Hey everybody. Recently had a small revelation about something I do unconsciously while squatting: I have a bad habit of throwing my head back hard when I hit the bottom. This can be the cause of the bar rolling around on my back (which is shitty), but more importantly it means i’m squatting with my spine/core in a broken position, which is obviously less than ideal. My good friend/coach/training partner is the one who mentioned this to me. He thinks it has to do with my abs/core being my “weak link” while squatting, and that I throw my head back in order to arch harder against the bar.
Basically, I’m wondering if anyone else has thoughts on why I do this? think it’s just a bad habit, do you agree with the core weakness theory, or have another idea entirely? And more importantly, what’s the best way to fix it? I figure I need to just start “Packing my neck,” focus on that neutral head position in my lighter sets, and over time it will become second nature in my heavy squats as well. But I’ve only ever heard the “pack the neck” cue while deadlifting, not about squatting. I don’t know. Let me know what you think.
I would think that it could be due to your lower back losing tightness and rounding, causing you to whip your head up to compensate. I would suggest doing isometric holds at the bottom of the squat position, consciously focusing keeping your lower back tight and your head straight.
And the cause of the lower back rounding might be due to a lack of ankle flexibility, so maybe you are in need of elevated heels through olympic shoes. But I personally do not think you would need that, you most likely need to get comfortable at the bottom position in terms of maintaining tightness and flexibility in possibly both the ankles and hamstrings.
[quote]N.K. wrote:
Hey everybody. Recently had a small revelation about something I do unconsciously while squatting: I have a bad habit of throwing my head back hard when I hit the bottom. This can be the cause of the bar rolling around on my back (which is shitty), but more importantly it means i’m squatting with my spine/core in a broken position, which is obviously less than ideal. My good friend/coach/training partner is the one who mentioned this to me. He thinks it has to do with my abs/core being my “weak link” while squatting, and that I throw my head back in order to arch harder against the bar.[/quote]
Holy over-thinking batman! Hey man, if you’ve got a problem with throwing your head back at the bottom of the squat, just stop throwin’ your damn head back! Get under the bar, squeeze your upper back together to give it a good shelf, take a deep breath, keep your lower back arched and your core tight like you’re about to get punched, and squat down and up.
I don’t even think about doin shit with my head. If you are doing this unconsciously like you said, then I guess you are gonna have to think about your head though. Just think about looking straight forwards.
I mean no offense of course; I just think that if you have a problem throwin your head, then the problem is solved by not doing that lol!
Hahaha thanks guys for the replies. Yeah, I tend to overthink a lot - I put a lot of time and energy into this sport, and when I realize something isn’t right, it really bugs me… and I can’t sop thinking about how to fix it.
You guys are right though, I think the problem lies more in keeping my core tight. Throwing my head back is just making me lose tightness in my abs, cause i’m over-arching a bit. I just need to focus on keeping my head in one position (whatever that may be), and focus on keeping my abs tight, and that should get me well on the way to fixing my little problems. I just ca’t lose tightness in that bottom position.
[quote]N.K. wrote:
Hahaha thanks guys for the replies. Yeah, I tend to overthink a lot - I put a lot of time and energy into this sport, and when I realize something isn’t right, it really bugs me… and I can’t sop thinking about how to fix it.
Hahaha glad i’m not the only person who can’t shut his brain off. Just a little update, Squatted heavy today and had a good day, tried to be conscious of keeping my core tight and not tossing my head back, and managed to squat up to and hit a hard single at my current pr… then I dropped back a hundred pounds and worked up in triples, and managed to get a new 2-rep pr (just barely missed the third, which is pretty cool too).
Anyways, on the road to fixing these little technical problems and it doesn’t look like I’m gonna have to take a hit to my numbers while I’m doing it. Thanks again for the comments and advice guys.