Hi, I’ve been around here for a while and finally decided to register. Great site may I add.
Anyways, I have a question about squats. I have a strained right quad from playing soccer. While doing squats, even before the injury, I’ve noticed that I could not get bend my legs enough to parallel without getting on my toes. Does getting on your toes throw off the form of the exercise too much? Also, would you recommend continuing squats with a strained quad? Thank you.
getting on your toes puts stress on your ankles and knees, so don’t do that. i was the same way, opening your stance a little helps, pointing toes out a little helps, and sitting down into the squat helps (e.g. put all the weight on your heals, sit while keeping your back straight, and being careful with your knees staying behind your toes).
and no, wait until the strain heals fully, the last thing you want is a permanent injury.
My leg finally fully healed this week so I started squating.
I have a question, when you’re on your way down, its ok to lean your back forward a bit while keeping it straight correct? And one more thing, is it normal to feel stress on the back muscles while squating?
Excuse my questions, I just dont wanna injure myself.
There is some forward lean of the torso but the bar should remain in line with the ankle if you were looking at it from side on.
Foam roll and stretch your calves with both bent and straight leg and over time you should be able to get deeper. Active stretching is best.
Elevate your heels in the mean time to at least allow for a parrallel squat given your injury has healed…
oh yeah, no. you shouldn’t feel this in the lower back. Strengthen your posterior chain…
The squat is a great exercise but fairly technical. By the sound of it you are you most likely have a variety of performance issues that could best be helped by an experienced coach or lifter actually seeing you squat.
If you are serious about learning one of the best exercises the effort it takes to get some quality coaching to help you is more than worth it.
That said I suggest you work on both front squats and deadlifts. Both of these lifts are usually easier to perform correctly by beginners than back squats and will help train your muscles and nervous system to better be able to properly perform the more technical back squat.
Mr. Robertson will tell you all you need to know:
great link
thanks for the link. great article. I’ll follow his directions and keep you updated on how it goes.