girdle issues.
Keep progression real slow on these. It’ll take a while to see any improvement, and rushing it will just leave you injured.
pec stretches, shoulder dislocates, wall slides, band or cable resisted external rotations, and band pull aparts. Start each workout with a few sets of these exercises. Also, in the mean time you can either try widening your grip or gripping the bar with a pinky-less grip to ease the stress on your shoulders.
I do band shoulder dislocates. The thing is, I STOP once I get near pain or discomfort. So I guess PAIN is ok during these stretches??
Ok. Are you sure? Maybe that’s why I have not been progressing. I just don’t want to injure myself either. (I would usually stretch to a discomfort “tightness” and then stop).
Are you stopping during the actual motion when it gets painful?
There should be a difference between outright pain and severe discomfort, but yes, it will get rather uncomfortable.
I have the exact same problem, OP. I can’t even get the bar on my back in the correct position without warming up first.
Here’s what I do to get around it:
First, foam roll etc. I use a PVC pipe or Rumble Roller. Roll the t-spine, and upper back. ALOT. From different angles, and I’ll do 1 side at a time. I start off with arms overhead, then go to t-spine extension, then arms crossed. I basically roll until my upper back feels good, since that’s my problem area.
Next, I use a lacrosse ball and roll my chest and anterior delt area. The chest part is key for me to get into my squat position. The “side chest” and collar bone area tend to be tight in my experience.
Then, I do a simple band warmup. I use this one: Awesome 3 Minute Shoulder Warm-up | DieselSC and I highly recommend it. It’s a great sequence and really gets the shoulders going. When I first started using this, I did 3 rounds, but now I’m down to just one, maybe two if I’m really tight.
After that, I do some light stretches etc - doorway pec stretch, band dislocates, etc. I’ll skip these if I’m feeling great, but most often than not I end up doing them.
All in all, this takes ~15 mins. I do a similar warmup for the lower body, and I do both for EVERY workout, regardless of what I’m training. Too much mobility isn’t a bad thing.
[quote]Acrophobia13 wrote:
I have the exact same problem, OP. I can’t even get the bar on my back in the correct position without warming up first.
Here’s what I do to get around it:
First, foam roll etc. I use a PVC pipe or Rumble Roller. Roll the t-spine, and upper back. ALOT. From different angles, and I’ll do 1 side at a time. I start off with arms overhead, then go to t-spine extension, then arms crossed. I basically roll until my upper back feels good, since that’s my problem area.
Next, I use a lacrosse ball and roll my chest and anterior delt area. The chest part is key for me to get into my squat position. The “side chest” and collar bone area tend to be tight in my experience.
Then, I do a simple band warmup. I use this one: Awesome 3 Minute Shoulder Warm-up | DieselSC and I highly recommend it. It’s a great sequence and really gets the shoulders going. When I first started using this, I did 3 rounds, but now I’m down to just one, maybe two if I’m really tight.
After that, I do some light stretches etc - doorway pec stretch, band dislocates, etc. I’ll skip these if I’m feeling great, but most often than not I end up doing them.
All in all, this takes ~15 mins. I do a similar warmup for the lower body, and I do both for EVERY workout, regardless of what I’m training. Too much mobility isn’t a bad thing.[/quote]
Thanks! Great advice.